On the morning of March 28, Professor Fausto Giunchiglia, Member of Academia Europaea from the University of Trento, Italy, visited ZCST and was officially appointed as a distinguished professor of ZCST. Liao Liguo, Chairman of the Board of ZCST, Liu Ming, President of ZCST, and Cheng Chunmei, Vice President of ZCST, met with the guests and attended the meeting. Liang Yanchun, Dean of the School of Computer Science, Dong Yan, Director of the International Exchange and Cooperation Department, Liu Yanheng, Deputy Dean of the School of Computer Science, Li Dalin, Deputy Dean of the School of Logistics Management and Engineering, Li Zi, Deputy Director of the International Exchange and Cooperation Department, and Zhang Rui, a teacher from Jilin University, participated in the meeting.

This meeting mainly focused on the scientific research cooperation between ZCST and Professor Fausto Giunchiglia in the field of artificial intelligence. Liao Liguo extended a warm welcome to Professor Fausto Giunchiglia's visit and sincerely thanked him for his long-term support for the construction and development of the computer and artificial intelligence fields of ZCST. He emphasized that as an application-oriented university, ZCST has consistently adhered to open education and regards serving society as its fundamental mission. The development of artificial intelligence is of great significance to the progress of human civilization. In recent years, with the goal of serving the development of new-quality productive forces, ZCST has placed the construction of the artificial intelligence discipline in an important development position, continuously increased resource investment in related disciplines and majors such as computer science, integrated circuits, big data, and robotics, and is committed to cultivating high-quality applied talents in the field of artificial intelligence with both a sense of national and family responsibility and innovative capabilities. In the field of using artificial intelligence to empower teaching and scientific research development, ZCST has made full preparations and plans. Recently, ZCST has even launched the construction of the Artificial Intelligence and Development Capability Simulation and Experience Center. ZCST plans to purchase globally advanced artificial intelligence equipment, invite technicians, scientists, or experts engaged in the fields of artificial intelligence and intelligence to join the research. It has also set up a total support fund of 1 million yuan to hold an artificial intelligence innovation competition to enhance teachers' and students' understanding of artificial intelligence practices and application scenarios. He stated that ZCST will continue to promote talent cultivation and application innovation in the field of artificial intelligence to ensure that technological development always serves social well-being and the progress of human civilization. The joining of Professor Fausto Giunchiglia will inject strong impetus into the construction of disciplines like computer science, big data, and artificial intelligence in ZCST. In the future, the two sides can also explore innovative applications in fields such as using artificial intelligence to empower education through forms such as jointly building a laboratory and hosting international academic forums. ZCST will also take this cooperation as an opportunity to further integrate internal and external resources, create a collaborative innovation ecosystem of government, industry, academia, research, and finance in the field of artificial intelligence, and contribute wisdom and strength to building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into a world-class science and technology bay area.

The meeting with Professor Fausto Giunchiglia

At the meeting, Professor Fausto Giunchiglia thanked ZCST for its warm reception and mainly shared his main research topics on artificial intelligence and his vision and plan for jointly building an artificial intelligence laboratory. He proposed that artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly, and the traditional education model should transform into an integrated and iterative model of education, scientific research, and innovation, so universities play a key role in this process. He expressed the hope to carry out in-depth cooperation with ZCST to establish an artificial intelligence application model with the goal of serving people.

After attentively listening to Professor Fausto Giunchiglia’s sharing on artificial intelligence, Liu Ming expressed agreement with his human-centered research philosophy and provided guidance on the implementation framework, support system, and safeguard mechanisms for jointly establishing a laboratory with our university. He emphasized that ZCST is actively promoting the integration of AI into teaching and research, making this collaboration particularly timely. Aligned with its current development goals, ZCST will fully support the exploration of joint laboratory initiatives with Professor Fausto Giunchiglia’s team.

Following the discussion, the participating representatives engaged in in-depth communication and deliberation regarding the details of the joint laboratory initiative. The meeting also featured the appointment ceremony of Professor Fausto Giunchiglia as a Distinguished Professor. Liu Ming presented Professor Fausto Giunchiglia with the official letter of appointment, marking the beginning of his long-term collaboration with our university. This partnership will focus on strategic projects, including the co-establishment of an AI laboratory and joint research endeavors.

Group photo of the delegates

Appointment ceremony for Professor Fausto Giunchiglia

Fausto Giunchiglia

Member of the Academia Europaea

Professor at the University of Trento, Italy

Distinguished Professor at Zhuhai College of Science and Technology

Recipient of the 2024 Chinese Government Friendship Award

Professional Background:

Former President and Conference Chair of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), and former Vice Rector of the University of Trento, Italy. His primary research focus is artificial intelligence.

Academic Achievements:

Winner of over 10 Best Paper Awards at international conferences.

Delivered more than 50 keynote speeches at global academic events.

Served as Conference Chair for prestigious events, including IJCAI 2005 and KSEM 2018, among others.

Editorial Board Member for over 10 renowned international journals, such as Journal of Data Semantics and Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research.

Research Leadership:

Has led more than 20 national and international collaborative research projects in Italy.