The World Young Scientists Forum (Nanjing) was held in Jiangbei New Area (JBNA), Nanjing on 20 September. This event has built a vital bridge for global scientific and technological exchanges. As a co-organiser of the Forum, Cambridge University Nanjing Centre of Technology and Innovation (hereafter referred to as "the Centre") was deeply involved in the core activities. It not only participated in various forms to facilitate the global exchange of scientific and technological innovation ideas, but also took the opportunity of the forum to advance the second-phase cooperation with JBNA, setting a new direction for regional scientific and technological innovation development.

Since its establishment in 2018, the Centre has been focused on building a bilateral innovation cooperation platform with international influence. It has become a key link for Sino-UK exchanges and collaboration in the field of scientific and technological innovation, and also provided strong support for JBNA to connect with high-quality global scientific and technological resources and promote industrial upgrading. During this Forum, the Centre’s "appearance" featured both pragmatic progress in cooperation signings and sincere expectations conveyed through remarks by a senior official. Sir Mark Welland, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Special Adviser to Vice-Chancellor on China, extended congratulations to the Forum via an online video message. In his speech, he noted that the University of Cambridge had long established a close relationship with Nanjing Jiangbei New Area; Cambridge University Nanjing Centre of Technology and Innovation, jointly founded by the two parties in 2018, had become a key platform for the University of Cambridge to advance scientific research cooperation, technology transfer, and talent cultivation in China. He added that the new round of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the two parties this year would lay the foundation for future scientific research project cooperation, which is expected to "not only take firm root in Jiangbei New Area but also yield fruitful results as they progress".

The concentrated signing ceremony for projects of Cambridge University Nanjing Centre of Technology and Innovation during the Forum’s opening ceremony was a highlight of the Centre’s participation. The first batch of scientific research projects under Phase II of the Centre, which had passed the review of the Project Committee, were unveiled collectively at the Forum. These projects cover cutting-edge fields such as life and health, electronics and optics, energy conservation and environmental protection, and energy storage. Professor Daping Chu, tenured Chair Professor of Technology and Innovation at the University of Cambridge, Academic Director and CEO of the Centre, and the heads of JBNA’s industrial platforms where the projects will be implemented jointly signed the intentions. This not only represents another practice of the Centre in promoting the transformation of Sino-UK scientific research achievements, but also injects new impetus into the high-quality development of relevant industries in JBNA.

Beyond the signing ceremony, a number of experts and scholars from the University of Cambridge also shared cutting-edge insights at the Forum. Professor John Robertson, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering, interpreted Advances in Logic and Memory Electronic Devices at the thematic session of the field. At the opening ceremony, Professor Michael De Volder, the Professor of Advanced Materials Engineering in the Department of Engineering, spoke as a representative of overseas young scientists on the topic Enhancing the energy density and lifetime of batteries for future electric vehicles, focusing on core technological breakthroughs in new energy vehicles. Meanwhile, Dr. Timothy Chisholm, Henslow Fellow at St Edmund’s College and a representative of young scholars from the University of Cambridge, as well as colleagues from the Centre’s operation team, participated throughout the Forum, further promoting exchanges among young scientific research forces and collaboration between industry, academia, and research.

From building cooperation platforms to advancing project implementation, from sharing the wisdom of experts to linking young forces, the Centre’s in-depth participation in the World Young Scientists Forum(Nanjing) this time is not only another practice of its core value – by taking international cooperation as a starting point, anchoring to the world's top universities, and basing itself on the local industries, through in-depth cooperation, it once again fulfils the core value of facilitating the commercialisation of scientific research achievements – but also strengthens the bond of Sino-UK scientific and technological innovation cooperation, laying the groundwork for more cross-field and cross-border technological innovation cooperation in the future.