The University of Göttingen rose to become a world center of mathematics and physics as doctoral students traveled there to study and exchange ideas. The National Southwestern Associated University nurtured its intellectual culture through teahouse discussions and produced a generation of scientific giants. Together, these two examples make one point clear: a university's vitality lies in the movement of people and the flow of ideas.
Academic exchange among doctoral students serves as the circulatory system of a university's scholarly life. It carries ideas beyond the boundaries of a single research group, allows research to be tested in conversation, and helps young scholars spark innovation and build collaboration through discussion and debate.
The Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo (EIT) recently held its third Doctoral Academic Exchange Forum at Safewell Building. The program comprised college-level parallel sessions, a poster exhibition, and plenary presentations. Prof. Dongxiao Zhang, Executive Vice President and Provost of EIT and Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering; Prof. Wenjun Zeng, Vice President and International Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering; and Prof. Xuemei Ding, Special Advisor to the President, attended the plenary awards ceremony.
College-level Parallel Sessions: Focused Dialogue Across Fields
The College of Science Session
The College of Engineering Session
The College of Information Science and Technology Session
The College of Science session opened on the afternoon of October 21, and the College of Engineering and College of Information Science and Technology sessions followed on the afternoon of October 23. Across the three colleges, nearly 60 academic presentations were delivered in turn. Drawing on their own research fields, the doctoral students shared work at the cutting edge and talked through the challenges they are working to solve.
Doctoral students from Westlake University were invited to join the College of Science and College of Information Science and Technology sessions. In this cross-institutional exchange, young researchers from different universities shared the same stage, trading insights and broadening one another's perspectives.
Poster Exhibition: A Close-Up on New Research
The poster exhibition
The poster exhibition opened at Safewell Building on the afternoon of October 29. Mr. Bo Jin, Party Secretary of EIT, and Prof. Xuemei Ding, Special Advisor to the President, visited the event and spoke with students. Faculty and students gathered around the posters for in-depth discussion, filling the hall with lively, focused exchange.
Winners of the Most Popular Poster Award
Following a popular vote, six students — Ziheng Cao, Mengxiang Qiao, Xin Dong, Min Zhang, Ce Fu, and Shurui Zhang — received the Most Popular Poster Award.
Plenary Talks: Analysis and Insight on the Stage
After rigorous review and competitive selection at the college-level parallel sessions, 12 outstanding doctoral representatives took the plenary stage. Delivering their talks entirely in English, they set out the background of their research, reported their progress, and explained their core innovations.
The awards ceremony
Once the plenary presentations concluded, the awards ceremony began. The Outstanding Poster Award, Outstanding Presentation Award, First Prize for Plenary Presentation, and Grand Prize for Plenary Presentation were announced in turn. Round after round of applause honored the care and dedication behind each project, in a genuine moment in the spotlight for the young researchers.
Prof. Dongxiao Zhang delivers closing address
On the closing ceremony, Prof. Dongxiao Zhang spoke on EIT's philosophy of talent development. The university, he said, is committed to educational excellence and cultivating innovators, engineers, and scientists of the future.
Looking back on EIT's doctoral training, the record so far is an encouraging one. At the inaugural Collaborative PhD Training Programme Graduation Ceremony in June, nine graduates received the Academic Excellence Award. Among the standout participants of the first two forums, many have since won honors including the National Scholarship, and some have been selected for theYoung Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST. This track record makes the point clearly: the forum is more than a stage for presenting results — it is fertile ground where talent is discovered, sharpened, and helped to thrive.
The forum served as a bridge that brought young minds together and as a light on the road ahead. It was both a showcase of research and a training ground where students sharpened their critical thinking and their ability to communicate. The ideas set in motion here will keep resonating. We look forward to the next forum — to another round of vigorous debate, and to fresh evidence of the cutting-edge work emerging from EIT's young researchers.
