On September 25, the 2025 China–Europe Talent Forum was held in Madrid, Spain. The forum was co-hosted by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Talent Work and the Adecco Group (Switzerland). Zhang Xin, Party Secretary of Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication (BIGC), led a delegation to the forum, where they participated in thematic discussions on AI and talent development, signed cooperation agreements, and shared innovative practices and forward-looking insights on cultivating high-caliber publishing and media professionals with Chinese characteristics.
Forum in Session
This year's forum, themed "Sharing, Coexistence and Win-Win: Embracing the Intelligent Era and Joining Hands for Innovative Development", brought together more than 150 guests from Chinese and European government agencies, international organizations, multinationals, universities, and research institutions. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as AI and talent development, industrial transformation, and educational cooperation.
A roundtable session titled "AI and Employment: Innovation, Skills, and Sectoral Transformation" held
During the roundtable session on "AI and Employment: Innovation, Skills, and Sectoral Transformation", Zhang Xin delivered a comprehensive address outlining the three key dimensions of talent development in the publishing and media field in the AI era: challenges, opportunities, and responses. He focused in particular on BIGC's innovative practices in cultivating "future publishers" for the age of AI. By focusing on the development of a "high-quality digital and intelligent institute", BIGC has established a new talent development system based on the concept of "Four Intelligences Empowering Education": enhancing teaching quality through "intelligence-powered instruction", with innovations such as knowledge graphs and intelligent lesson planning; fostering students' core competencies through "intelligence-powered learning", promoting blended learning that combines online and offline modes; building an outstanding faculty team through "intelligence-powered research", by establishing mechanisms for two-way collaboration between BIGC and industry; and advancing the development of a modern smart campus through "intelligence-powered governance", thereby shaping a new paradigm of intelligent educational administration.
Zhang Xin speaking at the roundtable session
He emphasized that in an era where AI is redefining the very concept of "skills", BIGC is committed to cultivating four core competencies in its students: first, critical thinking, enabling them to serve as "gatekeepers" of judgment in the AI era; second, creative innovation, empowering them to grasp the irreplaceable value-adding dimensions of human contribution; third, adaptive learning, equipping them with the capacity to continuously adjust and build long-term resilience in a changing environment; fourth, professional leadership, enabling them to carry out top-level design and resource integration in the digital and intelligent transformation of publishing. These human-centered, enduring competencies represent the most valuable attributes for talent in responding to technological change.
On the afternoon of the same day, the BIGC School of Design and Art officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC), University of Barcelona. The two institutions will establish a comprehensive partnership in areas such as joint master's and doctoral training, academic exchange, and collaborative research projects. Together, they aim to explore new models for talent development between China and Europe in the fields of creative design and digital and intelligent publishing.
Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding
During the forum, the BIGC delegation also held discussions with representatives from several European universities, enterprises, and institutions to explore opportunities for further collaboration in areas such as AI, digital media, and joint research initiatives.
Embracing the Intelligent Era and Joining Hands for Innovative Development
This collaboration marks an important step in BIGC's ongoing efforts to advance its internationalization strategy and deepen China–Europe educational cooperation. In recent years, BIGC has hosted three consecutive International Conferences on Publishing Education and initiated the establishment of the Association of International Publishing Education, contributing to the development of a global community for publishing education. Looking ahead, BIGC will further leverage its strong foundation in industry resources and its leading role in innovation to contribute to major national strategies, key industry initiatives, and significant academic topics—making new contributions to China–Europe cooperation in AI and talent development.
As the only high-level, specialized educational institution in China distinguished by its focus on publishing as an academic discipline and by its comprehensive talent cultivation across the entire publishing and media industry chain, BIGC has long been committed to serving the development of the nation's cultural soft power and the transformation of the media industry. This visit not only enhanced BIGC's influence on the international stage but also infused "BIGC wisdom" and the "Beijing approach" into deepened China–Europe cooperation in AI and talent development, demonstrating the confidence and responsibility of higher education with Chinese characteristics.
