On the morning of February 12, Wu Jincheng, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Deputy Secretary of the Pudong New Area Party Committee, and District Mayor, led a delegation to inspect the Zhangjiang Institute for Advanced Study (ZIAS), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU).Ding Kuiling (President of SJTU and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences), Zhao Xin (Deputy Secretary of the SJTU Party Committee), and Mu Shan (Vice Dean of the School of Medicine) accompanied the visit.Officials from relevant Pudong departments, heads of various functional departments of SJTU, and the leadership team of ZIAS participated in the research tour.

Wu Jincheng conducted an on-site inspection of the laboratories at the Center for Synthetic Science Innovation.Professor Qu Xudong, Executive Director of the center, introduced the platform’s development progress.Wu held in-depth exchanges with President Ding Kuiling and researchers, gaining a detailed understanding of ZIAS’s achievements in focusing on fundamental disciplines, serving national strategies, and building shared innovation platforms, as well as its future development outlook.

During the symposium, Ding Kuiling warmly welcomed the delegation on behalf of the university.He noted that over the past three decades, the development and opening up of Pudong not only gave rise to a modern urban district but also greatly accelerated the revitalization of Shanghai as a megacity.SJTU has always progressed in step with the city and resonated with Pudong’s development.In recent years, the university has seized opportunities such as the construction of Shanghai as a global sci-tech innovation center, successively building the Lui Che Woo Science Park, ZIAS, and the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, with the new School of Medicine campus in Pudong also set to open this year.Facing a new journey and national education goals, SJTU hopes to continue working hand-in-hand with Pudong, leveraging its strengths in talent and research to focus more closely on national strategies and contribute new and greater achievements.

Following that, Tian Changlin, Executive Dean of ZIAS, presented an overview of the institute’s overall development.ZIAS builds on foundational disciplines such as physics, chemistry, life sciences, materials, and information science, focusing on transformative, disruptive, and pioneering original research, while promoting the application and commercialization of scientific results.At the same time, through a “Talent–Platform–Project” trinity model, it strives to create a high-quality, high-level research environment and institutional system, aiming to become a hub for cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, a cradle for major scientific breakthroughs, a magnet for top-tier talent, and a fertile ground for industrial transformation.During the meeting, Mu Shan gave a report on the construction of the new School of Medicine campus in Pudong and engaged in a focused discussion on advancing the campus relocation project.

Throughout the visit, Wu Jincheng expressed great interest in SJTU’s needs concerning development space, results transformation, and talent support, responding to each concern.He thanked SJTU for its long-term commitment to integrating with Pudong’s high-level reform and development efforts and supporting the city’s role as a leading area for socialist modernization.He emphasized that Pudong must win the battle to strengthen its innovation ecosystem, which includes optimizing planning, increasing innovation density, improving the innovation environment, and adjusting talent structures.To achieve this, the district must further enhance top-tier research institutions, innovation systems, and talent frameworks.Pudong will fully support SJTU’s initiatives in the district and hopes the university will contribute more wisdom and strength to Pudong’s high-quality development.