The Election Meeting of the Smart City Construction Branch of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education Held in Nanjing

On July 23, the election meeting of the Smart City Construction Branch of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education was held in Nanjing.

He Xiuchao, Vice President of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education and former Party Secretary of the Central University of Finance and Economics; Hua Jingxin, Vice President of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education; Wu Hao, Deputy Director and Party Leadership Group member of the Jiangsu Education Department; Yu Lei, a second-level inspector of the Industry and Information Technology Department of Jiangsu; Yin Weimin, Executive Vice President of the Jiangsu Society of Technical and Vocational Education; Ma Wanquan, Director of the Vocational Education Division of the Jiangsu Education Department; Tang Jinhui, Vice President of Nanjing Forestry University; Wu Zongbao, President of Tianjin Vocational University; Kong Jie, Party Secretary of Nanjing Vocational College of Information Technology; and Zhao Xiangjun, President of Nanjing Vocational College of Information Technology, attended the meeting as leaders and guests.

The election agenda of the meeting was chaired by Hua Jingxin, Vice President of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education.

In his welcome speech, Zhao Xiangjun extended a warm welcome to the leaders, experts, and representatives present at the meeting. He pointed out that the current construction of smart cities is rapidly shifting from single-point applications to system integration, data empowerment, scene-driven applications, and intelligent collaboration, which places new and higher demands on talent cultivation in vocational education. Vocational colleges must proactively adapt to technological changes and industrial development trends, focusing on cultivating versatile technical and skilled talent who are proficient in data, familiar with networks, and adept at governance. Nanjing Vocational College of Information Technology will take the opportunity of hosting this meeting to build a collaborative development platform with all member units of the branch, improve the high-quality talent training system, expand social service functions, and provide strong talent and technical support for smart city construction.

In his speech, Wu Hao introduced the relevant situation of Jiangsu's vocational education in serving smart city construction and the development of the digital economy. He stated that Jiangsu is continuously optimizing the layout of its vocational education programs. Currently, higher vocational colleges have more than 400 related program offerings, cultivating over 80,000 technical and skilled talents annually. The province is also actively promoting the construction of municipal-level industry-education consortia, industry-education integration communities, and the empowerment of education and teaching with artificial intelligence. It is hoped that the branch will adhere to political guidance and firmly grasp the correct direction for its development; proactively serve national strategies, and continue to deepen the industry-education integration, and the integration of science and education; Expand opening-up and cooperation, and gather the strengths of government, universities, industries, and enterprises to make greater contributions to building a powerful nation in education and a digital China.

In his speech, Yu Lei introduced the solid foundation of Jiangsu's manufacturing industry and digital economy development. Jiangsu has established 14 national advanced manufacturing clusters, and by 2025, the added value of the province's core digital economy industries will reach 1.61 trillion yuan, accounting for 11.8% of the regional GDP. He hopes the branch will fully leverage its role as a platform and a link to further expand the depth and breadth of industry-education integration; deepen university-enterprise cooperation and promote the integration of science and education, focusing on key technology research and development, the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and the construction of application scenarios; explore and improve the talent cultivation and evaluation mechanisms in the smart city field, build a highland for cultivating high-quality technical and skilled talent, and better serve the development of a strong province in manufacturing and digital-real integration.

In his speech, He Xiuchao pointed out that with the accelerated development of new-generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twins, and spatial intelligence, urban governance is entering a new stage of human-machine collaboration and virtual-real integration. The branch committee must accurately grasp the new opportunities and requirements brought by smart city construction, promote the timely integration of cutting-edge technologies into majors, curricula, and classrooms, and transform real projects in urban construction, operation, and governance into resources for talent cultivation; adhere to the principle of tech for good, with a focus on data security, digital ethics, and humanistic care; Actively bridge the digital divide, strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, and cultivate more high-quality technical and skilled talent for smart city construction. 

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During the meeting, the Letter from the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education on Approving the Re-election and Renaming of the Smart Internet of Things Professional Committee was read out. The meeting heard, deliberated on, and passed the Work Report of the Second Smart Internet of Things Professional Committee of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education, the Working Rules of the Smart City Construction Branch of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education, and the Election Methods of the Smart City Construction Branch of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education, as well as the list of election supervisors and vote counters. It elected 188 branch committee members and the new chairman and other members of the Smart City Construction Branch, announced the appointment of 19 experts from related fields as special experts of the branch committee, and deliberated on and released the Three-Year Work Plan of the Smart City Construction Branch of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education.

