From August 19 to 23, the Second International Conference on Innovation and Development 2026 (ICID 2026), co-hosted by Liaoning University (LNU) and Victoria University, was successfully held at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. The conference brought together over 100 experts, scholars, and young students from around the world for in-depth exchanges on frontier topics, such as digital innovation and AI; sustainable development and ESG; transnational education; teaching innovation; and economic development and public policy, providing a platform for sharing academic achievements and exploring cooperation and development. It featured various sessions, including keynote addresses, global student forums, parallel sub-forums, roundtables on transnational education, and thematic seminars.
Professor Huo Chunhui, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Committee and Vice President of LNU, attended the conference and delivered a keynote address. Also in attendance and delivering presentations were Professor Xie Mingyi, Director of the Office of International Affairs, LNU; Professor Ma Shuang, Party Secretary of the Asia-Australia Business College; Professor Zhao Deqi, Dean of the College; Professor Wang Xiaohui, Dean of the Sunwah International Business School; Professor Ma Yali, Associate Dean of the College; Associate Professor Zhao Xuanwei, Director of the college’s faculty department; and representatives of faculty and students from the College. Jointly established by the two universities, this conference marked another important platform for international academic exchanges, following the successful holding of the First ICID at LNU in 2025.
At the opening ceremony, Professor Andy Hill, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University, made remarks. Associate Professor Ranjith Ihalanayake, Dean of the Victoria University Business School and Chair of the conference, gave the opening address. In the keynote address session, Professor Andy Hill, Professor Huo Chunhui, and Professor Colin Higgins, Dean of the La Trobe University Business School, delivered keynote addresses, sharing their academic insights on research leadership and knowledge transfer, China-Australia higher education cooperation, and business schools and social development.
Professor Huo Chunhui delivered a keynote address entitled “Advancing Excellence Through China–Australia Higher Education Partnership”. Based on systematic data analysis and performance assessment, his address identified opportunities for deeper collaboration in transnational education, sustainable development, and translational research. It proposed a “4C” cooperation model — Connect, Collaborate, Co-create, and Contribute — emphasizing a shift from resource connectivity to collaborative innovation and, ultimately, shared contribution.
The forum featured 13 parallel sub-forums, which held in-depth discussions on digital innovation, AI and business transformation; sustainable development, ESG and resilient development; educational innovation and the global learning ecosystem; and globalization, economic development and consumer markets. These forums created a platform for experts and scholars across disciplines to exchange ideas, stimulate intellectual dialogue, and strengthen cooperation.
Six students from the Asia-Australia Business College participated in the Global Student Forum and delivered presentations, one of whom won the Best Paper Award.
Professor Zhao Deqi noted that digital technologies, such as big data, AI, and blockchain, are reshaping research paradigms and methodological foundations across disciplines and pushing economics research from model-driven to data-driven approaches and management practice from experience-based to intelligent decision-making. As founding partner universities of the forum, LNU and Victoria University will continue to work together to strengthen the forum and enhance the international influence and academic value of the ICID.
The forum held an award ceremony for the Best Paper Awards. Four faculty members — Xie Mingyi, Ma Shuang, Wang Ruixue, and Xu Xiaoxia — won the Best Paper Awards for their high-quality research outcomes, demonstrating the faculty’s strong capacity for research and innovation as well as their competence in international academic exchange.
From the inaugural forum held at LNU in 2025 to the second edition hosted by Victoria University in 2026, the ICID has gradually become an important platform for the two universities to enhance education and teaching, research and innovation, talent cultivation, and international exchange. The successful conclusion of the second forum also marks the beginning of a new round of academic exchange and international cooperation. The participants look forward to gathering again in Malaysia in 2027 to continue to pool global wisdom, deepen academic exchange, and expand international cooperation, thereby jointly writing a new chapter of innovation and development.
Translated by: Zeng Xi
Edited by: Gao Mengdi, Liu Hanlin
Proofread by: Li Zhibin
Reviewed by: Jin Jinghua
