On 11 January 2021, the 2020 Annual Meeting of the IAHR/Hohai technical co-committee on Higher Education and e-Learning was held online in Hohai University and the 2020 annual report of the committee was released. The committee chair, vice-president of Hohai University, Prof. Weiya Xu, the vice-chair of the committee, Delft University of Technology Prof. Marcel Stive, the committee secretary-general, Hohai University Prof. Yongping Chen, and core members of the committee from University of Connecticut, University of Waterloo, Accra Technical University and Hohai University attended the meeting.

The committee Chair Prof. Weiya XU delivered a welcome speech. Prof. Yongping Chen made the 2020 annual report of the committee, which reviews the major activities in 2019 to 2020. Prof. Marcel Stive made addresses on the topic of the challenges of online learning in higher hydro-environmental engineering education in face of the pandemic and Prof. Ke Zhang focused on the International Leadership Training Program for Young Professionals in Water Resources Management in Laos in 2019.

In the last session of the meeting, the 2021 work plan was discussed with many details, the attendees agreed to focus the 2021 work following three routes: continuing to implement the IAHR-Hohai Scholarship, promoting more online programs for the IAHR-Hohai international students and developing online leadership training program for young professionals in the area of water resources management.

Founded in 2019, the IAHR-Hohai Collaborative Committee on Higher Education and e-Learning aims to promote resource sharing in the fields of hydro and environment engineering, enhance cooperation among IAHR members on education, accelerate the establishment of e-learning courses and programs, and make talent cultivation strategies and development plans for hydro and environment engineering higher-education programs. Under the large impact from the Covid-19 pandemic, global cooperation in higher education has met tremendous challenges. It is an inevitable trend to establish efficient distance and online education systems for hydro and environment engineering higher-education programs. The founding of this committee provides channels for Hohai University to contribute to the development of global hydro and environment engineering higher education, share its ideas in the fields of global hydro science, hydro-science-related education and culture, and thus help improve its international recognition.