Strategic Ecosystem Development Conference promotes local industries’ development

More than 200 participants attended the XJTLU Strategic Ecosystem Development Conference at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University on 25 October. Its aim was to promote the development of regional key industries.

At the conference, XJTLU leaders released the  University’s “2+2+1” strategy, which will integrate five players – industry, university, research, government, and society – into an ecosystem for mutual support and benefit.

The Ecosystem Development Strategic Alliance, composed of these players, was announced at the conference.

The 2+2+1 strategy includes:

• focus on two industries: biopharmaceuticals and advanced semiconductors (the first “2” in the strategy’s name);
• identification of artificial intelligence and advanced materials as the main enabling technologies (the second “2”); and
• building of a comprehensive innovation service platform for XJTLU’s strategic industries (the “1”).

Twelve cooperative agreements were established at the conference.

Professor Youmin Xi, Executive President of XJTLU, said that the ecosystem will facilitate collaborative innovation related to education, technology, and talent, influencing the development of education and industry.

“Thanks to its non-profit nature and resource networks in and outside China, XJTLU’s platform extends to government, industry, and society, forging industry-university-research cooperations as bonding agents, catalysts, and boosters,” he said.

Professor Youmin Xi, Executive President of XJTLU

Breaking boundaries

XJTLU's Vice President for Administrative Affairs Dr Yimin Ding said that the 2+2+1 strategy is a precise roadmap for industrial innovation and development. This roadmap is aligned with key regional industries and combined with XJTLU’s advantages, he said.

Dr Ding: “As a young and ambitious university, how can XJTLU create an innovative university model and educational model for the future?”

“First, we must actively embrace new technologies, which will narrow the gap between us and our competitors,” he said. “Second, we must build an ecosystem, which will ensure that we never work in isolation. Instead, the ecosystem will foster different types of cooperation with society and industry, acquiring more development opportunities and resources.”

Dr Yimin Ding, XJTLU's Vice President for Administrative Affairs

Biopharmaceuticals

At the conference, the XJTLU Wisdom Lake Academy of Pharmacy and China’s National Centre of Technology Innovation for Biopharmaceuticals (NCTIB) signed a joint agreement to establish XJTLU NextGen Pharma X. It will be the first institution and facility in China for validating the commercialisation potential of leading medical technologies and the feasibility of related products and services.

XJTLU NextGen Pharma X will be a "booster" for cutting-edge technological innovation for pharmaceuticals in its infant stage, said Jianguo Yin, Executive Director of NCTIB and Chairman of Suzhou Industrial Park Biopharmaceutical Industry Development Co Ltd.

“With the development of AI and the biopharmaceutical industry, we see a significantly shorted time from research outcomes to products, and a largely increased success rate,” he said.

Advanced Semiconductors

The XJTLU Advanced Semiconductor Research Centre was established at the conference. Professor Bo Shen, Deputy Director of the Science Division at Peking University and Director of the Wide Band Gap Semiconductor Research Centre, was appointed as the new XJTLU research centre’s director.

Professor Youmin Xi presents Professor Bo Shen (right) as Director of the XJTLU Advanced Semiconductor Research Centre

The XJTLU research centre will cooperate with the Jiangsu Institute of Advanced Semiconductors and cover the entire innovation lifecycle for advanced semiconductors, including technological breakthrough, research outcome conversion, industry incubation, and development.

Also at the conference, the Industry Strategic Cooperation Agreement for the XJTLU research centre was signed and the XJTLU Advanced Semiconductor Innovation Alliance was established.

Artificial Intelligence

The signing ceremony for the XJTLU-Baidu Joint Venture Agreement was held at the conference. This cooperation follows the XJTLU-Baidu Artificial Intelligence Innovation Alliance established in September 2023.

Dou Shen, Executive Vice President of Baidu Group and President of Baidu Intelligent Cloud Business Group, said: “The joint venture is Baidu’s exploration into cooperation with universities in the field of AI. With it, I believe that XJTLU and Baidu will blaze an innovative trail together in the AI industry for Suzhou, a city with glorious industrial heritage.”

The joint venture is the first and only that Baidu has established with a university in the field of artificial intelligence. It leverages Baidu’s advantages in AI, cloud computing, and big data, and its focus areas include smart energy and carbon, biomedicine, and smart cities. The joint venture provides customers with comprehensive solutions for digital transformation.

Dou Shen, Executive Vice President of Baidu Group and President of Baidu Intelligent Cloud Business Group

Other AI-focused initiatives unveiled or launched at the conference included:

• the Zooming New Energy-XJTLU Smart Energy and Carbon Joint Laboratory, a collaboration between XJTLU and Zooming New Energy Co Ltd;
• the AI ​​Energy Carbon Large Model; and
• the XJTLU-Soochow University Legal AI Joint Laboratory and Legal Large Model, a collaboration between XJTLU and Soochow University to jointly create a large language model for law.

Advanced materials

At the conference, XJTLU and Materials Science Gusu Lab signed a strategic cooperation agreement for the XJTLU Advanced Materials Research Centre, which was established in April. The agreement focuses on the research, development, and application of high-performance advanced materials. Through interdisciplinary cooperation, the Centre works to find new solutions in information materials, strategic materials related to China’s “dual carbon” goals, and cutting-edge materi

Strategic industry comprehensive innovation service platform

Providing a comprehensive service platform to support innovation and build an ecosystem is  a critical part of XJTLU’s 2+2+1 strategy, leaders said at the conference. The platform will promote industrial innovation through technological innovation.

Agreements unveiled or launched at the conference related to the service platform included:

• the Haier-XJTLU Industry-Academia Collaborative Centre for Education Innovation and Application
• the Project of Technology Transfer Services' Large-Scale Model and Application Platform
• the X-Eco Mall Empower Industrial Development for Strategic Cooperation, with agreements to empower industrial development signed with Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd, AUO (Suzhou) Co Ltd, CERNET Co Ltd, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology Co Ltd; and
• the Institute of Healthcare and Silver Industrial Ecosystem, jointly established by XJTLU, the and JORU Group.

Forums on biopharmaceuticals, AI, advanced semiconductors, and materials were held after the conference.

By Luyun Shi
Translated by Xiangyin Han
Edited by Tamara Kaup