2025-02-19
On 4 March 2025, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) jointly held the sixth World Engineering Day (WED) celebration at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Under the theme “Shaping a Sustainable Future through Engineering,” the event focused on the core agenda of “Unleashing the Power of Engineers to Advance the Sustainable Development Goals,” and brought together government officials, scientists, engineers and industry representatives from around the world to discuss engineering innovation and global development.
As a Category 2 Centrer under the auspices of UNESCO and an important partner of UNESCO and WFEO, the International Centre for Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO (ICEE) took an active part in the series of activities. Through academic research, talent development and innovative practice, ICEE contributed fresh momentum to global engineering education and sustainable development.
ICEE has long been committed to advancing global sustainable development through engineering education. As part of the World Engineering Day 2025 celebrations, ICEE joined the programme through online participation in plenary events, focused learning sessions and case-based seminars.
Professor Gong Ke, member of the ICEE Advisory Committee and former President of WFEO, was invited to speak at the World Engineering Day 2025 thematic forum “Empowering Africa – Digital Transformation and Capacity Building”. He shared views on the development of digital technologies in Africa and their implications for sustainable development.
A major component of the World Engineering Day programme is the World Engineering Day Hackathon (WED Hackathon). This year’s challenge focused on Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1) “No Poverty”, inviting participating teams to design innovative solutions to address poverty. More than 3,000 participants from over 90 countries took part, presenting solutions ranging from climate-smart innovations to digitally enabled approaches.
Dr Xu Lihui, Assistant Secretary-General of ICEE, was invited to serve on the judging panel. Together with engineers and students from around the world, he explored how technology can help reduce poverty. Dr Xu observed that engineering education must cultivate well-rounded talents who combine social insight with practical technical skills, and that the hackathon is an excellent platform for putting this concept into practice.
Dr Xu Lihui serving as a judge for the World Engineering Day 2025 Hackathon
Looking ahead, ICEE will continue to deepen its collaboration with UNESCO, WFEO and other global engineering organizations, support capacity building for engineers in developing countries, with particular emphasis on the professional development of women engineers, and make active contributions to advancing sustainable development worldwide. (Source: International Forum on Engineering Education)
