At 8 p.m. on April 11, Beijing time, the UofT-HUST Joint Virtual Workshop on Innovation and Future Technology for Wellbeing was held online, with an aim to build an exchange platform for existing and potential partners of the two sides. Present at the workshop were Alex Mihailidis, Associate Vice-President of the University of Toronto, Christopher Yip, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Gwen Burrows, Assistant Vice-President, Michelle Beaton, Director of International Relations, Rikki Zhao, Director of China Partnership, Chen Jianguo, Vice President of HUST, Chen Jie, Director of the Office of International Affairs, and Jiang Jing, Deputy Director of the Office of International Affairs. 43 scholars from over 10 faculties of the two universities took part in the workshop chaired by Alex Mihailidis.

In the opening speech, Chen Jianguo pointed out that the partnership between HUST and the University of Toronto is getting increasingly close, bringing marked results. Last year, the two universities jointly conducted more than 20 multidisciplinary lectures and seminars, which unleashed great potential for further cross-disciplinary academic exchange and research collaboration. The online workshop, which involves more than 40 scholars from HUST and U of T, would serve as an important platform for connecting potential collaborators from two sides towards successful applications for the joint seed funds, so as to solve the common challenges the world is facing today, and to promote human well-being and global sustainable development.

Christopher Yip delivered a speech on behalf of the University of Toronto. He noted that the two universities kept a partnership for nearly a decade, and he was pleased to see that many teachers, including the scholars from the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, have established a longstanding academic relationship with their colleagues at HUST, and they are working together to develop close research collaboration in the areas of innovation and future technologies for human well-being. The University of Toronto and its Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering will continue to support and promote the deep friendship with HUST. He looked forward to resuming face-to-face exchanges between the two universities as soon as possible.

Alex Mihailidis introduced the background and format of this event. He said that China, Canada and many other countries in the world are facing common problems such as population aging, and that the international community is facing common challenges in public health, smart cities, clean energy and other major issues as well. He hoped that the outstanding scholars from both universities could take this workshop as an opportunity to develop more fruitful research collaborations in broader and more cutting-edge disciplines and fields.

Afterwards, scholars from both sides made their individual academic presentations in turn, including 25 scholars from the HUST’s School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Communications, School of Artificial Intelligence and Automation, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, School of Life Science and Technology, School of Computer Science and Technology, School of Mathematics and Statistics, School of Management, School of Journalism and Information Communication, School of Basic Medicine, School of Public Health, School of Medicine and Health Management, and Union Hospital, and 18 scholars from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Department of Statistical Sciences, the Rotman School of Management, the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, and the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto. Academic sharing was carried out around six major topics, including eldercare and AI, public health and community, smart cities, life science and medicine, innovation technology and data, and green energy. Besides, in-depth group discussions and communication were also carried out afterwards.

In the concluding remarks, Michelle Beaton expressed her gratitude to the event organizers of the two universities, and gave a brief introduction to the HUST-UofT Joint Research Seed Fund Program, the follow-up cooperation project. Chen Jie said that the three-hour-long presentations and discussion of scholars at the workshop fully highlighted the importance of enhancing international research cooperation and academic exchange in today’s world, and that HUST and the University of Toronto will continue to explore the potential of cooperation, join forces and complement each other’s strengths to produce more fruitful cooperation results.

Written by: Chang Wen, Peng Yumeng

Edited by: Chang Wen, Peng Yumeng