On October 12, the Conference on advancing the integration of Yangzhou City-Nanjing University into the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center and jointly fostering Yangzhou's new materials Industry was held. Tan Zhemin, President of NJU and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Wang Jinjian, Yangzhou Municipal Party Secretary delivered speeches and jointly witnessed the official launch of NJU's New Materials Concept Validation Center and Pilot Base. The conference was presided over by Zheng Hairong, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC NJU Committee, Executive Vice President of NJU and Academician of the CAS.
In his speech, Tan Zhemin pointed out that both NJU and Yangzhou City are important forces in establishing the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center, maintaining a close partnership over the years. Starting from the collaboration between NJU and the Yangzhou Institute of Chemical and Engineering in 2009, to jointly building the New Materials Concept Validation Center and Pilot Base, the two parties have worked together to deeply integrate the education chain, talent chain, innovation chain, and industrial chain. In recent years, both sides have focused on national needs, leveraging their strengths in talent, research, and industry. They accelerated the integration of scientific and industrial innovation while promoting collaboration between academia, industry, and research, yielding remarkable results. The pilot base now officially launched is an important practice for the two parties to respond to national strategic deployments and accelerate the development of new productive forces. In the future, NJU will use this base as an essential fulcrum to serve the high-quality development of Jiangsu and Yangzhou, continually introducing the university's research resources, talent teams, and innovative achievements, striving to build a "source of concept validation", an "accelerator for pilot incubation" and a "strong support for industrial upgrading", thereby establishing the concept validation center and pilot base as a core label for strategic new materials in the Yangtze River Delta region while contributing more to the cultivation of the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center.
In his speech, Wang Jinjian noted that the high-quality development of cities rests on the intellectual support of top universities and research talents, while the transformation of innovative achievements requires fertile industrial ground to nurture dreams. Within just two years, Yangzhou City and NJU have progressed from signing strategic agreements to launching the platform, from accelerating construction to commencing operations, vividly illustrating the two-way collaboration of a renowned city and a prestigious university. This cooperation reflects their joint effort to seize development opportunities and serve the construction of the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center together. New materials represent a traditional advantage and strategic pillar industry for Yangzhou. The city not only has the industrial confidence to accommodate cutting-edge scientific results but also boasts a favorable ecosystem for nurturing new markets and opportunities. Leveraging this platform—the pilot base—Yangzhou anticipates collaborative breakthroughs on more "bottleneck" technologies and the growth of "innovative seeds" into "industrial trees." Yangzhou City will always view NJU as a critical strategic partner, fully supporting the pilot base and the development of affiliated projects, efficiently operating the New Materials Angel Venture Fund, and together transforming the base into a "first-class innovation platform rooted in the metropolitan circle, serving the Yangtze River Delta, and radiating globally."
The conference was presided over by Zheng Hairong.
During the conference, the initiation of the pilot base, the appointment of advisors, the signing of agreements for the first batch of pilot base projects, and the establishment and initiation of the Yangzhou New Materials (Pilot) Angel Venture Fund were conducted. Wang Feng, Party Secretary of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the CAS and Researcher, shared operational experiences of pilot platforms. Tang Yong, Academician of the CAS delivered a specialized academic report.
NJU's New Materials Concept Validation Center and Pilot Base was officially launched.
Prior to the event, NJU and Yangzhou City officials held exchanges about deeply aligning university strengths with Yangzhou's industrial needs. After the event, attending leaders visited NJU's New Materials Concept Validation Center and Pilot Base, examining exhibition halls, laboratories, and pilot platforms of the first phase in-depth.
NJU's New Materials Concept Validation Center and Pilot Base is located in the Yangzhou Chemical Industrial Park, jointly funded by Yizheng City and NJU. It primarily focuses on constructing pilot lines for six strategic new materials industries: electronic chemical materials, energy materials, catalyst materials, high-performance polymer materials, fine chemical materials, and biological materials.
