The third Council Meeting of the University Network for Research Collaboration: A Belt and Road Science and Technology Initiative (iUNRC) and the Presidents Roundtable Forum of the iUNRC convened in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, on June 12, as part of the second Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange held from June 10 to 12, 2025.

Representatives from nearly 20 universities from Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries gathered for the event, where they discussed strategies to deepen collaboration and achieved a number of positive outcomes.

At the third Council Meeting of the iUNRC, representatives engaged in in-depth discussions on new cooperation strategies, pathways, and models to advance the implementation of the iUNRC's vision and plans.

Photo shows the third Council Meeting of the University Network for Research Collaboration: A Belt and Road Science and Technology Initiative (iUNRC), held in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, June 12, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the hosts of the event)

During the meeting, a new co-chair university was elected, with the University of Debrecen in Hungary assuming the role for the next term.

The iUNRC was established at the initiative of Chongqing University during the inaugural Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange in 2023.

Since its establishment, the iUNRC has grown to include 19 member universities from more than 10 countries, with four new institutions, namely China's Sichuan University and Hunan University, as well as Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia, and Tashkent Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering in Uzbekistan, joining during this year's event.