HUTB and Changsha Municipal People’s Government Sign Framework Agreement on AI, Big Data Strategic Cooperation

2021-09-30

In the afternoon of September 29, the Symposium on Building National Scientific and Technological Innovation Center in Changsha and launching and signing ceremony of the Innovation and Development Alliance Between Changsha and Universities (Research Institutes) were held in the roadshow hall on the first floor of Yuelu Scientific and Innovative Platform. Wu Guiying, a member of the Standing Committee of Hunan Provincial CPC Committee and the secretary of Changsha Municipal CPC Committee, and Xie Weijiang, deputy governor of the People’s Government of Hunan Province, attended the event. Jiang Changzhong, director of the Department of Education of Hunan Province, Zhou Jianyuan, deputy director of Hunan Provincial Science & Technology Department, leaders of Changsha Municipal Party Committee and government, universities and institutions in Changsha, leaders of parks and affiliated units of Changsha also attended the event. Zheng Jianxin, deputy secretary of Changsha Municipal CPC Committee, mayor of Changsha and secretary of the Working Commission of the CPC Hunan Xiangjiang New Area Committee, presided over the event. Chen Xiaohong, HUTB Party Secretary and CAE Academician, HUTB President Huang Xin and HUTB Vice President Yi Mianyang attended the event on behalf of the university.

Secretary Wu Guiying and Deputy Governor Xie Weijiang jointly pressed the launch button of the Innovation and Development Alliance Between Changsha and Universities (Research Institutes), marking the official establishment of the alliance.

Secretary Wu Guiying pointed out that the establishment of the alliance and the promotion of major scientific and technological projects are part of the concrete measures taken by Changsha to thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important guidelines on scientific and technological innovation and talent work and the important speech made during his inspection tour in Hunan. They are also a landmark in the comprehensive promotion of the implementation of the spirit of the Changsha Municipal Party Congress. She stressed that innovation is the primary driving force for development. Vigorously promoting scientific and technological innovation is the political responsibility of implementing the "Three Highlands, Four New Missions" strategy, the core principle of building a modern new Changsha in an all-round way, and an effective approach to achieving win-win cooperation between universities and local governments. She said the city of Changsha should deeply understand the extreme importance of scientific and technological innovation and scientific and technological talents, resolutely implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important guidelines on scientific and technological innovation and talent work and the spirit of the important speech made during his inspection tour in Hunan. She urged the city should take the responsibility as the provincial capital to fully implement the requirements of the provincial Party committee and the provincial government, serve the development of colleges and universities, take stern actions to promote scientific and technological innovation, make all-out efforts to build the National Scientific and Technological Innovation Center and a scientific and technological innovation highland with core competitiveness, and accelerate the construction of a modern new Changsha led by "Three Highlands, Four New Missions.”

Secretary Wu Guiying said that Changsha will work with universities and research institutes to promote the construction of innovation platforms, accelerate the transformation of innovation achievements, build a team of innovative talent, and improve the innovation system and mechanism. She added that it is necessary to make the "virtual platform" "real," "put everything on the table," "focus on what you do" and "make up for what you lack" and fully pool resources, elements, policies and services to better promote the cross-border integration of innovation elements and give full play to the main role of innovation. She said that we should build a good working mechanism, refine the work objectives, regularly carry out themed communication, research and seminars focusing on major issues like collaborative innovation and common development. We should discuss, decide and promote implementation of major problems and maters by focusing on collaborative innovation and common development together. We should detail our work on service assurance, promote the virtuous circle and efficient interaction of the alliance, share the mission, seize the opportunity, answer the same questions and resonate at the same frequency, and shoulder the historical mission and make greater achievements in the new round of development.

