On November 3, the 8th Annual Meeting of the International Advisory Board (IAB) of Hainan University (HNU) was held at HNU’s Mission Hill Campus.The meeting was attended by 12 IAB members, including IAB Chair Professor Da Hsuan Feng, Vice Chair Dr. Carter Tseng, and Professor Erwin Neher, the 1991 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine.

Other distinguished members included Professor Shu Chien, a member of four U.S. national academies—the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences—and a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Professor Lihong V. Wang, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine; Felix Dapare Dakora, a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; and Mr. Mohamed Firouz Asnan and Professor Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Mutalib, both Fellows of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.

Luo Qingming, President of HNU and Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Zhang Jiyou, Executive Deputy Party Secretary of HNU, attended in a hybrid in-person and online format.

On behalf of HNU Party Secretary Li Hu, who is attending a training program in Beijing, and the university’s faculty and students, Luo Qingming warmly welcomed the IAB members and expressed his sincere gratitude for their participation. He noted that seven IAB meetings have been held since its establishment in 2019. The members have drawn on their international perspectives and academic expertise to provide valuable advice, supporting the university in its pursuit of world-class status. Of the 36 recommendations made at last year’s seventh IAB meeting, the university has followed up on each one, covering areas such as medical disciplines, AI, talent development, and international cooperation, with many already yielding tangible results.

Luo Qingming noted that this year marks both the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan and the first full year of the Hainan Free Trade Port’s island-wide independent customs operation, and that frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence are profoundly reshaping the paradigm of higher education. As the Free Trade Port’s only Double First-Class university, HNU shoulders major responsibilities in developing top-notch innovative talent, producing world-class research, and modernizing university governance. Luo said his key message to the IAB members was a request for candid advice, encouraging IAB members to bring a global perspective, “pick holes” in the university’s work, and help it break new ground.

Specifically, he invited the members to offer critical, forward-looking advice on several key issues: developing an internationally competitive hub for medicine and medical-engineering integration; advancing education and teaching reform in the AI era; and leveraging the Free Trade Port’s unique advantages, both within and beyond its customs territory, to promote tropical-region university alliances and Chinese-foreign cooperative education. HNU will translate their advice into concrete actions to advance its reform and development and better serve national strategies and the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

On behalf of the IAB, Professor Da Hsuan Feng presented the annual work report, reviewing the Committee’s work over the past year in the context of global higher education trends and HNU’s pursuit of world-class status. He noted that the Committee brings together Nobel laureates, academicians from around the world, and industry leaders, providing international expertise to support the university’s academic innovation, research breakthroughs, and international education. Over the past year, the Committee has made significant progress in five areas: talent recruitment, medical innovation, academic development, global engagement, and youth innovation. New members have joined the Committee, while many existing members have received prestigious honours. The Medical Development Advisory Subcommittee has been established, and its feasibility study on setting up a medical school has provided valuable input for the university’s decision-making. Progress has also been made in Chinese-foreign cooperative education, international academic exchange platforms, and the development of a tropical-region university alliance, further enhancing HNU’s global influence. Meanwhile, the university has strengthened its mechanism for implementing IAB recommendations, translating all 36 proposals from the seventh meeting into concrete measures, with each one addressed and implemented.

Professor Da Hsuan Feng noted that the world is now entering the intelligent era, with artificial intelligence transforming the underlying logic of higher education. All IAB members have reached a consensus: over the coming years, the Committee will strengthen exchanges and discussions with the faculty and students of the university around the question of how artificial intelligence is reshaping the university, continue to serve as a think tank, expand its global cooperation network, and help HNU build toward world-class status.

At the meeting, Vice Chair Dr. Carter Tseng and IAB member Ms. Olivia Ho Cheng presented honorary certificates to student representatives who won the IAB Special Scholarship.

HNU Vice President Liu Qian presented the university’s annual work report, highlighting its achievements over the past academic year in talent development, discipline development, and research innovation, as well as progress in implementing the 36 recommendations made at the IAB’s seventh meeting.

Professor Yin Ming from the School of Biomedical Engineering and Associate Professor Yin Chong from the School of Computer Science and Technology presented reports on their representative research as young faculty members.

In the afternoon, IAB members held in-depth discussions at seminars on medical discipline development and digital intelligence, offering recommendations on both topics.

The attendees of the meeting include department chiefs, international affairs officers, and faculty and student representatives.

Translated by Bai Lifang

Photos

On November 3, the 8th annual meeting of Hainan University (HNU) International Advisory Board (IAB) is held at HNU's Mission Hill Campus. (Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department)

Professor Da Hsuan Feng presents the annual work report. (Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department)

Luo Qingming addresses the meeting. (Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department)

Vice Chair Dr Carter Tseng and IAB member Ms. Olivia Ho Cheng present honorary certificates to student representatives who won the IAB Special Scholarship. (Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department)

Professor Yin Ming presents his report.  (Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department)

Associate Professor Yin Chong presents his report.  (Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department)

The Seminar on Medical Discipline Development  (Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department)

The Seminar on Digital Intelligence (Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department)