An international forum for the heads of philosophy departments kicked off at Renmin University of China in Beijing on Thursday.

Participants from more than 20 universities in China and abroad took part in the forum to share their views on philosophy in the contemporary world, as well as the teaching of philosophy in China and other countries.

The universities involved include Princeton University in the United States, University of Toronto in Canada, University of Oxford in Britain and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

The forum is a three-day event, part of the university’s 60th anniversary celebrations for its philosophy department, which was established together with two other philosophy schools at Shanghai’s Fudan University and Hubei province’s Wuhan University in 1956.

Liu Wei, president of Renmin University of China, said the forum was not only a celebration, but also a meaningful event for the university. He said he hoped that the philosophers from China and abroad could work together through discussions and exchanges to draw up a blueprint for the teaching of philosophy in the future.

As one of the leading philosophy research centers in China, the school of philosophy at Renmin University of China now has 80 teachers and professors, offering courses including Marxist philosophy, religious studies, ethics, aesthetics and logistics to about 800 students.

Yao Xinzhong, dean of the school, said he was grateful that so many department heads had come from far and wide.

He said he hoped they would look for answers to a series of philosophical questions, such as what affects modernization and globalization will have on philosophy and how to achieve a balance between tradition and innovation in the teaching of philosophy today.