On March 26, the World Engineering Day theme exhibition was displayed in the hall on the first floor of the Artificial Intelligence College of Nankai University at Jinnan Campus. Jointly planned by Nankai University and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), the exhibition attracted the eyes of crowds of teachers and students. Nankai University International Organization Services Office hosted the event. The exhibition is also planned to be held in other chinese universities.

March 4 is the World Engineering Day established by UNESCO. The International Day aims to highlight and commemorate the contributions of engineers and engineering itself to the world development, as well as to enhance the public’s understanding of the crucial role played by engineering technology in promoting sustainable development. As the second World Engineering Day dawned, UNESCO held an online celebration event. In order to further publicize and popularize the public’s knowledge of the World Engineering Day, this exhibition showcases the important results released at the 2021 World Engineering Day celebration, UNESCO’s second engineering report: Engineering for Sustainable Development. The exhibition and its report increasingly promote the people’s awareness of the significance of this subject for sustainable development, especially for those of engineering-related majors.

The promotional video specially filmed and produced for this exhibition Approaching the World Engineering Day was played at the exhibition site. The 30-minute film is divided into five parts, namely: the origin of the World Engineering Day, engineering to build our world, engineering to promote sustainable development, promoting future-oriented engineering changes, and engineering for a healthy planet. The film focuses on the significance and the process of establishing a World Engineering Day, the contribution of engineering to human development and social progress, and the role of engineering in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The film talks about the difficulties that need to be overcome for future-oriented engineering, including inequality in the field, engineering education reform, and imbalance in regional development. In addition, it also introduces various celebration events organized by UNESCO and engineering organizations of multiple regions around the world.

The exhibition introduced the content of the report Engineering for Sustainable Development, especially the role of engineering as an important tool and technical means in the process of helping to achieve each sustainable development goal. This is the second engineering report released by UNESCO after the first one released in 2010. Experts from the UNESCO Engineering Education Center, World Federation of Engineering Organizations, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Tsinghua University, Nankai University and other organizations and institutions participated in its drafting and revision.

At the exhibition site, an interactive exhibition area was also designed, where creative photo frames, photo walls and interactive installations were arranged for teachers and students to take photos.

The head of the Nankai University International Organization Services Office affirmed that engineering is the wing of mankind to realize our dreams and it carries our yearning for a better life. He hopes that this World Engineering Day theme exhibition will serve as an opportunity to make college teachers and students, especially those of engineering majors, better understand engineering’s role in promoting sustainable development, so as to make the best use of this subject and benefit mankind in the future.

(Reported by Renming Qiao, photographed by Yuchen Liu and Xiangda Sun, translated by Menglin Lu, edited by Davide Francolino and JianjingYun)