On the afternoon of May 22, 2017, Xuetangx.com MOOC Platform for University of Lagos in Africa was released at the reception hall in the main building of Tsinghua University, during the International Forum on Future-oriented Engineering Education and Engineering Capacity Building. The Forum was graced by the presence of some 160 attendees (experts & scholars, managers, students & teachers) representing a wide range of backgrounds, including international organizations such as the UNESCO and the WFEO (World Federation of Engineering Organizations), national academies of engineering in the United States, South Africa, etc., plus foreign colleges and universities as well as Chinese entities such as the Ministry of Education, the CAE (Chinese Academy of Engineering), and Tsinghua University.

Prof. Funso Falade, President of African Engineering Education Association (AEEA), delivered a report entitled “Progress of Future-oriented Engineering Education”. Dr. Fenghua NIE (Deputy Secretary-General of Tsinghua University, Director of Online Education Office, and Deputy Director of Online Education Research Center under the Ministry of Education) made a speech surrounding “Xuetangx.com Facilitates Global Engineering Education in Response to the Belt and Road.

Later, Dr. Fenghua NIE invited Prof. Funso Falade to the podium to jointly release Xuetangx.com MOOC Platform for University of Lagos. Along with the release of this platform, excellent online education resources from globally prominent universities like Tsinghua University will become accessible to Africa, thereby helping take engineering education of the continent up to a new level and making due contributions to the “B&R” Initiative.

During the Forum, Prof. Funso Falade and his party also visited Xuetangx.com, discussing with the Chinese side the implementation of relevant cooperative projects including the operation of online courses and the setting of professional courses. Both sides are eagerly anticipating their further cooperation.