The High-level Expert Symposium and Inaugural Governing Board Meeting of the UNESCO International Institute for STEM Education (IISTEM) was held in Shanghai on May 14. Khaled Ahmed El-Enany Ali Ezz, Director-General of UNESCO; Ren Youqun, Vice Minister of Education and Chairperson of the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO; and Xie Dong, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, attended the meeting and delivered remarks. A group of distinguished international scholars and experts attended the meeting and delivered keynote speeches, including Nobel laureate John Michael Kosterlitz, Turing Award laureate Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, Fields Medalists Efim Zelmanov and Caucher Birkar, Gruber Neuroscience Prize laureate Mu-ming Poo, Peggy Oti-Boateng, former executive director of the African Academy of Sciences, and Gong Ke, former president of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations and Executive Director of the Chinese Institute for New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies.

The inaugural Governing Board consists of 11 members elected by the General Conference of UNESCO and appointed by the UNESCO Director-General, together with one representative of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, where the Institute is based. At the Board’s first meeting, Chen Qun, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, delivered remarks. At the meeting, Gong Ke was elected as Chair of the Governing Board, with Peggy Oti-Boateng and Waqas Ahmed elected as Vice Chairs. After his election, Gong Ke chaired the Board’s review of the Institute’s Medium-Term Strategy and presided over discussions leading to the adoption of its annual work plan and budget.

The UNESCO International Institute for STEM Education was officially established in Shanghai in September 2025. As a UNESCO Category I Institute, it aims to serve as a global think tank for STEM education development, a center for policy dialogue, a platform for resource sharing and a hub for capacity building.

（Edited and translated by Nankai News Team.)