ZJU and PolyU unveil Joint Research Institute for Digital Intelligence and Innovation

The Joint Research Institute for Digital Intelligence and Innovation, established by Zhejiang University (ZJU) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), was officially inaugurated on August 26, opening a new chapter in the strategic partnership between the two universities. REN Shaobo, Chairman of the Zhejiang University Council, and TENG Jin-Guang, President of PolyU, attended the ceremony and jointly unveiled the Institute.

REN Shaobo highlighted the productive partnership the two universities have built since 1997 through talent development, faculty exchanges, and academic collaboration. Over nearly three decades, these efforts have fostered a strong foundation of mutual trust. As digital and intelligent technologies continue to reshape economies and societies worldwide, ZJU and PolyU are well positioned to combine their distinctive and complementary strengths in digital intelligence and innovation.

REN Shaobo expressed the hope that the Institute would bring together leading researchers from both universities, pursue cutting-edge research in such fields as artificial intelligence, data science, and intelligent computing, and produce original research outcomes with international impact. He also called on the Institute to nurture globally minded talent in digital intelligence and innovation, accelerate the translation and commercialization of technological advances, and inject fresh impetus into the high-quality development of the digital economy in Zhejiang Province and across China.

TENG Jin-Guang described the Institute as a natural extension and deepening of the universities’ nearly three-decade partnership, marking a new milestone in their collaboration. He expressed the hope that the Institute would align its work closely with China’s strategic priorities and conduct forward-looking, original, and impactful research in digital and intelligent technologies and related frontier fields.

TENG Jin-Guang also emphasized the importance of leveraging Hong Kong’s unique position, backed by the motherland and connected to the world, to foster closer collaboration between researchers from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, while integrating international innovation resources. Through these efforts, the institute is expected to contribute to China’s pursuit of greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology and to the country’s high-quality development.

In its initial phase, the Institute will establish six multidisciplinary research centers focusing respectively on the digital and intelligent development of culture and tourism, digital and intelligent services, technologies and governance for intelligent unmanned systems, key technologies for the design, operation, and maintenance of marine renewable energy systems, embodied intelligent robots and the low-altitude economy, and the interdisciplinary integration of digital intelligence and innovation with strategic industries.

The Institute also comprises a Research and Development Center for Digital Intelligence Education, the Zhejiang–Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Human–Machine Collaboration and Organizational Transformation, and a dedicated team of high-caliber researchers. It aims to develop into an international multidisciplinary research platform and high-level think tank, a multi-tiered platform integrating industry, research, and education while facilitating technology transfer, and a high-impact platform for international exchange and cooperation.

Through these endeavors, the Institute will contribute to developing an independent Chinese knowledge system in digital intelligence and innovation while helping address major national and regional strategic needs.

Adapted and translated from the article written by SHU Conghan
Photo: TING Guang
Translator: FANG Fumin
Editor: DING Chenwei