PostTime：2/12/2023
The highly anticipated Nan-Ao Science Conference came to a close on February 9. It gathered 60 experts and scholars [including 20 academicians from Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE)] to explore cutting-edge basic research, discuss forward-looking and comprehensive crossover disciplines, and consider key issues on provincial fund management. In the break of the event, academicians praised Guangdong Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) for its featured education and rapid development.
High-Level Communication, In-Depth Collaboration
GTIIT, as an educational and innovative highland in Guangdong and Shantou, the city it's located in, has attracted scholars' interest before the Nan-Ao Science Conference.
In the past two years, GTIIT has held multiple high-quality academic conferences, including the "predecessors" of the Conference – the "Nan-Ao Symposium of Quantum Materials and Manipulation (2022)", the "Future Functional Materials under Extreme Conditions Seminar", etc. The university has also established close contact with the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Laboratory of Chemistry and Fine Chemicals and other research institutes to fully integrate research resources and promote breakthroughs.
The success of Nan-Ao Science Conference marks a new step in basic research for GTIIT and Shantou. Gong Xingao, Chancellor of GTIIT and Academician of CAS, remarked, "We look forward to the Conference bringing more top scientists from home and abroad to Shantou to conduct basic and frontier research. It will also be a strong force for Shantou’s development in basic research and innovation."
Xie Xincheng, Vice President of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and Academician of CAS, expressed his expectations about the further advancement of the Conference and regional science education. "If we can make the Conference a powerful brand in the academia, it will not only increase regional popularity, but also boost local tourism, economy, and technology. The two excellent universities in Shantou, GTIIT and Shantou University (STU), have played an important role in education in Shantou."
The Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory have deepened all-around collaboration with GTIIT in aspects of talent training and research projects, according to Wang Weihua, the Laboratory Director and Academician of CAS. "GTIIT students can have an internship in our lab. In terms of scientific research, different groups will work together to study some projects, especially in the field of materials."
GTIIT Cooperated with SLAB
Discipline Construction for Basic Research, Innovative Upgrade for Industry Structure
Research of basic academic disciplines is the main focus of the Conference. Several academicians mentioned in the meeting that the key to "bottleneck" problems in sci-tech development was basic research. GTIIT, with its construction on key fields and basic disciplines, also garnered their attention.
Up till now, the first three programs opened in GTIIT (Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering) have all been selected as provincial first-class undergraduate program construction sites in Guangdong. Recently started programs (Mathematics with Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering and Robotics) have gained popularity. In 2022, the "Nobel program", Chemistry, began to enrol students. In addition, master's and doctor's degrees in relevant programs are offered. The university continues to cultivate high-level STEM talents needed for national development.
"It would be vital for GTIIT's development if the model of Nan-Ao Science Conference could be further developed, and communication with national counterparts, provincial universities and institutes could be expanded. That is because the key to development of basic science is talent. The exchange of talent is the crossover of disciplines." Wu Qingping, Director of Guangdong Institute of Microbiology and Academician of CAE, affirmed the prospect of GTIIT’s BFE program. "The food industry in our country will reach a scale of 30 trillion, which, from the perspective of China's healthy development strategy, has very huge potential."
Chang Kai, Researcher of CAS Institute of Semiconductors and Academician of CAS, saw the bright prospect of GTIIT's ecological link of "basic research + technological breakthrough + result transformation + technological finance". "As the scale of GTIIT continues to grow, the disciplines will expand, and some disciplines, such as those in the applied directions, will drive the development of Shantou's industries. Some technology companies or even unicorn companies can be incubated in the sci-tech parks around the university, which will drive the economic development of the Shantou area."
From Nan-Ao, to GTIIT
It is the first time for many academicians to visit Shantou, and also the first time to approach GTIIT. The innovative DNA and excellent graduates of the university soon attracted their attention.
Academicians Visited GTIIT Campus
As the only Sino-foreign cooperative university in China that has introduced high-quality higher education resources from Israel and the China campus of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, GTIIT provided researchers and students with international high-level faculty team and world-class laboratories, as well as the innovation and entrepreneurship eco-system. Academicians highly recognized that GTIIT has cultivated high-quality talents with high-quality education, and also built a high-quality platform for international cooperation and exchanges in the scientific community.
"I came to Shantou two days ago and visited GTIIT campus. I was very impressed by the innovative atmosphere and the international faculty team of GTIIT," said Chen Xianhui, Professor of Physics at the University of Science and Technology of China and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, "International cooperation and communication are very important for the scientists. I hope that GTIIT can provide opportunities for scientists not only in the campus, but in the city, the province, and even across the country, to exchange ideas with Israeli scientists. International cooperation and talent cultivation will be enhanced through this kind of communication."
Wang Yupeng, Professor of Institute of Physics of CAS and Academician of CAS, pointed out that the Nan-Ao Science Conference provided a platform for scientists to communicate and cooperate. "Many scientists came here to have a look at the local industries and seek to communicate with other scientists, and would possibly settle down to work here, which will surely benefit the development of science and technology in Guangdong Province. Such a great event! I also hope to communicate with others and find some cooperation opportunities, especially with GTIIT!"
Text/Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs
