ZJU joins hands with Alibaba Cloud to establish “SmartCloud Laboratory”
On April 3, 2018, the “SmartCloud Laboratory”, jointly initiated by the Information Technology Center of Zhejiang University and Alibaba Cloud, was officially inaugurated.
The lab will be committed to research into technologies and theories concerning cloud computing, artificial intelligence, the 5th generation wireless system (5G), future networks and the Internet of Things (IoT) and introducing cutting-edge technologies into institutions of higher learning.
It will aim at pioneering in the educational mode, bolstering the development of tertiary education, promoting the construction of educational informatics and boosting the expeditious growth of the educational informatics industry. It will bring in sophisticated technologies in an orderly manner by catering to ZJU’s goal of building a “double first-class” university, condensing core demands and utilizing the “Online ZJU” platform. It will integrate the complementary assets of ZJU and Alibaba Cloud. It will create an open sharing system, incubate innovative start-ups and evolve gradually into a powerful magnet for top talents in educational informatics and a superb academic institution to provide effective solutions and excellent services.
President WU Zhaohui attended the inauguration ceremony. Also present at the ceremony was Executive Vice President REN Shaobo, who said that the establishment of the SmartCloud Laboratory was a clear symbol of close partnership between ZJU and Alibaba Cloud in educational informatics. He hoped that it would become a driving force for informatics at ZJU and even China’s informatics innovation in higher education.
“Many initiatives, including Hangzhou’s City Brain and Zhejiang’s “At Most One Visit” reform, are indicative of mobile internet. We look forward to working together with ZJU to create an innovative university by incorporating internet technologies and platforms and advocating research into innovation,” said HU Xiaoming, President of Alibaba Cloud.
“It is hoped that we will improve the computing capacity of universities and create a unified information platform through the SmartCloud Laboratory. We will make joint efforts in improving teaching and learning efficiency, promoting scientific research and development and pushing forward the development of a Digital China via modern information technology,” HU said.