On January 30, 2026, the Intelligent Engineering Frontier Forum officially opened in Guangzhou. The event focused on cutting-edge areas like robotics+ and AI+, bringing together top scholars from around the world to discuss key challenges, innovative theories, and future applications in fields such as automation, robotics, and smart manufacturing.The goal was to push academic boundaries and promote deeper integration with industry. More than 30 experts and researchers from leading universities andinstitutions attended the event.

Group Photo

Attendees included Li Weiqing, Deputy Party Secretary and Vice President of South China University of Technology; Hong Xueyan, Director of the Intelligence Management Division at the Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau; Alberto Isidori, former President of the International Federation of Automatic Control and Professor Emeritus at Roma La Sapienza University; Song Yongduan, Professor at Chongqing University and Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Huang Jie, Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Cheng Daizhan, Researcher at the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences; along with many other scholars and industry representatives. The opening ceremony was hosted by Chen Xiaoqi,Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and Fellow of Engineering NewZealand, who serves as Dean of the Wu Xuming School of Intelligent Engineering at South China University of Technology. 

Deputy Party Secretary Li Weiqing Delivers Address

In her opening speech, Li Weiqing welcomed the attendees and highlighted the university’s progress in developing new engineering disciplines, fostering inter disciplinary research, and supporting technological innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. She noted thatthe field of intelligent engineering is facing major opportunities andexpressed hope that the forum would serve as a hub for talent, a bridge for international collaboration, and a catalyst for coordinated development—contributing to both technological advancement and the region’s growth as a high-level innovation center.

Keynote Sessions

Keynote Session Host

Following the opening, four leading scholars delivered key not eaddresses, sharing their latest research and forward-looking insights.Professor Alberto Isidori introduced a new framework for robust control based on extended observers, which reduces the limitations traditional designs placeon system models and broadens the applicability of nonlinear control. Professor Song Yongduan discussed the use of neuro-adaptive PID control in uncertain nonlinear systems, demonstrating its effectiveness through unmanned system applications. Researcher Cheng Daizhan presented a semi-tensor product approach, showing how it addresses complex problems in areas like logic networks, game theory, and artificial intelligence. Professor Huang Jie proposed a new framework for multi-agent collaborative control that overcomes three major limitations in system structure, parameter knowledge, and dynamic constraints, greatly expanding the theory’s practical reach.

Roundtable Discussion

During the roundtable session, experts engaged in aconstructive, multi-angle conversation around the theme Intelligent Engineering Empowers New Productive Forces. The discussion explored the intersection of academic research and industrial application, touching ontopics such as human factors and safety in human-robot collaboration,perception and decision-making in embodied intelligence under unstructured environments, and cross-disciplinary talent development in the context of emerging engineering education. The exchange of views was lively and insightful. The forum also featured a session called Shaping the Future:Conversations with Masters, where young scholars had the opportunity to discuss research directions and career planning with senior academics.

Campus and School Leadership Introduce Talent Policies

In addition, the roundtable emphasized the importance of talentrecruitment and development. Dean Chen Xiaoqi provided an overview of theschool’s current landscape and expressed a strong commitment to attractingand supporting talented researchers. Party Secretary Zhang Zheng thanked theexperts for their support and noted that the forum offers a valuableopportunity to expand collaboration networks. Yin Panchao, Director of theHuman Resources and Development Office at Guangzhou International Campus, gavea detailed overview of the university’s policies andsupport systems for recruiting and nurturing talent, underscoring theinstitution’s dedication to bringing together brightminds from around the world. The forum not only focused on academic explorationbut also addressed talent development and ecosystem building, reflecting aclear emphasis on integrating industry, academia, and research.

During the forum, the school actively expanded industry-academia-research collaborations through discussions and site visitswith the Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, the Conghua District Association for Science and Technology, and several tech parks. Theseconversations covered technology matching, collaborative platform development,and policy implementation, helping lay the groundwork for long-term partnerships and the translation of research outcomes into regional industrial upgrades.

The successful hosting of this forum provided a high-level,international platform for scholars in intelligent engineering, facilitating the sharing of cutting-edge knowledge and the alignment of future directions.It also demonstrated the school’s commitment to national strategic priorities and its active role in regional innovation ecosystems. The academic consensusand collaborative intentions formed during the event are expected to supportfurther research and cooperation, with positive implications for both academic progress and industrial development in related fields.

The forum was organized by South China University of Technology and the Conghua District Association for Science and Technology, and hosted by the Shien-Ming Wu School of Intelligent Engineering.(Text/Photos: Shien-Ming Wu School of Intelligent Engineering)