At the invitation of ASME, Prof. Lifeng XI, Prof. Guanlong CHEN, Prof. Jingyi WU and Prof. Yingzheng LIU attended 2011 International Leadership Summit on Mechanical/Multi-Disciplinary Engineering Education on Sep 27 – 29. Mary Cunningham BOYCE, Ford Professor of Engineering & Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Timothy TONG, President of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; William WEPFER, Chair of Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and ASME Vice President gathered in the summit.

The summit was co-hosted by ASME, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society with the aim of discussing research into future curriculum developments, comparative accreditation approaches, projected industry skill needs, effective international ME department collaborations.It covers four themes: Major Strategies Shaping Mechanical Engineering Education; Industry-focused Mechanical Engineering Education; Carbon-Neutral Engineering Education as well as International Collaboration Among Mechanical Engineering Departments.

Regarding to the first session: Major Strategies Shaping Mechanical Engineering Education, Professor Lifeng XI, Dean of SJTU-ME delivered a speech on Global Engineering Education: Intercultural Understanding, Global Awareness and Innovative Thinking. With globalization, the education and continuing development of the mechanical engineering workforce are increasingly driven by global economic growth and interdependency.  The challenges require the best engineering graduates to be effective and sustainable design, innovation and the leadership become vital for fostering students' capabilities.

Dean XI's speech introduced ME's internationalization process and its educational transformation on students'studies, research modes as well as staff’s career development, which were highly welcomed by counterparts. Engineering Deans, Heads of Mechanical and related Engineering Faculties and other engineering education leaders from abroad expressed their willingness to carry out collaboration both on student/faculty exchange and research.