GIFT Hosts Strategic Symposium on Innovative Pathways for Education, Science&Technology, and Talent

To celebrate its 5th anniversary, Global Institute of Future Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (GIFT) held the Strategic Symposium on Innovative Pathways for Education, Science & Technology, and Talent on 15 August, 2026. The symposium brought together nearly 30 renowned scholars, senior officials, university leaders and industry executives to review GIFT's progress and chart its next phase of development.

Attendess included Xinyuan Zhu (Director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission), Xi Zhang (Deputy Director of the Management Committee of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone), Dr. Robin Zeng (Founder, Chairman, and CEO of CATL and Honorary Dean of GIFT), Bai Lu (President of the Shanghai Academy of Natural Sciences, abbreviated as SANS) and Dangsheng Li (SANS Chief Scientific Officer), Ping Li (Vice Chairman of CATL), Shi Qi (Chairman of East Money Information Co., Ltd.), Guangming Chen (Founder of Foresight Fund), Chuanchun Sun (Executive Director of Foresight Fund), Lin Lu (Co-founder and General Manager of Shanghai BOCHU Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.), Zhenbin Yang (Chairman of SJTU Council), Kuiling Ding (President of SJTU), Guang Ning (President of Ruijin Hospital and Honorary Dean of GIFT), Weiwei Hu and Xin Zhao (Deputy Chairpersons of SJTU Council), Yufang Bi (Vice Dean of SJTU School of Medicine), Shan Mou (Chairperson of the Renji Hospital Council), Jun Ni (Dean of GIFT), Ming Yang (Assistant to the President and Director of the University Office), and Huifang Zhou (Chairperson of Shanghai Children's Medical Center Council). Tianshu Ge, Chairperson of GIFT Council, presided over the symposium.

The symposium began with a promotional video on GIFT. Themed “Breaking disciplinary boundaries, institutional boundaries, and learning boundaries”, it highlighted the college's achievements in interdisciplinary integration, research-education fusion, and industry-university collaboration.

In his welcoming speech, Kuiling Ding noted that GIFT was founded in response to the challenges of rapid technological change and had distinguished itself through its innovative approaches to education and fruitful results. He expressed confidence that GIFT would continue to set a benchmark for SJTU's reform efforts and the integrated development mechanism for education, science & technology, and talent.

In his address, Xinyuan Zhu recognized GIFT's achievements in interdisciplinary integration and deepening industry-education collaboration. He encouraged the college to align its work with the national innovation-driven development plan and Shanghai's priority industries, and make further contributions to the development of the city's international science and innovation hub.

In the keynote presentation, Dean Jun Ni outlined GIFT's core philosophy, faculty team, and educational outcomes over the past five years, along with a clear vision for future development.

During the research center showcase, Professor Xiaozhang Zhu and Professor Weiliang Xia shared representative research advances in future energy and future health, respectively. Grounded in industrial needs and challenges, these innovations demonstrated GIFT faculty’s pioneering spirit and relentless progress with the times.

The symposium featured the inauguration of the SANS Center for Cognitive and Brain-Computer Interfaces, a joint research center initiated by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Shanghai Academy of Natural Sciences. GIFT Chair Professor Liping Wang outlined the center's mission, technical roadmap and long-term vision, and said the center aims to become a world-class, innovative hub for original research and clinical translation in brain science.

Kuiling Ding and Bai Lu signed the cooperation agreement, witnessed by Zhenbin Yang and Xinyuan Zhu. With the center as a joint platform, SJTU and SANS will accelerate breakthroughs in basic research, talent cultivation, and the translation of technological advances into practice in service of national innovation-driven development and higher education reform.

Sun Jin, GIFT Executive Dean, reported on the plan for the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Fujian (Ningde) Advanced Research Institute, which will align with national strategic priorities and local industrial needs, fostering talent and research with both SJTU heritage and regional characteristics of Fujian Province.

Qinyi Xu presented the preparatory work for the launch of the Institute of Geotech and Global Governance at GIFT, outlining its research, advisory, and industry-engagement objectives.

Participants engaged in lively, in-depth discussions on how future technology can drive industry transformation, policy and regional ecosystem support, industry-university collaboration, talent cultivation mechanisms, and innovative approaches to admissions. The discussions yielded many forward-looking insights and constructive suggestions.

Dr. Robin Zeng emphasized the importance of personalized student cultivation, as well as developing leadership, teamwork spirit, lifelong learning, AI literacy, and a strong foundation in the humanities for well-rounded future leaders.

Guang Ning recognized GIFT's early progress in bridging medicine and engineering through the MD+PhD Program, and confirmed that the Minhang Campus of Ruijin Hospital would serve as a clinical practice base for students from the Elite Talent Pilot Program (Health Science and Technology), creating an innovative research hospital that combines healthcare, research, teaching and translation.

Kuiling Ding called on GIFT to maintain its unwavering commitment to excellence in academic and administrative operations, increase international student enrollment to enhance international influence, strive for world-changing scientific breakthroughs that create tangible impact, and promptly implement personnel allocation for the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Fujian (Ningde) Advanced Research Institute.

Zhenbin Yang commended GIFT's accomplishments since its founding and thanked those who contributed to its success and growth. He framed his expectations for GIFT in four aspects: First, remain steadfastly focused on serving national development plans, aligning education, innovation, industry, and talent cultivation to address real-world problems. Second, advance international outreach by recruiting more international students and contribute SJTU's expertise and Chinese insights to the world for global benefit. Third, adopt a student-centered educational philosophy to support the holistic development of every student. Fourth, foster team spirit and perseverance to strengthen the college's role in building a stronger education and research system .

The symposium showed the college's achievements in the past five years and marked the beginning of a new chapter. Founded as a pioneer in higher education reform, GIFT has led cutting-edge research and talent cultivation. Moving forward, it will continue to pursue national needs as its mission, deepen the integrated development of education, science & technology, and talent, and build a premier interdisciplinary institution featuring new paradigms for future talent cultivation and technology advancement.