Recently, Zhejiang University-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institute (ZJUI) hosted an Exchange Forum on "Five-A" Supervisory Ecosystem Development. ZJUI Prof. Wang Hongwei, Vice Dean of the International Campus, Zhejiang University, attended and chaired the event. Prof. Chen Wei, a member of Zhejiang University's "Five-A" Graduate Supervisory Outreach Group, National High-Caliber Talent, and Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Computer-Aided Design and Computer Graphics, delivered a keynote presentation centered on the "Five-A" supervisory culture, which emphasizes mutual respect between supervisors and students, reciprocal growth through teaching and learning, peer support, cultural inheritance & innovation, and sustainable team development. He systematically shared practical experience in building a harmonious and effective supervisory relationship. Faculty representatives from ZJUI participated in the event.
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In his talk titled "Building and Practicing an Integrated Education-Research-Elite Ecosystem Anchored in a State Key Laboratory," Prof. Chen Wei elaborated on how high-caliber research platforms can facilitate interdisciplinary integration across engineering, science, and agriculture, while advancing innovation-driven elite cultivation. Drawing on the laboratory's development journey from scratch to leadership, he demonstrated how the integration of education and research, coupled with industry-university-research synergy, has propelled disciplinary leapfrog development and large-scale cultivation of innovative elites. He further shared practical insights from his team's "Five A" supervisory practices, such as adopting a coaching-style mentorship philosophy, maintaining long-term focus on core research directions, and forging close links with industry frontiers. His sharing provided participating faculty with highly valuable practical references for optimizing supervisory relationships and enhancing student cultivation quality.
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During the discussion session, participating faculty members actively exchanged views on key topics including career development pathways, team cohesion building, and challenges confronting emerging disciplines. Drawing on his extensive experience in research and education, Prof. Chen Wei offered five targeted recommendations. First, to strategically manage time and energy to sustain research focus; second, to proactively engage with top-tier scholars at home and abroad to build high-quality collaborative networks; third, to accurately identify and seize key development opportunities while actively securing institutional and external resources; fourth, to develop a distinctive academic identity by sustaining efforts in frontier research areas; and fifth, to strengthen research teams through major projects, nurturing cohesive and complementary research groups.
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Prof. Chen Wei emphasized that early-career scholars should fully leverage institutional resources, highlight their unique strengths, and achieve synergistic personal and team development while aligning with national strategic priorities and industry development needs. At the conclusion of the forum, Prof. Wang Hongwei presented Prof. Chen Wei with a certificate of appreciation in recognition of his insightful lecture and invaluable practical experience.
The forum offered valuable insights for further optimizing the Institute's academic ecosystem and enhancing its supervisory atmosphere. Looking ahead, the Institute will continue to build high-level academic exchange platforms, encourage faculty to practice the "Five A" supervisory philosophy, laying a solid foundation for nurturing internationally competitive, interdisciplinary engineering leaders.
