On April 19-20, East China Normal University (ECNU) "MEM on-site Classroom for Science and Innovation Enterprises" series of activities (the twenty-second session) was successfully held, tudents from the first to third cohorts of the 2023 International CTO Academy at ECNU Shanghai visited the Lingang New Area, and visited many enterprises, including the Dishui Lake AI Innovation Port, COMAC Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute, Dishui Zhixing Technology Co. Dishui Lake AI Innovation Port, COMAC Shanghai Aircraft Design & Research Institute, Dishui Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. and Zhiyuan Robotics, etc., and felt the great changes of science and technology development in Lingang in the past 20 years. Let's follow their footsteps and explore the frontiers of technological innovation and industrial development.
President's Message
Prof. He Jiaxun, Executive Dean of Shanghai International CTO Academy of East China Normal University (ECNU), delivered a speech for the event. He firstly thanked the Dishui Lake International Software College of East China Normal University for its support to this Lingang teaching module, and pointed out that the college will organize more practical teaching modules and study visits in the future to enhance the teaching effectiveness of practical courses. He indicated that in order to meet the demand for talents in the development of modern science and technology innovation, the College has formally strengthened the educational innovation of “science, innovation and tacit knowledge”, and has redefined the goals, approaches, and methodologies of traditional education. The college vigorously promotes the education project of “scientific, creative and tacit knowledge” to cultivate students to become senior management talents who have the ability to make important decisions under uncertainty and the courage to assume major social responsibilities.
Prof. Zhu Danhua, Vice Dean of Dishui Lake International Software College of East China Normal University, expressed his warm welcome to the teachers and students in his speech. He briefly reviewed the development history of Dishui Lake International Software College, emphasizing the college's active exploration in the integration of industry and education, innovative talent cultivation, etc., and its commitment to building a training base for top software talents and a highland for software technology innovation.
Explore Lingang Innovation Scroll
Mr. Lu Yu, Director of Higher Science Department of Lingang New Area Management Committee, shared a keynote speech on the topic of “History, Planning and Industry Introduction of Lingang”, which provided a comprehensive overview of Lingang's development. He introduced that Lingang Group has combined with big enterprises, introduced big projects, and built big bases, which has given birth to many “national important equipment” and “world's first”. Nowadays, Lingang new area is making every effort to build 100 billion industrial clusters such as intelligent automobile, high-end equipment, integrated circuit, civil aviation, artificial intelligence and so on. At the same time, he explained Lingang's tax incentives and talent introduction policies, which provide a strong boost for the development of enterprises and talents. After listening to the lecture, teachers and students said they were optimistic about Lingang's policies and future development, and had brand new expectations for this fertile land for innovation.
Afterwards, teachers and students came to visit Dishui Lake AI Innovation Port. In the staff's professional explanation and on-site interactive experience, the students' understanding of the overall planning and development status of Lingang area was further enhanced, and they had a more intuitive feeling of Lingang's industrial advantages. in AI Innovation Port, the cutting-edge science and technology application scenarios were continuously displayed, and innovative projects based on AI technology such as intelligent transportation and smart medical care dazzled people, which is becoming an important bearing place for scientific and technological innovation in Lingang. Teachers and students gained insights into the promising prospects of integrating science, technology, and industrial development.
Tracing the History of Civil Aviation Innovation in China
At COMAC Shanghai Aircraft Design & Research Institute, Ms. Chen Xinran, a quality airworthiness engineer, gave a professional explanation to the students, giving them a preliminary understanding of the development of COMAC. At the site, students visited and experienced the fuselage models of C909, C919 and C929 to experience the charm of domestic aircraft, and also gained an in-depth understanding of the selection process of commercial airliners and the products of major suppliers, so that they had a more in-depth understanding of the aviation industry chain.
