On May 12th, the “Future Ready: ZJUI Engineering Symposium” & Juanhu International Academician Lecture Hall were co-hosted by Zhejiang University-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institute and Haining Juanhu Lake International Science Park at International Campus, Zhejiang University , to further implement the strategic deployment of the CPC’s 19th National Congress on the coordinated promotion of education, science and technology, talents, and to build a typical model of international cooperative education to promote regional development, as well as to promote the integrated innovation and development of the global engineering field. With the theme of “Engineering Shaping the Future,” the symposium focuses on sustainable smart cities, and cutting-edge technologies in artificial intelligence.. Representatives from academia and industry in the global engineering and technology field attended and exchanged ideas around the theme. The symposium consists of three parts: the opening ceremony, plenary talks of academicians, and technical sessions.The goal was  to promote engineering technology cooperation and innovation to enhance industrial and social development, cultivate new driving forces for future technological development, and build a new ecosystem for the integrated and innovative development of the global engineering field.

Academicians Fu Zhihuan, Lu Chunfang and Chen Xiaohong of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Dr. Chen Gan, Deputy Chief Engineer of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Prof. He Lianzhen, Vice President of Zhejiang University and Secretary of the CPC of International Campus, ZJU, Cao Guoliang, Secretary of the Haining Municipal Party Committee, Qu LiJuan, Executive Deputy Secretary of the CPC of International Campus, ZJU, Vice Dean leaders of relevant departments of Zhejiang Province, Jiaxing City, Haining City, leaders of relevant departments of Zhejiang University, leaders of the International Campus, and academic and industry representatives from the engineering and technology fields attended the symposium. Prof. Lee Der-Horng, Academician of the Singapore Academy of Engineering, and Dean of ZJUI, presided over the symposium.

Prof. He Lianzhen pointed out that Zhejiang University has always upheld the spirit of “seeking truth” and “pursuing innovation” and actively reforming the research paradigm, promoting the mutual penetration and integration of science and technology with economic and social development, and is committed to cultivating new dynamism for economic and social development through engineering technology innovation. The international campus creates an international cooperative education ecology that focuses on self-initiation and integration of China and the West. With the construction of International Collaborative Education Model as the driving force, it is building a high-level science and technology innovation hub and a local international education model. The symposium will also explore new models of in-depth integration of Industry-University-Research, to accelerate scientific development, shape the future of mankind, and benefit human life.

Academician Fu Zhihuan gave a keynote speech entitled “Research on the Development Scale and Structure of Megalopolis in China” analyzing the scale and structure of urban development from perspectives such as resource environment, transportation, urban governance, digital governance, and international experience. He pointed out seven key factors: 1) “urban disease” is an unavoidable imbalance in the development of a megalopolis; 2) the main contradiction in China’s megalopolises are that they are concentrated in central urban areas; 3) Constructing a modern city cluster is the main direction to solve the development contradictions of megalopolises; 4) Commuting time is an important benchmark for measuring the reasonable size of central urban areas and metropolitan areas; 5) Resource and environmental factors are the basic conditions for supporting the development and construction of a megalopolis; 6) Improving governance capacity is the inevitable way for the high-quality development of megalopolis; 7) Promoting transit-oriented development (TOD) is an important measure to optimize the urban spatial structure.

Academician Chen Xiaohong delivered a keynote speech on “Digi-smart Governance Technology and Innovative Applications for Intelligent Societies” introducing the background and governance strategy of building a smart society, the platform innovation and practical exploration of digital governance in smart societies. She analyzed a series of “bottleneck” problems that urgently needed to be addressed in the field of smart societies and shared key technological innovations in big data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, digital twins, and other areas that her team has carried out around major theoretical and practical issues in the construction and governance of smart societies in the era of the digital economy. She stated that achieving the goal of digital and intelligent governance in a smart society is a long and arduous task. It is necessary to seize the opportunities of the new generation of information technology, build a modern system of smart society governance, continuously improve the modernization level of construction and governance capabilities, ensure the long-term stability and sustainable development of the country and society, and ultimately achieve the grand vision of a smart society.

At the symposium, the Juanhu International Academician Lecture Hall officially launched, which will serve as an important carrier for promoting theories, a host for academic seminars, talent cultivation, scientific research, and a bright business card for the construction of International Collaborative Education Model. Led by Academician Lee Der-Horng, the Smart Urban Future Laboratory officially launched. To meet the major needs of the country and Zhejiang Province, the Smart Urban Future Laboratory for Smart Integrated Multi-Modal Mobility introduces international, advanced concepts and practices, carries out systematic and cutting-edge research on fundamental theories, key technologies, and demonstrative applications around the “integrated multi-modal transportation theory and key technologies”.  The Smart Urban Future Laboratory  will construct an international team and platform, leading integrated transportation and intelligent logistics research. The symposium also held the unveiling ceremonies of the Sustainable Smart Livable Cities Alliance and Zhejiang International Science and Technology Collaboration Centre for Sustainable Smart Livable Cities, the appointment ceremony of the Talent Cultivation Steering Committee Members of the Zhejiang University-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institute, Academic Affairs Committee Members of the Smart Urban Future Laboratory, and Haining Juanhu Lake Science and Technology Innovation Area consultants, the launch ceremony of Haining Talents Month, and the signing ceremony of Haining Juanhu Lake International Science Park -ZJUI-Dongfeng Motor Research Institute and ZJUI-Dongfeng Motor Research Center.

The symposium also held two technical sessions: “Smart Future - Technologies in Artificial Intelligence” and “Green Future- Sustainable Smart Cities,” which were respectively presided over by Prof. Wang Hongwei, Vice Dean of ZJUI, and Assist Prof. Simon Hu, Assistant Dean of ZJUI.

In the “Smart Future - Technologies in Artificial Intelligence” session, guests such as Dr. Zhang Lei, Vice President of Alibaba Cloud and Chief Scientist of City Brain, Prof. Ju Zhaojie, a machine learning and robot expert at the University of Portsmouth in the UK and Principle Investigator of the EU Interreg Project, Steve Wang, the co-founder and CTO of Tezign, a Contech unicorn, and Dr. Cao Peng, Founder and Chairman of PILOTD Automotive, and Dr. Yang Liangjing, Assistant Professor at ZJUI, gave wonderful speeches on industrial AI key technology, gaze tracking, generative content, autonomous driving simulation, and robotics technology.

In the session of “Green Future - Sustainable Smart Cities”, several guests including Dr. Chen Gan, Chief Engineer of Dongfeng Motor Corporation Technology Center, Chief Scientist of Dongfeng Yuexiang Technology Co., Ltd., Prof Huang Helai, a senior professor of transportation engineering in Central South University (CSU) and the founding director of Smart Transport Laboratory of Hunan Province, Mr. Zhang Wei, Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer of SUPCON, Prof. Jin Jiangang, Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Prof. Xiqun (Michael) Chen, Director of the Institute of Intelligent Transportation Systems of Zhejiang University and Vice Dean of ZJUI, gave brilliant reports on ground vehicle traffic solutions for future cities, intelligent connected vehicle safety, digital road technology and application, optimized ridesharing scheduling for public transport junctions, and management of internet-based shared mobility, etc. Through in-depth exchanges, the participating guests and scholars discussed research progress and development trends, working together to forge a bright future.

After the main forum, academicians and guests jointly experienced a self-driving minibus with an On-demand Mobility System and visited the Smart Urban Future Laboratory.

Representatives from various institutes and relevant departments of the International Campus, ZJU, leaders, faculty members, and student representatives of ZJUI attended the symposium.