The 2nd Global Grand Challenges Summit

Post Meeting
Status
September
14
2015
to
September
16
2015
January 25, 2019 AT 02:37 PM
Beijing Conference Center
No. 88 Laiguangying West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, China
Main Contact
Brandon Green
  • Communications/Media Associate
    National Academy of Engineering
    bgreen@nae.edu
    Office 202.334.2226
Speakers

2015 Global Grand Challenges Summit Video Watch Here

Beijing, China
September, 2015

The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) held the 2015 Global Grand Challenges Summit (GGCS) in Beijing, China, on September 15-16, 2015. 

The aim of the event was to prompt international cooperation to creatively address some of the most pressing issues of the time: the Grand Challenges for Engineering—including carbon sequestration, cybersecurity, health care, innovations in infrastructure, and education of the engineers who will take on such challenges.

This GGCS was the second in a series inspired by the NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering, 14 ambitious goals identified by some of this generation’s leading technological thinkers and doers that are believed to be both achievable and necessary to help people and the planet survive. The inaugural summit, held in London in 2013, started the conversation about ways to meet these challenges. Engineering leaders, policy makers, students, and other stakeholders—including, we hope, you—continued brainstorming paths forward in Beijing.

The 2015 GGCS focused on the themes of the NAE Grand Challenges report – Sustainability, Health, Security/Resilience, and Joy of Living – along with Education, Energy, and Infrastructure. Through visionary presentations, top experts outlined ideas within and at the intersection of these areas and discussed them both with each other and with the audience. In addition, there was ample time for networking.

Some of the speakers included Alibaba Group founder and executive chairman Jack Ma, Queens University Belfast cybersecurity expert Maire O’Neill, and Princeton University sustainability expert and original Grand Challenges report committee member Robert Socolow.

The day before the summit was Student Day during which undergraduate teams from the three host countries competed in pitching entrepreneurial ideas for addressing one or more of the NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering. These and many more students also participated in the Summit itself.

A detailed meeting program is posted here.

Summit Photos
  • Opening Ceremony
  • Engineering Academies' Leaders
  • Pleanary Address - Jack Ma
  • Will.i.am on Joy of Living
  • FU Chengyu on Energy
  • Conference Atmosphere
  • Audience
  • Questions from the Audience
  • Group Photo