Professor Xu and Dr. Lu recently attended the NSFC-RGC Conference on Frontiers of Industrial Big Data and Intelligent Systems in Hong Kong, China, from April 28 to May 1, 2023. The conference was held under the Joint Research Scheme of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong.
Dr. Pai Zheng and Dr. Tao Peng, both ex-LISMS members, chaired and co-chaired the conference. Many other ex-LISMS members also attended, including Ray Zhong, Chao Liu, Geng Zhang, Linzhen Zhou, Qiunan Meng, Chunyang Yu, Liang Guo, Honghui Wang, and Wenbo Wang, among others. The LISMS alumni group spent a memorable evening on a boat during the final day of the conference, together with Prof. Lihui Wang, Prof. Yuchun Xu (Chao Liu’s current mentor), Prof. Jason Chen (Dr. Zheng’s previous mentor) and Dr. Zheng’s local organising team at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).
For many, this is the first in-person conference since the Covid pandemic. What makes it even more special is that it was organized by two ex-LISMS members, Dr. Zheng and Dr. Peng. Dr. Zheng’s leadership, in particular, has been widely recognized and praised. At the evening gathering of the LISMS alumni group, Prof. Xu expressed his gratitude and said,
“The relationship between a supervisor and their students can be described in three stages. In the first stage, Nurturing, the student undergoes rigorous academic training with a particular emphasis on scientific research, under the guidance of the supervisor. During the second stage, Supporting, the student completes their postgraduate training, such as a doctoral degree, and begins their career. At this stage, the supervisor often plays a supportive role in any way possible, but mostly still through professional guidance. In the third and final stage, Cheering, the student has gone through the early career phase and become an independent professional and/or rising star in their own right. While the supervisor is still expected to be present, the role shifts to one of cheerleading and appraisal rather than direct guidance. At this point, the supervisor’s mission is complete, and they can take pride in the accomplishments of their former students, e.g. Dr. Pai Zheng and Tao Peng.”
At the conference, Prof. Xu gave a Keynote speech on “Distributed Control for Smart Manufacturing”. Dr. Lu gave a talk on “Human-centric and smart manufacturing”.
You may also find more information (in Chinese) and photos taken at this site: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/H6cAQ1cPkdn4sCHCnDtYTA