Kong Jie delivered a statement on behalf of the new committee. He stated that the new committee will adhere to the correct political direction and take the initiative to serve the development of a strong nation in education, a digital China, and new urbanization; adhere to the principle of educating people, and promote the optimization of professional structures, the updating of curriculum content, and the reform of talent cultivation models; Adhere to deepening the industry-education integration, improve the collaborative mechanism for members, and promote the organic connection of the education chain, talent chain, industrial chain, and innovation chain; adhere to practical work and responsibility, and improve a standardized, efficient, and open operating mechanism. Nanjing Vocational College of Information Technology will work closely with Tianjin Vocational University and all member units to promote the implementation of the branch's various tasks.

Tang Jinhui delivered a speech on behalf of the invited experts. He stated that the renaming from the Smart Internet of Things Professional Committee to the Smart City Construction Branch is not just a change of name, but more importantly, it reflects the expansion of the work's vision from Internet of Everything to smart urban governance. The branch must adhere to being demand-driven and promote professional development to keep pace with the industrial development of smart cities; strengthen school-enterprise collaboration and transform real-world scenarios in urban planning, construction, operation, and governance into educational and teaching resources; deepen the integration of science and education, and promptly incorporate the latest scientific research achievements, technical specifications, and industrial practices into the entire process of talent cultivation. At the same time, great importance should be attached to data security, algorithm reliability, and artificial intelligence ethics, and collaborative innovation among regular universities, vocational colleges, research institutions, and industry enterprises should be strengthened.

He Xiuchao delivered a keynote report titled Empowering Cities with Digital Intelligence, Forging the Future with Craftsmanship. The report was structured around four aspects. First, smart city construction: the contemporary orientation and strategic logic of urban development; second, vocational education serving smart cities: its mission and challenges; third, systematic construction: three major projects to promote the effective implementation of vocational education for smart cities; fourth, building consensus: to promote the steady and long-term development of vocational education for smart cities. He pointed out that smart cities represent the contemporary orientation of urban development and that vocational education shoulders the historical responsibility of cultivating high-quality technical and skilled talent. He proposed the implementation of three major projects: strengthening professional foundations, integrating industry and education, and forging talent. He also suggested focusing on four aspects: building a consensus on values, improving institutional design, strengthening the role of standards, and expanding international cooperation, so as to contribute the strength of vocational education to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through a Chinese path to modernization.

Wang Qing delivered an expert report titled From Smart City to Urban Renewal: Concept Evolution, Technical Support, and Practical Paths. The report systematically reviewed the evolution from digital earth, smart city, and new smart city to urban renewal. It provided an in-depth explanation of the application of technologies such as the Internet of Things, city information modeling, digital twins, artificial intelligence, 3D geographic information systems, and urban data platforms in urban construction and governance. It also analyzed the importance of breaking down data barriers and promoting system collaboration in urban digital transformation, using practical cases like Yuxi in Yunnan and the Southern New Town of Nanjing. The report pointed out that smart city construction requires a large number of interdisciplinary talents who have mastered both information technology and are familiar with urban governance and industry applications. Vocational education should further strengthen inter-major integration and the cultivation of practical skills.

The conference also featured five thematic reports. Experts from universities, research institutions, and industry enterprises conducted exchanges on five topics: future networks for smart cities, smart city governance, artificial intelligence for smart cities, vocational education for smart cities, and smart city services. They shared the latest research findings and practical experiences in related fields, further deepening the attendees' understanding of the technological development, talent demands, and vocational education reform directions for smart cities.

This meeting was hosted by the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education and co-organized by the Smart City Construction Branch of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education, Nanjing Vocational College of Information Technology, and Tianjin Vocational University. A total of 176 representatives from vocational colleges, general institutions of higher education, research institutes, industry enterprises, and member units across China attended the meeting.

Photo/Text by Cui Jun, School of Artificial Intelligence

Reviewed by He Miao, School of Artificial Intelligence