Vice President ZHAO Chao Won “China Industry-University-Research Cooperation and Innovation Award”

On March 17, the 15th China Industry-University-Research Cooperation and Innovation Conference was grandly held at the Beijing Conference Center. The conference recognized and commended the advanced entities and individuals who received the “2023 China Industry-University-Research Cooperation, Innovation, and Promotion Award”. WAN Gang, Vice Chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and President of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), GU Shengzhu, Vice Chairman of the 13th National Committee of CPPCC, HAN Qide, Honorary Chairman of the CAST, SUN Yao, a Member of the Leading Party Group and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education, XU Xiaolan, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and LU Pengqi, a Member of the Leading Party Group and Deputy Director of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, attended the conference, delivered speeches, and presented awards to the winners. With the theme “Focusing on Industry-University-Research: New Momentum, New Models, and New Industries”, the conference discussed how to implement the strategy for invigorating China through science and education, the strategy of reinvigorating China through human resource development, and innovation-driven development strategy through industry-university-research collaborative innovation to develop new quality productive forces, support and lead the construction of the modern industrial system, and promote the country’s high-quality development. Over 1,000 frontline representatives from the government, industries, universities, and research institutes from all over the country attended the conference. ZHAO Chao, Vice President of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (AADTHU) and Vice President of Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research (TASA), was honored with the “2023 China Industry-University-Research Cooperation and Innovation Award” for his significant contributions to promoting the industry-university-research-application collaborative innovation processes driven by design-related interdisciplinary study.

In recent years, ZHAO Chao has garnered widespread academic attention and industrial applications both domestically and internationally with his remarkable academic research and industrial practice achievements in theoretical research, industrial transformation, platform innovation, etc., focusing on major national needs and in the area of “health design”. ZHAO Chao pioneered the exploration of a new paradigm deeply integrating design science with the healthcare industry in China’s design discipline, establishing the “Innovative Design Institute for Healthcare Industry” and creating an integrated innovative research platform for the design of healthcare products/services systems. Focusing on major pandemic prevention and control needs, challenges of aging societies, innovative applications of biotechnology, and humanistic medical experiences, he has been exploring theoretical methods and practical approaches to serve the major needs of the country through “health design”. With the integration advantages of the industrial design discipline, ZHAO Chao has deeply blended information technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, and artificial intelligence, explored new products, services, and models for the intelligent healthcare industry, and created a design-driven full lifecycle intelligent healthcare service system that connects prevention, medical treatment, rehabilitation, and care, contributing to the Healthy China initiative. He is dedicated to establishing a high-level collaborative innovation platform among the government, industries, universities, and research institutes, promoting the construction of TASA, and giving full play to the advantages of Tsinghua’s comprehensive disciplines, location and industry. Through university-local government cooperations such as integration and innovation in arts and science, technology transfer, enterprise incubation, talent development, and entrepreneurial services, he has helped to build a top-notch cultivation, R&D, and incubation research base and construct a cross-innovation industry-university-research development path driven by design.

ZHAO Chao has been selected for the National Leading Talent Program, the National Young Talent Program of the Ministry of Education, and the New Century Outstanding Talent Program of the Ministry of Education. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the International Council of Design (ICoD), Deputy Director of the Industrial Design Committee of the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society, Deputy Director of the Education Committee of the China Fashion Color Association, Deputy Director of the Simulation Technology Committee of China Industrial Cooperation Association, Deputy Director of the Professional Committee of Hospital Humanities Construction of Chinese Association for Life Care, and Vice President of the Beijing Original Design Promotion Association. At the same time, he continues to promote multi-industry collaborative innovation in the field of design.

The China Industry-University-Research Institute Collaboration Association (CIUR) is a high-level collaborative innovation platform that integrates resources across national ministries and commissions, regions, industries, and disciplines, jointly established by relevant departments and universities, research institutes, and enterprises in the industrial, academic, and research fields, including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the China Association for Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. XU Zhijian, former Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council, LU Yongxiang, former Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and WANG Jianhua, a member of the China Association for Science and Technology, have previously served as chairmen of CIUR. With the support of the National Office for Science and Technology Awards, CIUR has established the “China Industry-University-Research Cooperation Innovation and Promotion Award” to commend the advanced individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the industry-university-research collaborative innovation. This award is a significant honor in the industry-university-research field, which plays an important motivating role in promoting the spirit of innovation, scientific endeavor, and craftsmanship, driving deep integration in the industry-university-research field, and facilitating high-quality economic development.