Cockpit Engineer of Shanghai Aircraft Design & Research Institute (SARI), Mr. Ji Liangyu, brought a special topic entitled “Introduction to Civil Aviation Industry”, and talked about the difficult but brilliant development history of domestic large aircraft. SIDR has now become the largest civil aircraft R&D center in China, undertaking the design and development of the ARJ21 new regional aircraft, the C919 large airliner, and the CR929 Sino-Russian long-range wide-body airliner, etc. He also introduced the core business of COMAC. He also introduced the core business of COMAC, including aircraft design and development, test and verification, airworthiness certification and key technology research. From the successful design of the Yun10 aircraft, to the participation in international cooperation projects, to the steady progress of a number of self-developed aircraft, every step of the development of the aviation people's heart and soul. The students discussed with Mr. Ji on the core competitiveness of large aircraft, the history of civil aviation development and other issues. They all said that the development of domestic large aircraft embodies the belief and innovative spirit of a strong scientific and technological country, and inspires them to strive for excellence in their studies and work.
Deepening the Intelligent Vehicle Industry
On the morning of April 20, Song Yang, Vice President of Intelligent Vehicle and Deputy General Manager of Dishui Zhixing, shared a keynote report on “Introduction to Intelligent Vehicle Industry and Technology Development” at East China Normal University's Dishuihu International Software College, detailing the in-vehicle AI applications of modern intelligent vehicle enterprises, existing development and future trends. He highlighted four key trends shaping the future of intelligent vehicle systems, which are software-defined cars, centralized layout, big models and artificial intelligence, and industry ecology, and the future smart car operating system will be born for these four trends. At the same time, he put forward the beautiful vision of establishing joint labs with East China Normal University, cultivating scientific and technological talents together, and assisting the ecological globalization of smart car enterprises, and expressed his expectations for the future development of science and technology innovation industry in Lingang Park.
Afterwards, the students visited DripSmart Technology Co., Ltd. and Guo Xiaobin, Director of Industry Expansion of CSTC Software Co., Ltd. introduced DripSmart's AI native vehicle operating system for centralized computing to the students. He emphasized that the development of intelligent cars is evolving towards central computing, and the future will be the era of software-defined cars and natural interaction with large models. With the mission of “making cars smarter and travelling freer”, DripSmart OS vehicle operating system is committed to realizing the value co-creation of global car enterprises and empowering every smart car. After the presentation, students browsed the successful practice cases displayed by DripSmart Technology Co., Ltd. to experience the rapid development of technological innovation of automobile enterprises, and had an in-depth discussion with Mr. Guo on the prospect and future development of the intelligent automobile industry.
Approaching Embodied Intelligent Robots
In the afternoon of April 20, Dr. Xun Liu, the current director of Digital China Research Institute and a senior engineer, talked about the robotics industry and technology, the history of robotics development and the future of the commercial development of body-shaped intelligent humanoid robots for the students. He shared two high-potential tracks in the future development of the robotics industry: first, algorithms and machine hardware and software integration companies can capture the maximum value of the industry chain through the establishment of a “data flywheel”; and second, self-development of key components of the joint solution provider can effectively resist the threat of competition from the industry giants. He pointed out that the robotics machine can enter the market from the algorithm and hardware, and grasp the value of the long-term development of the robotics industry. With the growing maturity of intelligent robots and large language modeling technology, the “interaction service” of embodied intelligent robots has ushered in a revolutionary breakthrough, which contains huge commercial value. With the current advances in embodied interaction and robotic platforms, humanoid robots can already meet the basic application needs of government services and commercial services, while scientific research, education, sports and entertainment will be the next step in the direction of landing applications.
On the last stop, the students followed the steps of President Liu Xun of Digital China Research Institute to Zhiyuan Robotics Enterprise. President Liu introduced in detail the development process of the company and the functions of the existing robot products. Here, the students had close encounters with the physical products of the embodied intelligent robots, including Zhiyuan Expedition A2, Zhiyuan Rhinoceros X2, Zhiyuan Elf G1, etc. Through the promotional video, the students understood the main functions of the robots and gained a deeper understanding of how the embodied intelligent robots can empower their lives.
The trip to Lingang New Area was a feast of knowledge and practice, and a vivid interpretation of the concept of innovative education. Students touched the pulse of scientific and technological innovation and realized the infinite potential of industrial development in the close contact with the cutting-edge technology of the industry. In the future, Shanghai International Chief Technology Officer College of East China Normal University will continue to deepen the integration of industry and education, lead more students into the front line of innovation, take practice as a bridge to cultivate high-quality talents with both innovative spirit and practical ability, and help industry-university-research collaborative innovation to a new height, injecting a steady stream of vitality for the development of national scientific and technological innovation.
