On July 6, a joint meeting was held among the Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Electronics (EEA), Energy Internet Innovation Institute (referred to as the Beijing Institute), Sichuan Energy Internet Institute (referred to as the Sichuan Institute), the State Key Laboratory for New-type Power System Operation and Control (referred to as the State Key Lab), and the National Energy Internet Industry and Technology Innovation Alliance (referred to as the Alliance). The meeting, titled “One Department, Two Institutes, One Laboratory, and One Alliance Joint Meeting,” took place in Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia, utilizing the ongoing supervisory meeting for major projects at the Ulanqab Three-gorge Source Grid Load Storage Industrial Park and research investigations at the Huitengxile Wind Power Industrial Park. Kang Chongqing, Dean of EEA, and also Presidents of the Beijing Institute and the Sichuan Institute, along with members of EEA’s administrative and Party leadership, including Yu Xinjie, the Party Secretary, attended the meeting. Additionally, Min Yong, the Director of the State Key Laboratory for New-type Power System Operation and Control, and Cheng Lin, the Deputy Director, were in attendance. From the Beijing Institute, Gao Wensheng, the Executive Vice President, and Gao Feng, the Vice President, participated. Representing the Sichuan Institute were Lu Zongxiang, the Executive Vice President, as well as Vice Presidents Liu Wanhua and Liu Yi, among nearly 30 participants.

Scene from the Joint Meeting

At the outset of the meeting, Yu Xinjie, Party Secretary of EEA, Gao Wensheng, Executive Vice President of the Beijing Institute, and Lu Zongxiang, Executive Vice President of the Sichuan Institute, presented updates on the progress made during the first half of 2023 and the planned initiatives for the second half in the areas of team building, talent cultivation, research development, and open collaboration. Min Yong then detailed the construction status of the State Key Lab, covering aspects such as the lab’s basic information, mission, goals, management mechanism, and spatial resource planning.

Presentation of annual progress

Subsequently, the meeting proceeded to focused discussions. Lu Chao, Deputy Dean of EEA, led the discussion on “Collaborative Planning and Platform Construction of One Department, Two Institutes, and One Lab.” This was followed by in-depth exchanges involving Min Yong, Lu Zongxiang, Gao Wensheng, Sun Kai, and Li Qi, who provided constructive insights and opinions on the collaborative planning and platform construction for the integrated entities. The meeting participants analyzed and discussed the challenges and key points encountered during the lab’s collaborative planning.

In the afternoon, the meeting revolved around four themes: “Doctoral Enrollment and Joint Training”, “Coordination and Advancement of Alumni Affairs”, “Promotion of Think Tank Collaboration for One Department and Two Institutes”, and “Advancement of Alliance Work and Industry Ecosystem Construction”. Leading presentations and discussions were given by Zhu Guiping, Deputy Dean of EEA, Zheng Zedong, Deputy Party Secretary of EEA, Dai Jing, Deputy Director of the Energy Governance Research Center of the Beijing Institute, and Pang Qingguo, Director of the Secretariat of the National Energy Internet Industry and Technology Innovation Alliance. Cheng Lin, Liu Wanhua, Liu Yi, and others took part in the discussions.

Discussion on key themes

Lastly, Kang Chongqing provided a summary of the meeting. He expressed that this was the inaugural collaborative meeting for “One Department, Two Institutes, One Laboratory, and One Alliance,” and he highly commended the chosen themes for the meeting. He conveyed his gratitude to all the personnel involved in these entities for their dedicated efforts. He highlighted that the requirements of national high-quality development present both opportunities and challenges for future work, emphasizing the importance of analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of current efforts to guide future developments. He lauded the achievements of the “One Department, Two Institutes, One Laboratory, and One Alliance” during the first half of the year and laid out comprehensive plans for forthcoming work. He hoped that this five-party joint meeting could serve as a catalyst for establishing a robust and lasting mechanism, consolidating collaborative achievements, and effectively implementing the decisions made during the meeting.

Group photo from the meeting