The Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development was initiated and announced by Chinese President XI Jinping at United Nations Headquarters on September 26, 2015.
Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development (ISSCAD) was officially established at the National School of Development of Peking University (NSD) on April 29, 2016. The institute opened in September of the same year, focusing on the training of Masters in Public Administration and PhDs in Theoretical Economics (National Development), with a one-year training period for the Masters and three to four years for the PhDs.
The new Institute is committed to excellence in national development research, talent training for developing countries, and dynamic exchange platform for global cooperation, and devoted to promoting equitable, inclusive and sustainable growth by sharing knowledge and experience on matters of public leadership and national development, with developing and especially the least developed countries.
In September 2023, the cross-disciplinary PhD degree in National Development was approved, and in 2024, the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development officially started to recruit and train students for the Doctoral Program in National Development.
The institute has so far (May 2024) trained 422 students from 73 countries, including 235 PhDs and 187 Masters, with graduates from developing countries, many of whom have gone on to hold important positions in their countries.
Leadership Care
Since the establishment of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, President Xi Jinping has repeatedly cared for the development of the College and the growth of its faculty and students, and has placed high hopes on them.
President XI Jinping has announced that China will enhance development experience-sharing and capacity-building cooperation with other countries through the platform of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development during his host of the Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries on September 5, 2017.
On October 11, 2017, President XI Jinping encouraged graduates of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development at Peking University to be leaders of reform and development in their own countries by replying them the letter.
At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on September 3, 2018, President Xi Jinping made special mention of the letters he exchanged with South-South students and his message of friendly cooperation and development between China and Africa.
On July 8, 2021, on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the founding of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund and the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter, hoping that the academy would be a good base for cultivating high-end talents from developing countries as well as a platform for research and exchanges, so as to make greater contribution to the promotion of building a common destiny for humanity.
Teaching and Research
The curriculum of the institute is based on national development, covering four modules, including economics, political science, Chinese development theory and practice, and leadership and analysis, forming a rigorous and scientific teaching system. At the same time, based on the successful development experiences of China and other developing countries, the school has created a unique curriculum that is highly suited to the actual situation of South-South countries. In addition to theoretical teaching, the program also offers a wide variety of practical courses such as the "Core Course on China's National Condition" and the "Social Survey Course".
At the same time as teaching, the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, in cooperation with the National Agency for International Development Cooperation and the Ministry of Commerce, has been actively engaged in foreign aid training, and has now trained hundreds of government officials from developing countries. At the same time, the institute has organized teams of experts and professors to visit 22 developing countries to conduct training, forums and visits on national development topics.
The faculty team of the institute attaches great importance to scientific research, not only publishing articles in first-class journals, but also carrying out academic research in the light of the practical problems of developing countries, and becoming a representative research force in South-South cooperation, global development, the "One Belt, One Road" and many other fields.
International Exchange
The institute focuses on extensive cooperation and exchanges with other countries to promote the building of a community of human destiny. Every year, government dignitaries, diplomatic envoys, government delegations, international organizations and academic and research institutions from developing and developed countries visit the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development or co-organize lectures and forums, and the institute also organizes research trips for teachers and students to different countries to conduct research and share national development practices and theories.
The institute has been active in organizing global development workshops, initiating and hosting the South-South Cooperation and Global Development Forum, and actively participating in the Belt and Road Forum, the China-Africa Forum and the Beijing Forum.
Alumni
From 2016 to 2023, the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development has graduated a cumulative total of 245 students, including 94 PhDs and 151 Masters, with graduates in more than 60 countries.
Every year, the institute invites some alumni to return to the college to study, participate in college activities and have talks and exchanges through the "Seminar on China’s Development Model", and organize delegations of experts to carry out academic exchanges, research and study tours overseas, and return visits to graduating alumni in their host countries, so as to strengthen communication and connection with alumni through the "Overseas Seminar on China’s Development Model".
Since its establishment, the institute has gained increasing influence at home and abroad, especially among developing countries. mainstream media such as CCTV, Xinhua News Agency and People's Daily continue to report on the College and its alumni.
