Published by: Li Fang Editor: Li Fang Published on: October 13, 2023
WUST New (Reporter: Li Fang) On October 12th, the People’s Daily Online 2023 University Presidents Forum, themed "Leveraging the Leading Role of Higher Education to Strengthen the Foundation of Talents for National Construction", was held in Shenyang, Liaoning. President Ni Hongwei of WUST attended the roundtable forum and delivered a speech.
Ni Hongwei expressed that the emerging wave of technology is reshaping the world, and those who have seized the high ground will secure the future. Universities serve as both the main arena for nurturing talents and the front line of technological innovation. They must actively adapt to changes and effectively shoulder the mission and responsibility of the "four orientations" and technological autonomy.
Ni Hongwei explained that as a local university with distinct industry characteristics, WUST is determined to make strides in strategic emerging industries. On one hand, WUST is strengthening the construction of fundamental disciplines. On the other hand, it is actively integrating fundamental disciplines with engineering and medical sciences, reinforcing basic research platforms, and facilitating the development and interdisciplinary collaboration of science and engineering talent teams.
Addressing the challenge of overcoming bottleneck issues in critical core technologies, he emphasized the crucial role of universities in actively immersing themselves in industries and comprehending the substantial demands from enterprises, industries and the country and highlighted the importance of "precisely identifying and fully acknowledging the problems at hand". He presented WUST's practical experiences in forming multidisciplinary integrated teams guided by problems and significant needs; strengthening research platform construction; and enhancing innovation in science and technology systems by promoting effective collaboration through team assessment and long-term evaluation, with a focus on addressing critical bottleneck technologies.
During the forum, People’s Daily Online officially announced the winners of the 2023 Outstanding Campus News Works, selected by a recommending committee composed of renowned professors and scholars in the field of journalism and communication, as well as representatives from university publicity departments. The committee evaluated nearly 800 works and chose 15 outstanding written pieces, 10 outstanding photographs, and 21 outstanding works in the new media category. WUST's work, Advancing into the Unmanned Zone and Pioneering the Vanadium Blue Ocean, has been selected as an outstanding written piece.
On the afternoon of October 11, prior to the forum's opening ceremony, Ni Hongwei accepted an interview with People’s Daily Online. He discussed WUST's unique advantages, experiences, and achievements in areas such as serving local development, promoting red culture and education, and supporting student employment and entrepreneurship. During the forum, WUST's campus promotional video and a video featuring the university president were showcased at the conference.
Guests from over 100 universities across the country participated in the forum, engaging in discussions and exchanges on topics such as "Implementing the Fundamental Mission of Moral Education and Cultivating New Generation for Shouldering the Great Mission of National Rejuvenation" and "Promoting Deep Integration of Industry, Academia, Research, and Application to Enhance the Capacity for High-quality Development of Education Services". The forum was guided by People’s Daily Online, the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the People's Government of Liaoning Province, co-organized by the Shenyang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Shenyang Municipal People's Government, the Talent Work Leadership Group of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, and People’s Daily Online. The Chinese Higher Education Society provided academic support.
As a national-level annual education forum, the University Presidents Forum hosted by People’s Daily Online has been successfully held for ten sessions, with over 600 university leaders participating in discussions. It has become a significant annual event that gathers consensus and supports the reform and development of higher education in China.
