The opening ceremony of the 2023 International Conference on the Cooperation and Integration of Industry, Education, Research, and Application (Hubei) was held at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) on November 4, 2023. Present at the ceremony were Shao Xinyu, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee, Executive Vice Governor of Hubei Provincial People’s Government, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Li Yuanyuan, Chair of the University Committee of HUST and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Xi Ru, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, Ministry of Education (MOE), along with Jürgen Kurths, the International Dean of the School of Future Technology and the School of Engineering Sciences at HUST, and Member of the Academia Europaea. The opening ceremony was presided over by Zhou Jing, Director of the Department of Education of Hubei Province.

Li Yuanyuan extended a warm welcome to all attendees. He highlighted that HUST pioneered the approach of “integration of industry, education and research” in China and that the university has strengthened its ties with local governments and large enterprises to boost regional economy, and established collaborations with global universities and institutions to facilitate cutting-edge technological advancements.

Shao Xinyu stressed that Hubei is establishing itself as a vital strategic pivot for the rise of Central China. The province is dedicated to driving profound collaboration between industry, education, research, and application, so as to create fresh momentum for its high-quality development.

Xi Ru highlighted that strengthening the synergy between industry, education, research, and application is a global consensus. She called upon universities, research institutions, and enterprises from both China and abroad to join hands and proactively integrate into the global technological innovation network and establish an innovation consortium through the integration of industry, education, research, and application.

Jürgen Kurths introduced the new engineering talent training mechanism of integration between industry and education that HUST's School of Future Technology has undertaken to cultivate talents who can steer scientific research and pioneer future technological advancements and industrial transformations. 

Kicked off shortly after was the unveiling and signing ceremonies, where Chen Jianguo and Xie Xiaolin, Vice Presidents of HUST and members of the University Committee, Shen Zhuanghai, Executive Vice Chair of the University Committee of Wuhan University, along with major officials from 23 higher education institutions and organizations in Hubei Province gathered to launch two international collaborative research platforms, and signed 18 cooperation agreements. Yi Huiming, Division Director of the National Center for Schooling Development Programme, MOE, presided over the ceremonies.

In a later session, Sir David Payne, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Professor at the University of Southampton, Lin Lei, Dean of Applied Research Office and Vice Dean of Research Development Office at HUST, Elizabeth Rogan, Optica Chief Executive Officer, and Foreign Fellow of the Chinese Optical Society, and Li Lin, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Director of the Research Centre for Laser Extreme Manufacturing of the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered keynote speeches respectively. Tang Ming, Executive Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences and the School of Future Technology of HUST, and Vice Dean of the School of Optical and Electronic Information, presided over the session.

Themed "Open Innovation, Integrated Development", the opening ceremony was co-hosted by the Department of Education of Hubei Province and HUST. More than 200 university presidents, business leaders, research scholars, and academicians from 24 countries and regions, along with officials from the Hubei Provincial People’s Government, gathered at the event.

Written by: Zhou Enlin

Edited by: Zhang Shiyu, Chang Wen, Peng Yumeng