On the afternoon of June 18, the “China New Development Awards 2025 Ceremony and Forum”, hosted by Springer Nature, was held at the National Convention Center (CNCC) in Beijing. Dr. Zhao Yuchi, Executive Director of UNESCO International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education (INRULED), was invited to attend the awards ceremony and participate in the “Education for the Future” panel discussion. He shared insights on the opportunities and challenges brought by artificial intelligence to rural education, as well as China’s actions related to SDG 4 (Quality Education).

The “China New Development Awards”, initiated by Springer Nature in 2019, aim to showcase the significant contributions made by scholars from Chinese research institutions towards advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The primary selection criteria are the scientific value and societal impact of the research. This year’s awards recognized ten winning books, selected from nearly a thousand of the latest English-language academic books published by Chinese institutional authors over the past year. The winning titles spanned various categories including monographs, handbooks, and professional books.