25th Annual CAST meeting focuses on innovation, tech revolution and industrial change

The openning ceremony of  the 25th Annual Meeting of the CAST.

On Oct 22, the 25th Annual Meeting of the CAST was held in Hefei city, Anhui province. The meeting was jointly organized by the CAST and the Anhui Provincial People's Government and centered on the theme "Leading with Innovation, Pursuing Self-reliance and Self-improvement - Creating a High-quality Cradle for Scientific and Technological Innovation."

Wan Gang, president of the CAST, highlighted the need for a comprehensive approach to education development, technological innovation, and talent cultivation against the backdrop of a new round of technological revolution and industrial change.

This approach necessitates integrated design and coordinated deployment of original innovation, integrated innovation, open innovation, as well as innovation chains, industrial chains, and talent chains, he said.

Wan called for national academic societies and local science associations to closely align with strategic, frontier, and market-oriented basic research, working collaboratively to foster cooperation among strategic scientific and technological forces.

He also stressed the importance of actively leveraging the advantages of the new national system, massive market, complete industrial system, and rich application scenarios to drive innovation and entrepreneurship, transform scientific and technological achievements, and expedite the building of robust and resilient industrial and supply chains.

Wan urged continued promotion of the scientist spirit, optimization of academic and work styles, creation of an innovation ecology with Chinese characteristics, efforts to bridge the scientific literacy gap, and fostering of a scientific, rational, civilized, and harmonious social atmosphere.

He also advocated for the promotion of open science and open-source innovation, encouraging global industry-academia-research sectors to engage in multi-level, wide-ranging, and constructive dialogues, implementing the Belt and Road Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan, and supporting various innovation entities, scientific and technological organizations, and scientific and technological talents to build a globally competitive open innovation ecosystem.

Han Jun, secretary of the CPC Anhui Provincial Committee, said that hosting the 25th Annual Meeting of the CAST is a significant event for Anhui province.

He emphasized that in recent years, Anhui has prioritized science and technology as the primary productive force, talent as the primary resource, and innovation as the primary driver. The province has focused on creating high-energy-level innovation platforms, accelerating the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements, forming a batch of original achievements, and giving birth to a powerful new productive force.

Han expressed his hope that the CAST and various academicians and experts would deepen integration and connection with universities, research institutes and key enterprises, support Anhui in strengthening the construction of disciplines and professional specialties and innovating talent training models. In this way, they can help the region to become a pioneer in scientific and technological and industrial innovation.

At the main forum, Gao Hongjun, deputy president of the CAST and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, announced the major scientific problems, engineering and technical difficulties, and technical industrial issues for 2023.

The following people gave presentations on a wide range of topics: Li Ruxin, secretary of the CPC Committee of ShanghaiTech University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Wu Weiren, chief designer of the China Lunar Exploration Program, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Hu Jinbo, dean of the Shanghai Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry; Chen Wei, deputy president of the CAST, researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Lu Chaoyang, professor at the University of Science and Technology of China; Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFlytek.

The topics included the development of ultra-strong laser and accelerators, the current status and future of China's deep space exploration, the latest advances and future prospects of functional molecules and materials research, innovation in vaccine research and development and public safety, the latest advances and future prospects of quantum technology, and the development of general artificial intelligence cognitive big models.

This year's CAST Annual Meeting revolved around three major themes: "Science and Technology Self-Reliance", "Academic Cross-Border Integration", and "Serving Local Areas: Building Science and Innovation Highlands".

The conference hosted 20 special activities, showcasing the leading role of scientific and technological workers, emphasizing the central role of national academic societies, and enhancing the sense of accomplishment for the host location. Relevant department heads, central enterprises, representatives from Anhui province, scientific and technological worker representatives from research institutions, universities, and national academic societies.