To arouse students’ innovation spirit, and guide students to carry on the innovative study, on October 28, Zhejiang University-University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute (ZJUI) invited the Chairman of IBM Greater China Group, Mr. Chen Liming to give a seminar named "Build to last: the power of innovation and transformation" in the engineering orientation classroom. Nearly two hundred students received Mr. Chen’s experience and edification.
From his own experience and the history of IBM's establishment, innovation and transformation, Chairman Chen talked about the importance of innovation and change, introduced the relevant knowledge of artificial intelligence to the students.
Chen described his experience of academic and career. During his career, he changed his life direction several times, from being a food science expert to becoming a leader in the IT industry. Although the saying goes that "difference in profession makes one feel worlds apart", Chen warned the students that "different professions have similar principle". "Leadership is about lead the change," he says, stressing that the leadership that he stands for is the ability to lead change.
Chairman Chen introduced the basic situation of IBM, pointing out that from hard disk storage to personal computers, then, to more intelligent supercomputers and artificial intelligence. IBM always adhered to technological innovation since its founding more than 100 years ago. It is because of constant innovation and keeping pace with time that IBM has become a century-old and unfailing enterprise. IBM has topped the U.S. patent rankings for 26 consecutive years. 12 research institutes, 3,000 research scientists and 100,000 development engineers have created IBM's achievements. Chairman Chen stressed that the most important thing to make the foundation evergreen is transformation and reconstruction. Transformation and self-reinvention are also IBM's DNA. The transition is not an easy case. Since 2000, 42 percent of companies have been eliminated in the transition. Taking Nokia, Koda and Yahoo as examples, Chen explained that enterprises must innovate and change if they want to survive.
At present, artificial intelligence is one of the synonyms of frontier technology and one of the main research directions of IBM. Chairman Chen introduced the development prospect of artificial intelligence and the technical principles of artificial intelligence to ZJUI students. He pointed out that the intelligence of artificial intelligence is rapidly improving, and there has been intelligent robots with strong logic which can debate, and the development of artificial intelligence will even reconstruct the health, agriculture and some other industries. He also emphasized that the development of IBM artificial intelligence will always adhere to the technical principles of trust and transparency.
At the end of the seminar, the students put forward questions to chairman Chen from the aspects of future development direction, professional technology and their own understanding of IBM, and chairman Chen answered them one by one according to his own experience. The interactive atmosphere was active.
ZJUI engineering orientation course is a special course for freshmen. Senior scholars and industry elites from home and abroad give excellent lectures in the field of engineering to students, and lead students to practice design projects in interdisciplinary teams. Previously, ZJUI students have been given thought-provoking seminars by professor Luke p. Lee, vice President of the University of Singapore, and Dr. Tan Don, IEEE member and former chairman of IEEE power electronics branch. These seminars will broaden students' horizon, inspire students' thoughts, cultivate students' interdisciplinary thinking and ability, and enable students to understand and master the requirements of new engineering in the future.
