Focusing on the Construction of an Innovative Power | Professor Xue Lan Lecturing on“Xia Shuzhang Rostrum (2023)”

On the morning of May 14, 2023, the “Xia Shuzhang Rostrum(2023)” was held at D215 Lecture Hall, School of Government, the East Campus of Sun Yat-sen University. Professor Xue Lan, the convenor of the Panel on public administration of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Senior Professor of liberal arts at Tsinghua University, and Dean of Schwarzman Scholars of Tsinghua University, was the keynote speaker. Professor Tan Ankui, dean of the School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University, Professor Wang Qiushi, Professor Huang Dongya, Associate Professor Luo Siqi, Associate Professor Chen Na, Associate Professor Zhang Xuefan, Assistant Professor Chen Wenna, and nearly 200 students took part in the event. Some outside students and journalists also attended the event. The rostrum was chaired by Professor Huang Dongya.

Pictures of the Rostrum

Chaired by Professor Huang Dongya

Professor Tan AnKui, dean of the School of Government, made the opening remarks. He said the purpose of the rostrum was to show authoritative insights into our country's independent knowledge innovation in governance and promote a more profound understanding of Chinese modernization, and inspire the forward-looking thinking of students, scholars, and the public regarding major public governance issues. Professor Xue Lan has made great achievements in the field of public management and public policy research. For many years, he has played an important leading and planning role in the discipline construction of public management in our country. He is also an outstanding scholar with remarkable global influence in the field of public governance. This lecture focused on the important practical issue of building an innovative nation and it was bound to bring academic and ideological enlightenment to the teachers and students present here.

Opening Remarks by Dean Tan Ankui

Then, Professor Wang Qiushi made a detailed introduction to Professor Xue Lan's academic research and social service achievements. Professor Xue Lan is not only a well-known public management expert, but also one of the most important leaders and planners of the discipline of public administration in our country. He serves as the convenor of the Public Administration Panel of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council and Director of the National New Generation Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional Committee. Due to his important contributions and wide-ranging influence in the fields of academic research and public governance, Professor Xue Lan was nominated as a member of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences in 2021 and was appointed counselor of the State Council in September of the same year. Professor Xue Lan is a pioneer of public management education in China. During his research of public policy and management over the past years, Professor Xue Lan has actively promoted the scientific, democratic, and institutionalized formulation of public policy in China, and made suggestions on scientific and technological policies, strategic industry development, emergency management system, and capacity building, which have provided important reference for the formulation of relevant policies. Professor Xue Lan has actively participated in international policy research and discussions on the development and governance of emerging technologies through international platforms such as the World Economic Forum, OECD, and IEEE, and led the development of “China's New Generation of Artificial Intelligence Governance Guidelines.” Professor Xue Lan bears the top priorities of our country in mind and has a global vision. He’s a shining example of good governance through high-level academic research.

Professor Wang Qiushi Introduced the Guests

Later, Professor Xue Lan gave a speech on “China's Road to an Innovative Nation”. Based on his understanding of “Innovation”, he conducted an in-depth historical analysis of China's practice of building an innovative nation and then combined it with the challenges of the game of science and technology among great powers. He put forward systematic thinking on how to promote innovative development and realize the goal of building an innovative power. He believed that, after years of development, China has made great progress in the reform of its innovation system and in strengthening its investment in research and development, as well as in the fields of basic research, original innovation, and strategic high technologies. Several representative innovative enterprises have stood out in the international competition. Professor Xue Lan believed that the development of science and technology innovation in China was currently facing problems such as heavy dependence on cutting-edge innovation, slow diffusion of technology, lack of breakthrough results in basic research, etc. Against the backdrop of the scientific and technological games among major countries, we need to further improve and optimize the new-type national system, strengthen the national strategic scientific and technological power, level the playing field, and create a diversified and open innovation ecology. We need to combine independent innovation with open innovation to achieve the goal of an innovative power with humility, confidence, openness, and inclusiveness.

Professor Xue Han Lecturing on the Rostrum

During the Q&A session, teachers and students had in-depth discussions around the keynote speech and engaged in heated discussions on issues such as scientific and technological innovation, government procurement regulation, innovation-driven development strategy, and comprehensive reform in the education sector.

Finally, Professor Tan Ankui, Dean of the School of Government, presented Professor Xue Lan with the memorial plaque of “Xia Shuzhang Rostrum (2023)” for his speech. The rostrum ended with warm applause.

Professor Tan Presented Professor Xue with the Plaque

Group Photo of Guests

About “Xia Shuzhang Rostrum”

Professor Xia Shuzhang, honorary Dean of the School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University, is a well-known public management, and political scientist, one of the main founders of contemporary Chinese public administration, and the “Father of Chinese MPA”. To carry on the academic tradition and encourage further studies, the School of Government established the “Xia Shuzhang Rostrum” in the name of Mr. Xia Shuzhang, and invited senior scholars from the fields of public administration, political science, and related disciplines to give lectures, which target the basic or cutting-edge issues of the discipline and showcase academic wisdom and discipline dynamics.