XJTLU hosts 2026 joint conference on intelligent engineering

On 18 March, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) hosted the Intelligent Engineering 2026: XJTLU-XJTU-UoL Joint Symposium alongside Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) in China and the University of Liverpool in the UK.

The event brought together experts from the three universities and other Chinese institutions to discuss advances in intelligent engineering.

It also showed the deep collaboration between XJTLU and its parent universities. Since XJTLU’s founding, the three have co-authored nearly 2,000 academic papers in journals indexed by Scopus and Web of Science databases.

In the 2024-25 academic year, the first batch of 11 joint PhD research projects opened for enrollment, mainly focused on engineering fields such as energy and power, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering.

In the 2025-26 academic year, the number of projects increased to 14. Disciplinary reach has widened from traditional engineering into public policy, life sciences, cybersecurity and pharmacy.

Professor Zhoulin Ruan

“Cooperation has evolved from preliminary coordination to deep integration,” said Professor Zhoulin Ruan, Vice President of Academic Affairs at XJTLU, in his opening address. “It has moved from single-field collaboration to multi-dimensional, all-round cooperation, yielding notable results in research and talent cultivation.”

Professor Xuesong Mei

Presentations highlighted the breadth of research topics. Professor Xuesong Mei, from XJTU’s School of Mechanical Engineering, discussed manufacturing data flows and proposed software solutions for smart-factory control. Professor Biao Huang, from XJTLU’s School of Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem, identified automation, deep learning and reinforcement learning as three technological breakthroughs, each expanding productivity, perception and strategic autonomy.

Professor Biao Huang

Dr Guangliang Chen, from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Computer Science and Informatics, addressed the challenge of multimedia authenticity in the era of generative AI. He presented work on deepfake detection using vision-language models and showcased deployable systems, including SIDA and So-Fake.

Dr Guangling Chen

In the breakout sessions, experts and scholars from XJTLU, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Nanjing University, Soochow University, Suzhou National Laboratory, and others, shared research and held discussions centred on three major themes: intelligent systems and embodied intelligence, material structures and physical intelligence, and human-centred intelligent interaction, digital twin technology, and its social impact.

This joint symposium has solidified the research connections between the three universities by providing a platform for academic exchange and scientific research cooperation in the field of intelligent engineering.

By XJTLU Research Management Office
Photography by Lezhi Li
Edited by Bo Kou and Patricia Pieterse