Deputy Governor Xie Weijiang called on all parties to the alliance to give full play to the advantages of innovative talent and resources, make positive contributions to the plans on building a major scientific research platform, tackling core technological difficulties in key fields through coordination, cultivating scientific and technological innovative talent, and building the most prioritized innovation ecosystem, so as to lead and support the high-quality development of the whole province and the construction of a modern new Hunan. Relevant provincial departments should further perfect their measures and take the initiative to serve, so as to help the alliance become the benchmark of scientific and technological innovation and the engine of high-quality development.

At the Symposium on Building National Scientific and Technological Innovation Center in Changsha, Chen Xiaohong, HUTB Party Secretary and CAE Academician, made a speech on behalf of the universities. She said that Changsha is a national independent innovation demonstration zone. It hosts the National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Changsha Economic and Technological Development Zone, Yuelu Mountain National University Town, Malanshan Video&Cultural Innovation Park and many first-class university resources, which have given the city unique advantages in innovation and development. Under the guidance of the spirit of the 14th Party Congress, Changsha launched a strategic alliance with universities and research Institutes with an advanced and grand layout. With the convening of the central conference on talent-related work, Changsha has further sounded the call for the implementation of the strategy of scientific and technological innovation and strengthening the city with talent.

She pointed out that the Innovation and Development Alliance Between Changsha and Universities (Research Institutes) is a good platform for cooperation and development, which will unite universities and research institutes in Changsha to reach a consensus on innovation and development, thus jointly promoting scientific and technological innovation achievements in Changsha and Hunan. She said that HUTB is very willing to join Changsha's efforts to build the National Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, fully serve Changsha's scientific and technological innovation and development, serve Hunan's "Three Highlands, Four New Missions" strategy, and give full play to HUTB's scientific research and discipline advantages in artificial intelligence. At present, the university has actively set up a number of new colleges, such as the Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, the School of Microelectronics, the School of Intelligent Engineering and Manufacturing and the School of Digital Media and Information Engineering. It has also established close strategic cooperation with leading construction machinery enterprises in Hunan and built the first National Center for Basic Science in central China, which will play a greater role in "5G + industrial Internet," digital twinning, smart factory construction, smart society construction, resource and environment management, and intelligent automobile management.

Chen Xiaohong, HUTB Party Secretary and CAE Academician, said that under the guidance of Hunan's "Three Highlands, Four New Missions" strategy, the first Party Congress of HUTB officially put forward the strategic goal of "Three Highlands, Four New Missions," in an effort to make HUTB a highland for cultivating industrial, commercial and financial talent, a highland for supporting the development of new technologies, new industries, new business forms and new models, a highland for serving regional and national economic and social development, and make greater contributions in the fields of artificial intelligence, big data, digital twins and block chain. She also made two suggestions to Changsha in promoting scientific and technological innovation and development. First, on the basis of the good starting point of establishing the innovation and development alliance, it should actively promote the integration of universities and disciplines and form an integrated scientific research team. Second, it should promote the innovation of the system and mechanism of the introduction of scientific and technological talent, make good use of the introduced high-end talent and vigorously promote the transformation of scientific and technological innovation achievements, so as to better serve regional and national economic and social development.

HUTB was the first unit to sign the agreement at the signing ceremony of major scientific and technological projects. Qiu Jixing, deputy mayor of Changsha Municipal People's Government, and HUTB Vice President Yi Mianyang formally signed a bilateral framework agreement on strengthening strategic cooperation in fields such as artificial intelligence and big data.

The Innovation and Development Alliance Between Changsha and Universities (Research Institutes) currently consists of Changsha Municipal People's Government and 11 universities in Changsha, and has signed eight major scientific and technological projects. All parties to the alliance will deepen synthesis and cooperation based on a good foundation, fully promote the innovation and development alliance to achieve results, continuously enhance the global influence, national competitiveness, regional leadership and provincial radiation of Changsha's scientific and technological innovation, and gather greater strength to build the National Scientific and Technological Innovation Center and promote Hunan Province to implement the "Three Highlands, Four New Missions" strategy. (Written by Zhang Gaoyang, and photo by Zhang Gaoyang.)