On October 10, the 16th Meeting of the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG-16) officially opened in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Hosted by United Arab Emirates Space Agency, the meeting was attended by representatives from global and regional satellite navigation system providers, ICG member countries, ICG associate members, as well as other relevant organizations.
Dr. Yang Dongkai, Dr. Jin Tian and Dr. Xiu Chundi, experts in the direction of Global Navigation Satellite System, attended the Working Group C Session on “Information Dissemination and Capacity Building”.
At the meeting, Mr. Jin Tian made a presentation entitled “Construction of BDS/GNSS Teaching & Practice Courses”, introducing China’s contribution to education, training and capacity building in the field of BeiDou System (BDS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). It is mentioned in the report that BeiDou International Exchange and Training Center (BD-IETC) established by China Satellite Navigation Office (CSNO) relying on Beihang University, as well as Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (China) (Affiliated to the United Nations) (RCSSTEAP for short), have set up a complete teaching and practice platform together with internship base, published relevant instructional materials, formed a set of characteristic teaching models, trained satellite navigation talents from all over the world, received support and appreciation from many countries and regions, and steadily enhanced China’s capability and visibility in GNSS education, training and capacity building.
During the meeting, representatives of the Centre had in-depth exchanges and extensive discussions with other participants on the work related to education and training topics, and suggested to continue to strengthen the cooperation of Regional Centres under the ICG framework and seek more development opportunities. In addition, Mr. Yang Dongkai, Representative of the Centre, proposed that the cooperative institutions of the Centre under the ICG framework could join the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform.
ICG-16 is the first time for the Chinese delegation to participate in the World Satellite Navigation Conference via both online and offline after the completion of the BDS-3, and to propose Chinese solutions to many important issues, creating a new pattern of international development of BDS in the new phase. The representatives of the Centre have actively voiced their opinions on international education and capacity building of satellite navigation at the meeting, which helped to enhance the international influence of BDS on the one hand, and built a new platform for the international development of the Centre on the other hand, making positive contributions to the sustainable development of the Centre.
