On August 1st, the School of Ship Engineering at HEU organized the second joint meeting of deans from Chinese universities' School of Ship and Ocean Engineering. This gathering was convened on campus, fostering enhanced communication among the deans and advancing the high-quality progress of talent development, discipline establishment, and faculty enrichment in distinctive ship and sea engineering colleges. The event stands as a significant component of the academic school's anniversary activities.

In attendance were notable figures such as WANG Junli, Secretary General of the China Shipbuilding Engineering Society, YAO Yu, President of HEU, and GENG Jing, Assistant President and Executive Vice President of the Undergraduate School. The meeting drew the participation of deans from 26 universities' School of Ship and Ocean Engineering, as well as numerous experts and scholars.

In his address, YAO Yu emphasized that our institution's Ship and Ocean Engineering discipline comprehensively encompasses three domains: ship and ocean structure design and manufacturing, marine engineering, and underwater acoustic engineering. This discipline holds the status of a national "double first-class" construction discipline. Leveraging the platform of the Dean's Joint Meeting, deans, experts, and scholars from the School of Ship and Ocean Engineering shared their accomplishments, exchanged insights, addressed challenges, and fostered collaboration. Amid the backdrop of this emerging engineering field, they outlined a developmental roadmap for ship and ocean engineering majors, heralding a fresh phase in the autonomous nurturing of top-tier talents. He encouraged all participants to align their efforts with the strategy of strengthening the maritime nation, pooling their creativity to contribute to the progression of ship and ocean engineering disciplines, the cultivation of exceptional innovative talents within this realm, and the resolution of pivotal core technological hurdles. Through injecting novel momentum, providing fresh insights, and making innovative contributions, they would collectively drive progress.

WANG Junli underscored that China's shipbuilding and ocean engineering sector presently stands at a crucial juncture, hastening the modernization of the nation's shipbuilding industry. The demand for highly skilled composite talents, global ocean governance experts, and adept individuals proficient in environmentally-conscious and intelligent technologies has reached unprecedented levels. The existing structural imbalances within the industry's talent composition have evolved into a bottleneck restraining its growth. Universities must squarely address the industry's pressing requirements, fostering profound integration between academia and industry, enhancing students' engineering acumen, and accelerating educational reform and innovation. Such endeavors are vital in providing a robust talent pool to propel China's shipbuilding sector toward high-quality advancement. The convening of educators from diverse shipbuilding and ocean engineering institutions to jointly explore talent cultivation for China's shipbuilding and ocean industry is both a necessary and meaningful step.