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 Professor Xiaozhong Lu, 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 Macau. 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 Liying Cheng, 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 structure of the School of Education at City University of Macau. She explained the role of the Macau Global Education Research and Innovation Center as a cradle for teaching and educating. Dean Cheng emphasized the importance of promoting research through teaching and teaching through research, using research as a guide, and helping students develop autonomy, responsibility, and pride in learning through self-regulated learning and assessment that promotes learning.

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

Doctoral students from our School of Education also participated in this academic conference. 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, the conference 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 the reform and development of education in the Greater Bay Area.