Dato Lee Yee Cheong visited Beijing 14-22 May 2023. This was his first overseas travel in the last three and helf years due to the pandemic. In this visit, his prime objective was to meet up with AETDEW Fellows and AETDEW prospective Fellows in the reinvigoration of AETDEW after the pandemic.
Dato Lee was entertained to dinner by WFEO Immediate Past President AETDEW Fellow Professor Gongke. WFEO Executive Council member and now AETDEW Fellow Li Ruomei introduced Dato Lee to Professor Chen Haoyong who came from Guangzhou to meet Dato Lee in Beijing during a lunch meeting. Professor Chen is now AETDEW Fellow. AETDEW Fellow Dr Shahbaz Khan, UNESCO Director for China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and Mongolia hosted a sumptuous Muslim dinner for AETDEW Fellow Manzoor H Soomro and Dato Lee.
Other working meals included breakfast meeting with AETDEW Fellow Xu Gaoshan who came from Wuhan to introduce Dr Zhang Zhiyong to Dato Lee. Dr Zhang Zhiyong is now AETDEW Fellow. Dato Lee’s old friend Dr Kang Jincheng who was the International Director of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and helped Dato Lee in the setting up of the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology AAET introduced Professor Yang Linjiang, the President of the China Academy of Technology to AETDEW Fellow Xie Ou and Dato Lee in a lunch meeting in Beijing. Professor Yang came from Zhejiang to meet Dato Lee.
Dato Lee and AETDEW Fellow Professor Manzoor H Soomro visited the UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (ICEE) hosted by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Enginneering. They met ICEE Executive Director Professor and AETDEW Fellow Wu Qidi to discuss the organisation of the UNESCO International Science Technology and Innovation for South-South Cooperation (ISTIC ) Biennial International Women Conference in Science, Technology and Innovation in China in 2024. Professor Wu, Professor Manzoor and Dato Lee are members of ISTIC Governing Board. The details of the 2024 International Women Conference will be finalised during the visit of ISTIC and ICEE Patron Irina Bokova, the former UNESCO Director General during her visit to ICEE in November 2023. Irina Bokova is an Honorary Fellow of AETDEW.
Dato Lee and Professor Manzoor as President and Vice President of the Belt and Road International Science Education Consortium BRISEC met the new Director General International Dr Luo Hui of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) to discuss the incorporation of BRISEC in China as an international organisation and the organisation of the 2023 BRISEC General Meeting and the 2023 International Teenager Maker Camp and Teachers Foprum in Chongqing November 2023.
Through AETDEW Fellow Professor Mansoor, who is an honorary professor of Beijing Technology and Business University (BTBU), Dato Lee attended the South-South Cooperation Seminar in BTBU. Dato Lee was introduced to Dr Xiao Hua of the China Construction Corporation. He is now an AETDEW Fellow.
Dato Lee visited the Chinese Academy of Engineering to discuss ongoing cooperation with AAET and the resumption of the ISTIC/IKCEST (International Knowledge Centre of Engineering Science and Technology) training course for Big Data Managers of South countries.
The last meeting was with the China Highway and Transportation Society. Dato Lee promised to expedite invitation from Malaysian sister organisation for CHTS visit to Malaysia November 2023. After a sumptuous lunch, Xie Ou drove him to Capital Airport for flight home to Kuala Lumpur
It was a rather hectic week in Beijing. Great Progress was made to promote AETDEW, thanks to AETDEW Fellows Manzoor and Xie Ou.