From June 3th to 5th, the Fifth World Class Enterprise R&D and Innovation Management Forum （2024）" was successfully held in the lecture hall of Yifu Building, Putuo Campus, East China Normal University. The forum was sponsored by the Technology Innovation Research Center of Tsinghua University, the key research base of humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education, co-sponsored by the ECNU- Shanghai International School of Chief Technology Officer, the Industrial Technology Research Institute of East China Normal University, and co-organized by China Machine Press, Beijing Guozhihe Innovation and Intellectual Property Academy, Clarivate Analytics, Plug and Play China, and HP China. It has received academic support from Shanghai Institute of Chinese Engineering Development Strategies, and Shanghai Consulting and Academic Activities Center for academicians of CAE（Chinese Academy of Engineering）. The conference is chaired by Professor Chen Jin, Director of the Technology Innovation Research Center at Tsinghua University, and co-chaired by He Jiaxun, Executive Dean of the ECNU-Shanghai International School of Chief Technology Officer, and Xing Hexiang, Executive Dean of the Industrial Technology Research Institute at East China Normal University. At this forum, CTO School officially unveiled the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Science and the East China Normal University- Engineering Management Master's Education Center on the same stage.
This forum invited more than 20 experts from domestic and foreign universities, innovation think tanks, new research and development institutions, national innovation platforms, consulting institutions, and technology leading enterprises to give keynote speeches. More than 200 people attended the forum on-site, and more than 20 authoritative media platforms such as Xinhua News Agency, China Net, CCTV, People's Daily, Sina News, Tencent Video, etc. conducted synchronous online live broadcasts, with a total of over 5.2 million people watching the forum online.
The forum attendees focused on the theme of "Technology Innovation Leading Industrial Innovation" for this year, striving to explore the development path of Chinese enterprises to effectively enhance their research and innovation capabilities and bravely climb the world's first-class innovative enterprises. The two-day forum is rich and diverse in content, with a variety of exciting moments.
In the opening speech, Xu Qingrui, an academician of the CAE Member, director of the Innovation and Development Research Center of Zhejiang University, and winner of the Fudan Management Lifetime Achievement Award, proposed three ideas: first, strengthen the construction of innovation capability; Secondly, pay close attention to the guidance and improvement of enterprise innovation strategies; Thirdly, further attach importance to the cultivation of innovative talents. Then, in his speech, Professor Shi Guoyue, Vice President of East China Normal University, focused on introducing the school's achievements in local industrial research institutes, industrial models, and CTO School’s (Shanghai International School of Chief Technology Officer) work in science and technology innovation education. He wished the forum a complete success and, through the establishment of a national, cross disciplinary, and high-level interactive exchange platform for best practices in enterprise research and innovation management, contributed wisdom and strength to accelerate the construction of world-class enterprises by leading scientific and technological innovation enterprises, specialized and innovative enterprises, and jointly promoted scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation.
Keynote speech:
Changing mindset to create an innovative foundation
Qian Xuhong, an academician of the CAE Member and president of East China Normal University, delivered an opening keynote speech with the theme of "Changing Thinking: From Autism to Transcendence". He shared his years of thinking, practice, and experience, emphasizing that innovation is fundamentally about changing thinking. He proposed that China's academic and technological innovation needs further breakthroughs in originality, and traditional ways of thinking may limit our development, while changing our thinking can change our destiny. He emphasized that in the past century, quantum theory has overturned natural science and technology, and in the next century, quantum theory is highly likely to overturn humanities and social sciences. We need to master both classical thinking and quantum thinking. Subsequently, he elaborated on the ancient Chinese version of quantum thinking - Laozi's thinking. Finally, he looked forward to the new forms of future universities and proposed that future industrial development and talent cultivation should focus on leapfrogging beyond knowledge, disciplines, boundaries, freedom, and comprehensive development.
