On the afternoon of June 3, SCMU held the inauguration ceremony for its School of Robotics alongside a symposium on “Robotics+” Enhancing Border Security and High-Quality Development at the Academic Exchange Center. University Party Secretary Xu Yeqin, President Liu Yi, and university leaders Li Hongyan, Song Fajun, Qin Rui, and Fang Debin joined over 30 distinguished guests. Among the attendees were Liu Sheng, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor at Wuhan University, Chen Xuedong, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Zhang Yanduo, President of Wuhan Institute of Technology, Yang Zongying, President of Huawei Technologies Mining Corps, and Jia Tong, Party Secretary of Northeastern University School of Robotics. Together with representatives from relevant university departments and faculty and students from the School of Robotics, over 200 attendees gathered to witness this historic moment. Song Fajun presided over the inauguration ceremony, while Fang Debin presided over the symposium.

School of Robotics inauguration ceremony unveiling.

Photo courtesy of School of Robotics

Liu Sheng, Chen Xuedong, Zhang Yanduo, Yang Zongying, Xu Yeqin, and Liu Yi jointly unveiled the School of Robotics.

Liu Yi delivering remarks. Photo courtesy of School of Robotics

In his remarks, Liu Yi stated that establishing the School of Robotics represents an important initiative for the university to respond to the national innovation-driven development strategy and advance “Double First-Class” construction. The university will seize current opportunities by serving three strategic priorities: national security needs, intelligent industrial upgrading, and innovation in ethnic higher education. The school will focus on three key missions: “long-term stability and security”, “industry-education integration”, and “educational equity”, crafting three compelling narratives of intelligent robotics empowerment to jointly compose a magnificent chapter of robotics technology empowering national development and ethnic rejuvenation.

Academician Liu Sheng delivering remarks. Photo courtesy of School of Robotics

Academician Liu Sheng congratulated SCMU on establishing the School of Robotics. He noted that intelligent communication and chip technology are core foundations for robotics research and development, and the school’s establishment within the School of Electronic Information Engineering demonstrates profound disciplinary logic and historical necessity. He suggested that SCMU’s School of Robotics deepen collaboration and create value through three dimensions: building “electronic information and robotics” interdisciplinary programs, advancing “technology and industry” integration, and cultivating “technology + ethnic culture” characteristics.

Guest remarks. Photo courtesy of School of Robotics

Zhang Yanduo, representing peer universities, remarked that SCMU’s establishment of the School of Robotics comes at an opportune time. He expressed hope for the two universities to share research platform resources, jointly conduct research projects, and together help Hubei build a nationally influential science and technology innovation hub. Jia Tong, representing peer schools, noted that SCMU’s establishment of the School of Robotics both responds to national strategic needs and fills a gap in specialized robotics education among ethnic universities, making it profoundly significant. Yang Zongying, representing partner enterprises, warmly congratulated SCMU on establishing the School of Robotics and offered suggestions for the school’s development.

Conference scene. Photo courtesy of School of Robotics

During the ceremony, Li Hongyan announced the university’s documents regarding the establishment of the School of Robotics and administrative appointments. Yang Chunyong, Dean of the School of Robotics, presented a detailed report on the school’s development plan, proposing that the school will serve national strategic needs and promote applied basic research and technological innovation in robotics for border development and prosperity, striving to become a premier “red engineer” training ground for consolidating a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation in China’s robotics field.

Wuhan Yangtze River Communication Industry Group and Hubei Yunzhi Feixiang Technology Co., Ltd. signed industry-university cooperation agreements with the university, while Shenzhen UBTECH Robotics and Hunan Supernova Robotics reached talent development agreements.

Signing ceremony. Photo courtesy of School of Robotics.

Following the inauguration, the university hosted a symposium on empowering frontier security and high-quality development. Academician Chen Xuedong delivered a cutting-edge academic report titled “Intelligent Mobile Robotics Technology and Practice”. Drawing on the development history of humanoid robots, he elaborated on key technologies for humanoid robots’ robust “body”, agile “cerebellum”, and intelligent “brain”, analyzing the priorities, challenges, opportunities, and obstacles in tackling key technologies. He also outlined development visions for intelligent robots adapted to complex terrain and special mission applications based on national strategic needs.

Academician Chen Xuedong delivering report. Photo courtesy of School of Robotics

During the symposium, industry experts including Professor Jia Tong, Professor Qiu Caiming, Dean of the School of Electronic Information and Communications at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Professor Cheng Hong, Director of the Robotics Research Center at University of Electronic Science and Technology, and Professor Zhang Hui, Executive Vice Dean of the School of Robotics at Hunan University, delivered specialized reports and discussions on “Robotics+” Empowering Frontier Security and High-Quality Development.