From October 16th to 17th, the 2025 Secretariat Working Conference of the World Energy University Network (WEUN) was held at China University of Petroleum-Beijing (CUP). Co-hosted by CUP and WEUN, this was the first WEUN Secretariat meeting to resume in-person format since the COVID-19 pandemic. More than twenty representatives from member universities in ten countries, attended the conference to discuss innovation and development in energy higher education.
On the morning of October 16th, the opening ceremony was held on the second-floor lecture hall of Cuigong Hotel. Prof. Zhang Guangqing, Vice President of China University of Petroleum and secretary-general of the World Energy University Alliance, presided over the session. Wang Tongqi, the Party Secretary of China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Li Luguang, Vice Chairman of the World Petroleum Council, and Liu Xiaodong, the Head of Changping District, delivered speeches. Dr. Ashraf Amin Abdu Najdawi, Associate Vice President of Khalifa University (United Arab Emirates), Sarawanan Mutiya, Deputy Provost of Petras University (Malaysia), and Cristiano Piaksek Borgez, Director of the China-Brazil Institute of Excellence in Engineering at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), offered remarks.
At the Secretariat Working Conference on the afternoon of October 16th, Prof. Zhang Guangqing noted that WEUN has been committed to building an international cooperative platform in the energy field and has achieved substantial results in resource sharing, joint research, and talent cultivation. He expressed hope that member universities will further deepen cooperation in international degree programs, collaborative research, academic exchanges, student competitions, winter and summer schools, and global internship schemes, jointly building a community for energy education and innovation and nurturing interdisciplinary talent with a global perspective.
Ms. Yang Wei, deputy secretary-general of WEUN and director of the International Office of CUP, reviewed a series of effective initiatives led by CUP in its seven years as the chair institution. Representatives from member universities delivered reports on energy education, scientific research innovation and international cooperation. During the discussion session, participants actively exchanged views on topics such as WEUN’s future development, optimisation of cooperation mechanisms, and student exchange, engaging in in-depth dialogue on the next stage of collaboration.
During the conference, delegates visited the CUP history museum, the State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing and Beijing Petroleum Machinery and participated in eight inter-university cooperation meetings with CUP.
As one of core events of CUP’s "International Energy Week 2025" and "International Month", this Secretariat Working Conference not only created valuable opportunities for face-to-face exchanges among member institutions, but also injected new momentum into global cooperation in energy education. In the future, CUP will continue to fulfil its responsibilities as chair university of the World Energy University Network, implement the consensus reached at the conference and promote deeper and more substantive cooperation within the network, contributing more “university solutions” to global energy education innovation and green and low-carbon development.
The Worldwide Energy University Network (WEUN) was jointly initiated by China University of Petroleum (Beijing) and 28 energy-focused universities around the world in September 2018, with theing aim of build a global energy education community and advancing scientific research cooperation and talent cultivation. The WEUN Secretariat is based in Beijing. The network now includes 32 universities in 17 countries. Since its establishment, WEUN has actively promoted exchange and cooperation among member institutions, organizing over 50 inter-university visits, 25 winter and summer programs, and more than 30 student exchange projects. It has hosted over 200 academic conferences and lectures, established 8 international joint research centres, and launched more than 20 initiatives including international internships, field geological excursions, student competitions, and international faculty training programs, benefiting more than 30,000 teachers and students and fully demonstrating the vitality and influence of the network.