On May 15th, 2023, Dr. Hans J. Hoyer, the Secretary General of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) and Executive Secretary of the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC), embarked on a strategic visit to the UNESCO International Centre for Higher Education Innovation (UNESCO-ICHEI) located in Shenzhen, China. Accompanying Dr. Hoyer was Ms. Kirsten Williamson, the Director General of Paris-based Petrus Communications. This visit was orchestrated with the objective of initiating a high-level dialogue, aimed at exploring potential opportunities for synergistic collaboration and partnership between UNESCO-ICHEI and the represented entities.

Dr. Hans J. Hoyer and Ms. Kirsten Williamson were courteously received by distinguished representatives from UNESCO-ICHEI. The welcoming committee comprised Mr. Xue Feng, the Chief of the International Institute of Online Education Management Centre (IIOE-MC), and Mr. Hassan Adeel Shehzad, the Programme Specialist and Chief Technology Officer of the Smart Classroom project. The reception exemplified the spirit of academic camaraderie and collaborative potential inherent in this exchange.

Dr. Hans J. Hoyer and Ms. Kirsten Williamson received an in-depth presentation on UNESCO-ICHEI's ongoing initiatives across Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean regions. Both parties engaged in comprehensive dialogue and deliberations concerning potential cooperation, particularly in creating synergies between the partner Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of their respective organizations. Dr. Hoyer and Ms. Williamson expressed their admiration for ICHEI's commendable work in advancing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4. They particularly recognized the strides made since UNESCO-ICHEI's inception towards cultivating an inclusive and equitable higher education environment of superior quality.

Both distinguished guests were particularly impressed with the effective models and significant outputs produced by the International Institute of Online Education (www.iioe.org). They commended the Smart Classroom (SCR) project, the quality of publications in the CLOUD magazines, the collaborative research components, the Micro-credential project, and the ICT capacity-building training programmes designed for Asian, Middle Eastern, and African countries, praising their substantial contributions to the field of higher education, skills' enhancements for university staff and teachers' professional development.