On the afternoon of September 3, Academician Fausto Giunchiglia, member of the Academia Europaea, Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor at the University of Trento, Distinguished Professor at ZCST and Executive Director of the International Joint Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and Social Applications, held a meeting with ZCST’s leaders and relevant department heads regarding the work of the Joint Laboratory. Wang Yawu, Secretary of the University Party Committee，President Liu Ming, Vice President Cheng Chunmei, attended the event. Also participating were Liang Yanchun, Dean of the School of Computer Science and Executive Director of the Joint Laboratory; Dong Yan, Director of the Office of International Exchange and Cooperation; Li Dalin, Dean of the School of Logistics Management and Engineering and Deputy Director of the Joint Laboratory; Li Zi, Deputy Director of the Office of International Exchange and Cooperation and Deputy Director of the Joint Laboratory; and Zhang Rui, Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science and Technology, Jilin University, and Distinguished Professor at ZCST School of Computer Science.

During the meeting, Wang Yawu extended a sincere welcome to Fausto Giunchiglia and expressed strong agreement with his “human-centered” philosophy of artificial intelligence development. He stated that the university highly recognizes Fausto Giunchiglia's research concepts and acadamic achievements in the field of artificial intelligence and will continue to provide full support for the development of the Joint Laboratory. He pointed out that ZCST, as an application-oriented university, possesses abundant application scenario resources. He expressed hope to pilot AI integration in vertical areas such as education and teaching, and to explore collaboration with institutions like Southern University of Science and Technology, aiming to bridge the chain from fundamental research to application transformation, nd jointly advance technological innovation and outcome implementation in the field of artificial intelligence.

Liu Ming noted that the construction of the Joint Laboratory serves as an important anchor for the university to achieve leapfrog development in the field of artificial intelligence. The university will increase support in terms of institutional guarantees, resource allocation, and team building. He suggested that the laboratory team focus on formulating the next phase of development plans and construction needs. He emphasized the need to seize the policy opportunity presented by Guangdong Province's promotion of the Future Learning Center initiative, to facilitate the broader promotion and application of the Joint Laboratory's outcomes, striving to inject new momentum into the university's high-quality development and contribute significantly to regional economic and social development and industrial intelligent upgrading.

Fausto Giunchiglia indicated that the cooperation between the two universities in the field of artificial intelligence holds broad development prospects, and the construction of the Joint Laboratory is progressing steadily. He proposed that the current priority is to advance the localization of EAI courses and the implementation of data collection platforms. Subsequent efforts will focus on creating a replicable and scalable educational model, while also strengthening mobility between two sides for technical team development. He looks forward to deepening cooperation with the university in areas such as educational innovation, research synergy, and cultural integration, jointly contributing wisdom and strength to the healthy development of global artificial intelligence. During the meeting, participants also engaged in in-depth and detailed discussions on the key priorities for the subsequent construction of the Joint Laboratory.

On the morning of September 4, Fausto Giunchiglia delivered the 50th session of the ZCST Academic Lecture Series entitled The Data-Driven University to faculty and students of our School of Computer Science, . In his lecture, he elaborated on the core concept of a data-driven university, which is to build an AI service system based on high-quality data. He also drew on the practical experience of the University of Trento to detail how to integrate campus data and build a data service system using knowledge graph technology, and shared cutting-edge concepts such as data privacy protection and citizen science. The lecture attracted active participation from faculty and students of the School of Computer Science, creating a vibrant academic atmosphere.

The above activities conducted by Fausto Giunchiglia at our university have laid a solid foundation for the continued development of the Joint Laboratory and the deepening of collaboration between the two universities. In the future, both parties will adopt a pragmatic approach to steadily advance EAI course promotion, research collaboration, and faculty-student exchanges. They will jointly explore innovative pathways for integrating artificial intelligence with social applications, continuously adding new impetus to cultivating application-oriented talents with international perspectives and innovative abilities, and providing strong support for the university's high-quality development and distinctive educational characteristics.

The Scene of the meeting 

Group Photo

Fausto Giunchiglia delivered Lecture to faulty and students