On March 14th-15th, 2018, China-UK Low-carbon Manufacturing Workshop was successfully held at HUST International Academic Exchange Center, Wuhan. More than forty extraordinary British and domestic experts and scholars participated in the workshop, including Professor Shao Xinyu, Secretary of Party Committee of HUST, and Professor Gao Liang from School of Mechanical Science & Engineering.
The workshop was hosted by National Natural Science Founding of China (NSFC) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK Research and Innovation China (UKRI China) and organized by HUST. The theme of this workshop was “Low-carbon Manufacturing Basic Research”.
On the morning of March 14th, Professor Luo Qingming, vice president of HUST, addressed the opening ceremony, in which he extended his warm welcome to all the participants and wished it a complete success. Afterwards, Professor Che Chengwei from NSFC, Dr. James Fleming from EPSRC and Dr. Glen Noble from UKRI China introduced their organizations respectively. The Secretary of Party Committee of HUST Professor Shao Xinyu and Professor Savvas Tassou from Brunel University London made wonderful reports on the overview of China and UK low-carbon manufacturing (LCM) research and challenges, which were well-received by all participants.
From the afternoon of 14th to the morning of 15th, experts and scholars exchanged their opinions on the problems facing LCM in groups. After discussion, each group reached a conclusion and presented it in front of others. Through brainstorming, group numbers were able to take their initiative and exchange with each other despite of differences in regions, higher-education systems, cultures and values, which in turn inspires new ideas. Participants attending the workshop reached a consensus on certain key issues and proposed to deepen their cooperation in many research areas.
On the afternoon of Match 15th, experts and scholars visited Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company and then Wuhan Heavy Duty Machine Tool Group Corporation. They investigated the production and management modes of large manufacturing enterprises, and discussed with the frontline engineers about the possible application of LCM technology in production process. The engineers believed that LCM technology can play an important role in reducing costs and achieving the requirements of different customers.
In the form of special reports, academic seminars and enterprise tours, the LCM Workshop has promoted understanding about the international research frontier of LCM, and established a platform for academic exchanges between Chinese and British scholars and experts. Relevant guidelines worked out from this workshop will be released at the end of April.