This segment also invited guests such as Lei Xiaoyun, Vice President and Secretary General of the China Patent Protection Association, Professor Chen Jin, Director of the Technology Innovation Research Center at Tsinghua University, Ju Jianguo, Founder of the Zhongguancun Giant Value Technology Evaluation Research Institute, Li Minghua, Senior Chief Expert of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and Dr. Hu Ziqiang, Vice President of Midea Group and Chairman of Wandong Medical, to give speeches on topics such as patent industrialization, technology evaluation, and innovation in the aerospace industry. They elaborated on the achievements and outstanding experiences of research and development and innovation from different perspectives such as macro policies, industries, and enterprise perspectives.
Unveiling of the new academic department:
Establishing a new discipline of "AI for Innovation"
During the release ceremony, the forum successively unveiled the "Engineering Management Master's Education Center" and "Department of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Science" of East China Normal University, and approved the release of the "Chief Technology Officer Education" series of textbooks in Science and Technology Business.
Qian Xuhong, president of East China Normal University, Chen Jin, director of the Technology Innovation Research Center of Tsinghua University and director of the Academic Committee of CTO School, inaugurated the "Department of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Science". Dean. He Jiaxun gave a brief introduction to the establishment of the department. The school officially began exploring the cross disciplinary talent cultivation of artificial intelligence and business management in early 2020. Over the past four years, it has established a complete curriculum education and training system; On April 15, 2023, the Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Science Research Center officially established, and the research positioning of AI for Innovation was confirmed; In July 2023, the school officially launched the Intelligent Innovation Engineering Project for the Master of Engineering Management, and the first batch of students will soon enroll in September of this year. At present, the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Science has 4 professors, 4 practical professors, 3 associate professors, and 4 assistant professors. The Department of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Science is positioned as AI for Innovation's scientific research, talent cultivation, and science and technology innovation industry services. In addition, the "Master of Engineering Management Education Center of East China Normal University" was officially established. Qian Xuhong, an academician of the CAE Member, president of East China Normal University, and Shi Guoyue, vice president of East China Normal University, inaugurated the center.
The forum also released and guided the new book "Midea R&D Transformation", launched the "2024 Global Open Innovation Top 100 Rankings", released and guided the new book "Chief Innovation Officer Handbook", and launched the "Innovation Management Talent Development Plan Project". Professor Magnus Karlsson, Chairman of the Innovation and Management Committee of the Swedish Institute of Standards, delivered a keynote speech on "Boosting innovation performance with ISO 56001 Innovation Management System".
Theme report:
Accelerate the development of enterprise innovation entities and move towards world-class standards
During the "Science and Technology Innovation Theme" and "Frontier Theme" reporting sessions, 15 experts gave brilliant presentations.
Huang Yuhong, President of China Mobile Research Institute, Wen Shaoying, Vice President of Global R&D and Technology of Aiken Organic Silicon, Li Quansheng, Director of Science and Information Technology Department of National Energy Group, Yuan Chengyin, General Manager of National New Energy Vehicle Technology Innovation Center, Huang Yue, Market Director of Siemens Medical Greater China, and Gao Yanjie, Vice President of Sinopec Beijing Chemical Research Institute, conducted in-depth exchanges on topics such as technology achievement transformation, industrial innovation ecology, national industrial technology innovation platform construction, and multinational enterprise innovation management experience, allowing everyone to comprehensively and systematically understand the best practices of enterprise innovation management.
Round table discussion:
Cultivating New Quality Talents to Enhance the Innovation Ability of Chinese Enterprises
Before the closing ceremony of the forum, a roundtable forum was also held, where seven experts conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges on the theme of "Building the R&D and Innovation Management Capacity and Talent Cultivation of Chinese Enterprises".
Finally, Professor Chen Jin, the chairman of the conference, gave a concluding speech. Firstly, he stated that under the guidance of the national strategy to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, Chinese enterprises, especially technology-based enterprises, should strive to cultivate more innovation leaders. Innovation occupies a core position in national development, and must strengthen scientific and technological innovation, especially original and disruptive technological innovation, cultivate new driving forces for the development of new quality productive forces, cultivate more "chief technology officers", "chief innovation officers" talents, and "technology-based entrepreneurs", and make outstanding contributions to Chinese enterprises becoming world-class enterprises.