From 1st to 2nd December 2024, the 7th Greater Bay Area Development and Educational Innovation Academic Conference was successfully held in Guangzhou. The conference was organized by the Guangdong Society of Education Greater Bay Area Education Collaborative Development Professional Committee, Institute for Advanced Study of Education Development in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, SCNU, the School of Educational at South China Normal University, and the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University (Vocational Education Research Institute), with co-organization by Institute for Advanced Study of Education Development in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, SCNU and the Guangdong Higher Education Society's Vocational Education Research Branch. The conference theme was "Deepening Comprehensive Educational Reform and Enhancing the Competitiveness of Talents in the Greater Bay Area," adopting the format of "main forum + principal roundtable + parallel sub-forums." The aim was to implement the spirit of the National Education Conference, build a dialogue platform for educational researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, and provide intellectual support for the high-quality development of Chinese modernization and education in the Greater Bay Area. The conference featured 34 thematic reports, with over 200 guests, experts, scholars, and graduate students from across the country in attendance.

The conference officially started in the morning of 1 December. The opening ceremony was hosted by Mr. Lu Xiaozhong, Chairman of the Professional Committee on Collaborative Development of Education in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, Director of the Higher Institute for Educational Development in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, South China Normal University, and Distinguished Professor of the School of Education of the City University of Macao. He emphasized the importance of regional development and technological innovation as key themes in the collaborative development of education in the Greater Bay Area, extending a warm welcome and sincere thanks to all colleagues who care about and support the education cause in the Greater Bay Area.

Professor Cheng Liying, Dean of the School of Education at City University of Macau, shared her insights on "What kind of educational talents to cultivate," "What kind of learning talents to nurture," and "How to cultivate talents who love learning." She introduced the faculty structure of the School of Education at City University of Macau. She explained the role of the Macao Global Education Research and Innovation Center as a cradle for teaching and educating. Dean Cheng emphasized the importance of using teaching to promote research, research to promote teaching, and research as guidance. Through self-regulated learning and assessments that promote education, she highlighted the need to help students establish autonomy, responsibility, and pride in learning.

Distinguished Professor Li Shuying from Faculty of Education of Shenzhen University and a Distinguished Professor at the School of Education, City University of Macau, focused on "university colleges of education" as the research subject. Addressing the key questions of "Where exactly is the 'new' in new-type colleges of education" and "How to build new-type colleges of education in universities," he pointed out that the construction of new-type colleges of education should allow for diversified and characteristic development, should possess a " Great Pedagogy " concept, and should cultivate a high-quality faculty to support local educational construction and economic development actively.

The academic conference was also attended by PhD students from the City University of Macau. The Greater Bay Area Development and Educational Innovation Academic Conference has been held for seven consecutive years, with continuous innovation in conference format and organizational mechanisms. This year, for the first time, it integrated higher education, vocational education, basic education, and continuing education, injecting new vitality and wisdom into the high-quality development of education in the Greater Bay Area. We look forward to continuing to work together to draw a new blueprint for educational reform and development in the Greater Bay Area.