The Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) signed a strategic cooperation agreement on Nov 28 to establish the School of Agricultural Artificial Intelligence.
Before the signing ceremony, Han Jun, minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, met with Chen Jie, chair of the HIT Council, and Han Jiecai, president of HIT.
Leaders from HIT, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, CAAS, and other departments attended the meeting and signing ceremony.
Han Jun meets with Chen Jie and Han Jiecai. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
Han Jun stated that HIT's strengths in artificial intelligence (AI) and other fields make its cooperation with CAAS significant. He expressed hope that both parties would strengthen cooperation, explore new mechanisms for university-research institute collaboration, and integrate resources and strengths for joint research efforts, and AI research and application in agriculture and rural areas.
Chen and Han Jiecai shared HIT's recent achievements in supporting comprehensive rural vitalization. They emphasized that establishing the School of Agricultural Artificial Intelligence is an important step in promoting the integrated development of education, science, and technology talent in agriculture and rural areas. It is also a significant reform initiative to integrate AI into the strategy to build a strong agricultural nation.
The institute aims to create a new paradigm for cultivating agricultural science and technology talent, collaborate in key areas such as biological breeding, accelerate original agricultural innovation and key core technology breakthroughs, cultivate new agricultural productivity, and support the growth of emerging and future agricultural industries, ensuring national food security and accelerating agricultural and rural modernization.
The signing ceremony. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
During the signing ceremony and discussions, both parties held in-depth exchanges on creating a new high ground for collaborative innovation between agriculture and AI.
Chen Jie and Han Jiecai visit CAAS. [Photo/hit.edu.cn]
According to the agreement, the School of Agricultural Artificial Intelligence will be a secondary HIT teaching and research institution. Both parties will focus on national strategic needs to strengthen cooperation, open research platform resources, cultivate emerging interdisciplinary agricultural fields, and develop high-level interdisciplinary talent who integrate agriculture and engineering.
Editor: Yang Wenyu