GIFT Successfully Holds Welcome Ceremony for Students of Summer Challenge Camp & SJTU-CATL Joint Master Programs

On July 23, the opening ceremony of GIFT Summer Challenge Camp and the welcome ceremony for graduate students of SJTU-CATL Joint Master program were successfully held in Ningde City, Fujian Province.

Attendees included Zhou Weifeng, Secretary of the Ningde Communist Youth League Committee; Ni Jun, Chief Manufacturing Officer of CATL and Dean of GIFT; Xin Zhigang, Head of Recruitment at CATL Group; Chen Zhanliao, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Advanced Industrial Technology Research Institute; as well as Jin Sun, Executive Dean of GIFT; Han Haibo, Deputy Party Secretary; and Xia Weiliang, Vice Dean. Representatives from 2024 undergraduate, master's and doctoral students, instructors of the Summer Challenge Camp and corporate mentors from the CATL Joint Talent Training Base also participated. The event was hosted by Xia Weiliang.

Xin Zhigang extended a warm welcome to the faculty and students of GIFT and expressed gratitude for the school’s contribution of outstanding talent to CATL. He encouraged students to leverage the complementary strengths of top-tier universities and industry-leading enterprises, learning from CATL innovations in Material and Electrochemistry System, Structural System, Extreme Manufacturing and Business Models to push forward the future development of the energy industry.

Chen Zhanliao, on behalf of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Advanced Industrial Technology Research Institute, thanked CATL for its strong support. He hoped students at the Joint Talent Training Base could quickly adapt themselves to CATL's work environment, take initiative in learning, embrace challenges and demonstrate the wisdom and responsibility of SJTU students through diligence.

Han Haibo introduced the main objectives of the Summer Challenge Camp, which features two practice routes: "New Energy and Green Manufacturing" and "Healthcare and Ecological Industries." The camp aims to enhance learning through hands-on experience and explore multi-dimensional undergraduate cultivation models. He encouraged students to delve into practical issues, research deeply and cultivate a strong sense of national responsibility while gaining real skills and achieving concrete results.

Xie Guoyang, AI Algorithm Manager at CATL Intelligent Manufacturing Department, spoke as a corporate mentor representative. He emphasized the commitment to deepening the "from industry to academia" training model, fostering innovative talent to advance the industry through integrated industry-academia-research collaboration.

Lu Shiyu, a 2024 master's student from GIFT and representative of the Joint Talent Training Base students, shared his determination to maintain enthusiasm, adapt quickly to the new role and address real-world project needs, striving to become an engineer capable of solving core challenges.

Zhou Weifeng and Jin Sun presented the camp flag on behalf of the local government and university, symbolizing the official launch of the Summer Challenge Camp.

Ni Jun delivered closing remarks, outlining the progress of GIFT and its mission to cultivate strategic, international leaders in science and technology. By deepening collaboration between universities and enterprises , the school transforms social practice into a "starting line" for future industries—bringing corporate R&D to campuses and sending students into the industrial field. This approach creates a "shared mechanism" for industry-education synergy and provide the innovation engine, talent foundation and transformation pathway to foster new productive forces and advance economic and social sustainable development.

During their stay in Ningde City, Summer Challenge Camp participants will divide into two teams comprising of ten groups, traveling to diverse areas including Fuan City, Gutian County and Zherong County for a five-day immersive study. They will produce research reports based on topics of university-local collaboration, industrial development and rural revitalization. By engaging with practical issues and realities of Ningde City, participants will contribute youthful energy to its social-economic progress via the dual themes of "New Energy and Green Manufacturing" and "Healthcare and Ecological Industries."