The 3rd Yangtze River Delta Student Academic Symposium and Social Practice Program was held from May 24 to 27 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Hosted by the China Scholarship Council and organized by Zhejiang University, the program was themed “Smart Delta · Modernization Together” It aimed to build a high-level, interdisciplinary and immersive platform for academic exchanges and mutual learning among Chinese and international students, encouraging them to integrate frontier academic discussions with field studies on Chinese modernization. This program brought together more than 150 students and faculty members from 24 universities across the Yangtze River Delta region, with student participants representing 40 countries, including China, Germany, Russia, New Zealand, Singapore, Pakistan, Iran, Malaysia and Zimbabwe.

Academic Exchanges Foster Shared Understanding

The program featured parallel academic sessions in science and engineering, medicine and pharmascience and engineering; medicine and pharmaceutical sciences; agriculture, life and environmental sciences; as well as arts and humanities/social sciences. Chinese and international students held in-depth discussions in their respective fields. Through well-designed academic posters and thought-provoking presentations, young participants from different countries and academic backgrounds transcended disciplinary and cultural boundaries, exchanged ideas on academic innovation, deepened cross-cultural understanding and gained fresh insights into China's development.

Yasin Amara Sekou S Dra, a doctoral student from Mali at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, shared a memorable story of serendipity. Among the judges at his presentation was Professor Luo Xue from Zhejiang University's College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, who had sent him an admission letter years earlier. “Sometimes, what we think we have missed may simply find its way back to us in another form,” he said. He called on young people from China and other countries to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and work together to address global challenges, including climate change and sustainable development.

Field Studies Illuminate Chinese Modernization

Beyond academic exchanges, immersive field studies brought Chinese and international students out of the classroom and into direct contact with the realities of China's development. In Yucun village, Anji county, Zhejiang province, participants experienced the harmony between ecology and development, gaining a vivid understanding of the principle that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” Sidorova Kristina, a Russian master's student at Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, said, “For more than two decades, the people of Yucun have steadfastly put this principle into practice”. The visit, she said, offered a vivid glimpse into the immense potential and vitality of rural revitalization in the course of Chinese modernization. In Jiande, Zhejiang province, Chinese and international students explored ancient lanes set against picturesque landscapes, forging friendships through conversations and shared moments of joy. Zhou Xingxing, a Chinese student from Zhejiang University, said the cross-cultural interactions during the trip left a lasting impression on her. “Those moments showed that young people from different countries can connect through a shared appreciation of beauty,” Zhou said. At Zhejiang University’s Future Learning Center, participants explored interactive AI agent displays and the embodied agricultural robotics laboratory for smart agricultural innovation. They also experienced an immersive foreign-language training cabin and an open AI-powered innovation workshop, gaining a closer look at the university’s innovative practices in AI-empowered talent development.

Young People Join Hands for a Shared Future

 “We come from different countries and universities, but the shared experiences of these three days have become some of our warmest memories in China,” said Angelica Tiora, an Indonesian student at Zhejiang University, in her speech.

Now in its third edition, the Yangtze River Delta Student Academic Symposium and Social Practice Program has attracted nearly 400 Chinese and international students to date. While this year’s program has drawn to a close, the journey of Chinese and international youth advancing together has only just begun. As the saying goes, learning transcends borders, and practice carries us far. As young people of different backgrounds walk side by side amid lucid waters and lush mountains and exchange ideas in academic halls, the seeds of a community with a shared future for humanity quietly take root in the soil of youth. Going forward, the program will continue to inspire more Chinese and international students to gain firsthand experience of Chinese modernization, tell China's stories with authenticity and confidence, and help make China's voice better understood. In doing so, they will contribute to a new chapter of China-foreign exchanges and people-to-people connectivity in the new era.