On November 29, the "2022 International Conference of Industry-University Cooperation - Digital and Green Development Innovation Forum", organized by the Ministry of Education and hosted by Tongji University under the guidance of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, was held both online and offline. The forum has a main session and seven parallel sessions.

XI Ru, a second-level inspector with the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange of the Ministry of Education, MAO Lijuan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Kai Sicks, secretary general of the German Academic Exchange Center, Harald Kainz, president of Graz University of Technology, Austria, and CHEN Jie, president of Tongji University and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), addressed the forum respectively. Present at the forum were GU Xianglin and LOU Yongqi, vice presidents of Tongji University, over 30 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and CAE, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, the German Academy of Science and Engineering, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the International Association of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and the Australian Academy of Engineering as well as leading figures in academia both at home and abroad. In addition, more than 20 senior managers from leading enterprises such as BMW, Lufthansa, Porsche, Rhine Metal, SAP, and Siemens, and about 300 professors from Chinese and international universities participated in the forum.

Tongji University has optimized its international exchange and cooperation resources over the last few years. In 2022, Tongji University launched the Strategy of Cooperation with Germany 2.0, and established China's first Sino-German Doctorate School and the fiirst Sino-German international cross-disciplinary research cooperation platform - Sino-German Joint Research Center. Tongji University has made continued efforts in improving the cultivation of high-level talents based on the existing research and education platforms. This forum is also a chance for the Chinese and foreign tutors of the Chinese German Doctoral School to decide on topics of mutual interest. They had in-depth discussions on optimizing the topics and programs of joint doctoral education programs based on the research needs of both parties and the strengths of the research teams jointly led by them. They worked closely together to cultivate high-level innovative talents and professional elites with global competitiveness that lead the future with the common needs of the Chinese and German industries.

XI Ru said that Tongji University had played an important role as a link in Sino-German and Sino-EU exchanges. Tongji University's Strategy of Cooperation with Germany 2.0 is an exploration in cooperation of high-level talent education based on the integration of science and education under the double-tutor model. It is hoped that all parties will work together to share their expertise of complementary advantages and build a consortium that integrates the industry, university, research, and application. Joint efforts will be made to better meet the urgent needs for high-quality, cross-disciplinary, and international high-level talent education placed by the industry and research institutions in various countries. High-quality international education exchanges will be organized to promote scientific and technological innovation achievements to benefit more countries and people.

MAO Lijuan said that Tongji University, born as a result of the marriage between Chinese and Western cultures, has been committed to high-quality education and international cooperation. The Sino-German College of Tongji University is the first Sino-German cooperative college in China; The Sino-German Institute and the Sino-German Institute of Engineering were successively branded as the "Sino-foreign Cooperative Education Model of Shanghai". The Sino-German Doctoral School and Sino-German Joint Research Center (Tongji University) set up earlier this year will strive to become a high-level international doctoral education platform for science and education collaboration. It is hoped that this seminar will further strengthen Sino-Germany/EU education, science and technology, people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation, and promote high-quality talent education and cutting-edge research.

Sikes said that Tongji University is a bridge for Sino-German educational exchanges and provides a platform for Sino-German scholars and students to carry out high-level academic exchanges and innovative research. The German Academic Exchange Center and Tongji University have a long-term friendly partnership of mutual trust. The two sides will continue to work together to promote high-quality and in-depth cooperation in personnel training and scientific research between Chinese and German universities. It is hoped that the newly established Sino-German Doctoral School will further promote innovative cooperation between universities, research institutes, and well-known enterprises of the two countries in the field of digital and green development to achieve win-win results.

Kainz said that today's human society is facing various challenges, which can only be solved through international cooperation. Tongji University and the Graz University of Technology are two excellent and dynamic universities, which will certainly promote the two universities to develop towards higher goals and achieve their own progress and break through. In the future, Graz University of Technology will continue to deepen close cooperation with Tongji University and further promote exchanges and cooperation between students and academic staff.

In his speech, CHEN Jie expressed his sincere welcome and gratitude to visitors from Germany, Austria, Australia, France, Switzerland, and the United States. He said that Tongji University has established a long-term and in-depth strategic partnership with European universities represented by Germany and Austria, and has created a "pioneering model" for the cooperation between many Chinese and European universities. The forum aims to promote the integration of industry, university, research, and application between China and European universities including Germany. In recent years, Tongji University has further integrated disciplinary resources, gathered the best resources in talents, scientific research, technology, and other aspects with European partners such as Germany in the frontier fields of digitalization, intelligence, and green innovation, and promoted the connection of education chain, talent chain, innovation chain, and industry chain. A number of research and development platforms have been jointly built to cultivate high-level innovative talents with a global vision who integrate science and education with industry and education and seek solutions to common problems faced by mankind.

At the forum, President CHEN Jie and President Kainz signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Tongji University and the Graz University of Technology. In the future, the two universities will continue to strengthen cooperation at various levels of high-level talent education, high-quality integrated development of industry, university, research, and application.

Professor Frank Allgöwer of the University of Stuttgart who is a member of the International Federation of Automatic Control, and member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers; Professor Michael Abramovici of Ruhr University Bochum, member of the German Academy of Engineering, German deputy director of the Sino-German Mechanical Engineering Center of Tongji University; Professor Mark Burry of Swinburn University of Science and Technology, Australia and member of the Australian Academy of Engineering; Professor Günther Meschke, vice president of Ruhr University Bochum, member of the German Academy of Engineering, of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and that of the European Academy of Sciences; Professor Alois Knoll of the Technical University of Munich, Vice President of the EU Human Brain Program; Professor Karsten Neuhoff of the Technical University of Berlin, Head of the Climate Policy Department of the German Economic Research Institute; Professor DAI Xiaohu of the School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Tongji University, Mr. ZHAN Yiqiang, Chief Operating Officer of Lianying Intelligent Medical Technology Co., Ltd., and Mr. Dragana Kostic, Vice President of BMW Asia Pacific Technology Center, delivered keynote speeches on digital and green development respectively in a special session of the Forum.

After the special session, parallel sessions were organized on the themes of "digital enabling green development governance system", "digital technology foundation", "digital enabling automobile and transportation", "digital enabling manufacturing and construction", "green ecological environment", "smart medical treatment" and "Sino- German design education forum" at colleges and schools of Tongji University to continue in-depth exploration and integrated development of international industry, university, research and application in various fields. Further discussions were held on the joint education of top talents with a global perspective before involving parties reached a consensus on cooperative scientific research and talent education.

Tongji University and European strategic partner universities including Germany have explored and established the "double-tutor" joint educational model based on international cooperation in the field of digital and green innovation. The first batch of doctoral postgraduates enrolled under the "double-tutor" program will start their education in the autumn of 2022. The tutors of both sides will jointly participate in the whole process of talent cultivation, jointly make educational plans, jointly carry out modular teaching, textbook construction, scientific research cooperation, and jointly provide high-quality communication and practice opportunities.

The Sino-German Doctoral School of Tongji University has gathered more than 100 doctoral tutors from Tongji University, Germany, and other European universities, among whom there are over 30 Chinese and foreign academic leading figures who are CAS Members, CAE Members, and members of German Academy of Science and Engineering, Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering. At present, Sino-German and EU cooperation tutors have conducted substantive research cooperation on topics of common concern of human society, such as "traffic flow optimization in the context of smart cities", "energy-saving technology transformation", "coastal groundwater pollution", "international emergency supply chain under major public health emergencies", "degradation characteristics of biodegradable materials in waste disposal" to cultivate doctoral students based upon these research cooperations.  In the future, the Sino-German Doctoral School plans to enroll 100 doctoral students every year.