Discussing Quality Assurance in Sino-Finnish Joint Degrees at Guangzhou Symposium
On 28 November 2025, Professor Yuzhuo Cai, a Professor from the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, Co-Director of Global Research Institute for Finnish, European, and Global South Education (GRIFE) and Programme Leader of the Master of Arts in Comparative Education and Collaborative Innovation at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), presented a keynote address at the International Symposium on Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education in Guangzhou. The symposium focused on "Quality Assurance in the Era of Artificial Intelligence：Opportunities, Challenges and Innovations ," was jointly organized by the Cross-Border Education Quality Assurance Research Centre at South China Normal University and the Guangdong Research Centre for Sino-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools.
In his address, "Quality Assurance in Sino-Finnish Joint Degree Provision," Professor Cai systematically outlined the main types and common characteristics of internationally collaborative degrees, and provided an in-depth analysis of the advantages and challenges of "joint degree arrangements." He pointed out that while joint degrees can generate synergies, enhance student resources and services, and broaden international perspectives and innovation, they also face issues such as structural complexity, cultural conflicts, and quality assurance challenges.
The presentation further elaborated on different concepts of quality in higher education, including "exceptional," "perfection (or zero defects)," "fitness for purpose," and "value for money," and compared the differences in quality assurance systems between China and Finland: Finland emphasizes continuous improvement and institutional autonomy, whereas China focuses on government-led accountability. Professor Cai emphasized that respect, commitment, diversity, equity, and trust are the shared values for building a quality culture in Sino-Finnish joint degree programs, providing a solid foundation for cross-cultural cooperation.
He concluded by suggesting that future efforts should strengthen credit mutual recognition, promote effective articulation between the Finnish ECTS and the Chinese credit system, and deepen cross-cultural exchanges and cooperation to continuously enhance educational quality and international competitiveness.
The symposium provided an important platform for advancing quality assurance and the international influence of Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools.
