The China-Singapore Innovation Forum: AI Empowering a Smarter and Sustainable Future, hosted by Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), was held in Singapore on April 16. Liu Bo, Chair of the University Committee of HUST; Cao Zhongming, Chinese Ambassador to Singapore; and Lan Weiguang, President of the Singapore-China Association for Advancement of Science and Technology, attended and spoke at the opening ceremony of the forum.

Liu highlighted the strong foundation and fruitful results in collaboration between China and Singapore in talent cultivation and technological innovation. She noted that the ongoing technological revolution and industrial transformation, epitomized by AI, are reshaping the global innovation landscape. Pursuing smart and sustainable development through technological innovation is a shared aspiration of both China and Singapore.

HUST prioritizes serving society and pursues development through meaningful contributions, strengthening collaboration with local governments and major enterprises domestically to support regional economic growth. HUST also promotes partnerships with leading global universities and research institutions to generate cutting-edge scientific and technological achievements and continually enhance its global influence and contributions. HUST is committed to working with various sectors in Singapore, focusing on frontier technological fields such as AI. By aligning scientific innovation with industrial needs and advancing talent cultivation through technological progress, the university seeks to translate innovation from the laboratory into practical applications.

Cao emphasized that international collaboration in technological innovation is the fundamental way to address global challenges. He noted that China's vast market scale and comprehensive industrial system, combined with Singapore's position as a leading innovation hub and its open business environment, create a complementary foundation for win-win cooperation. HUST has taken full advantage of its leadership in technological breakthroughs, the commercialization of scientific achievements, and industry-education integration. Through this forum, it has established a high-level cooperation platform for universities and enterprises from both nations. Cao expressed his hope that the participating experts and scholars would explore development pathways and deepen China-Singapore collaboration in technological innovation.

Lan said that the essence of an efficient model for technology commercialization lies in rethinking how innovation works and improving innovation pathways. By utilizing market demand as a driving force, it is essential to establish a system to address technological challenges. With innovation-driven integrated development, both China and Singapore are better positioned to propel the industrialization and scaling of research outcomes, accelerate the transformation of technological achievements into new quality productive forces, and inject robust momentum into high-quality economic and social growth.

The forum featured three sub-forums: embodied intelligence, computing systems in the AI era, and intelligent construction. In the embodied intelligence forum, Professor Chen Xuedong, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered a speech titled Technology and Challenges of Humanoid Robots. Professor Chen I-Ming, Academician of the Singapore Academy of Engineering, presented on Robotics, Physical & Industrial AI.

In the computing systems forum, Professor Jin Hai from the School of Computer Science and Technology at HUST, together with Professor He Bingsheng, Vice Dean of the School of Computing at NUS, shared their research findings on building agentic AI systems and AI-driven computility networks.

In the intelligent construction forum, Professor Liu Huabei, Professor and Dean of the School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering at HUST, discussed the digitization of civil engineering. Vimalatulasi Vetrivel, Principal Project Manager at the Land Transport Authority Singapore, shared her insights on the large-scale application of intelligent construction.

Professor Yang Zhi from HUST chaired the Roundtable Discussion on University-Industry Collaboration, with George Loh, Associate Vice President (Strategic Partnership) at the National University of Singapore, Lan Weiguang, President of the Singapore-China Association for Advancement of Science & Technology, and Lu Jinping, Chairman of Asia Laboratories. The discussion centered on “Challenges, Mechanisms, and Pathways for China-Singapore Roundtable Discussion on University-Industry Collaboration in the AI Era”. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions and reached a consensus on addressing collaboration barriers, improving coordination mechanisms, and expanding pathways for cooperation.

A series of collaboration agreements was signed during the forum, including the Research Collaboration Agreement between Nanyang Technological University and Wuhan Huaweike Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd, and the Frame Cooperation Agreement between HUST and DR Laser Singapore Pte. Ltd. These agreements signify a more practical and deeper phase in China-Singapore industry-academia-research collaboration.

The forum was hosted by the Office of International Affairs, Office of Alumni Affairs, Singapore Alumni Association, and Research Development Office, with co-organization by the School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, the School of Computer Science and Technology, the School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, the School of Optical and Electronic Information, and the School of Management.

The forum focused on the opportunities and challenges of the AI era, as well as the core topics of cross-border university-industry integration, bringing together over 100 representatives from government, academia, and industry from both China and Singapore. It aims to establish a high-level platform for transnational, interdisciplinary, and cross-sector collaboration, aligning technological innovation and industrial development, and contributing to high-quality and sustainable development in both nations.