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Source: Cover News

△ Meeting scene. Photographed by Cover News reporter Bian Xue

Cover News reporter Bian Xue reports from Yichang, Hubei

From July 18th to 20th, the 2024 Annual Academic Meeting of the Central and Western Nuclear Societies Consortium (hereinafter referred to as the Consortium) kicked off in Yichang, Hubei, a place known for its "high gorges and flat lakes", to discuss the development of nuclear technology.

In recent years, my country has made gratifying achievements in nuclear science and technology innovation and nuclear energy industry development. The new situation and new tasks of nuclear science and technology development have provided new opportunities and put forward new requirements for all experts, scholars and scientific and technological workers in the nuclear field.

Reporters learned at the meeting that the theme of this conference is "Dam Reflects Nuclear Explosion - Sixty Years of Glorious Journey, Chinese and Western Nuclear Elites Gathering - Drawing a Green Dream of Jingchu", presidents, vice presidents and industry experts of nuclear societies of eight provinces (regions) will give keynote speeches at the conference, and industry experts will give special speeches at sub-venues. On the basis of actively promoting the development of nuclear societies of eight provinces, namely Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Shanxi, Hunan, Hubei and Henan, which are member units of the consortium, the conference will further unite and concentrate, and give full play to the advantages of the member provincial nuclear societies, so as to realize resource complementarity and advantage sharing of regional societies on a larger scale.

Why form a consortium?

According to Gao Keli, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Nuclear Society, the Central and Western Nuclear Society Consortium is the first consortium of societies established under the guidance of the Chinese Nuclear Society. Since its establishment in 2016, it has held an annual academic conference every year to provide an academic platform for communication and display for nuclear science and technology workers in the central and western regions. The site also attracted scientific and technological workers from Beijing, Heilongjiang, Shandong, Anhui, Inner Mongolia and other provinces to participate.

As the leader of the Central and Western Nuclear Society Consortium, Yang Qi, former president of the China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute, also explained to reporters the original intention of establishing the consortium: "The Central and Western Nuclear Society Consortium has gone through three stages: the Sichuan and Gansu Provincial Nuclear Society Cooperation Forum from 2012 to 2015, the Western Nuclear Society Consortium formed by the nuclear societies of Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Xinjiang and Shanxi from 2016 to 2018, and the Central and Western Nuclear Society Consortium composed of eight nuclear societies after the nuclear societies of Hunan, Hubei and Henan provinces joined one after another. The original intention and purpose is to expand the exchange circle, unite and concentrate on the advantages of the nuclear societies of the eight provinces (regions) in the central and western regions, and provide a broader and more efficient cooperation and exchange platform for academic exchanges and popularization of science in the field of nuclear science and technology in the central and western regions."

More importantly, the establishment of the consortium also provides more cooperation opportunities for nuclear research institutes, colleges and universities, and related nuclear industry enterprises in the central and western regions, and promotes the integration of politics, industry, academia, research, and application. Yang Qi said frankly that if the annual meeting work is to be long-lasting and normalized and form a brand, a mechanism, a permanent platform, and a team are needed. "So there is today's consortium, and the leadership of the consortium is composed of the presidents of the nuclear societies of each province (region). "Yang Qi said.

Gathering "core" strength: highlighting the characteristics of the central and western regions

What are the characteristics of the consortium? Yang Qi told the Cover News reporter,The first is the cross-regional nature.Regular scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation between cross-regional peers break regional restrictions. "The annual academic conference was held in Sichuan in 2016, with more than 140 participants from five provinces. It was passed on to Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hunan. This year, more than 400 nuclear science and technology workers participated in the exchange in Yichang, Hubei. The exchanges focused on the characteristics of the central and western regions and covered a wide range of professional fields, from traditional reactor engineering, nuclear fuel and materials, nuclear physics, etc. to nuclear technology applications, digitalization, intellectual property rights and nuclear intelligence. It closely combined with the current situation and discussed the development of nuclear energy and technology."

In addition, the voluntary participation of the consortium members also reflects the cohesion of the consortium."Since the establishment of the consortium in 2016, it has been attractive to nuclear science and technology workers in the central and western regions and has become increasingly attractive. It has played a role in greatly improving the academic atmosphere. The academic exchanges on this platform are not imperative, but voluntary," Yang Qi explained to the Cover News reporter.

Most importantly, the consortium also provides a platform for young scientific and technological workers to showcase and train their talents, and strengthens academic exchanges among industry practitioners.In Yang Qi's view, academic exchange is one of the sources of scientific and technological innovation, an important means of promoting independent innovation capabilities, and plays an important role in the scientific and technological innovation system. "Through academic exchanges, participants can acquire new scientific and technological knowledge, improve their professional qualities, enhance cross-disciplinary integration, and promote the integration of industry, academia, and research."

The Cover News reporter noted at the meeting that this year's annual meeting sub-forums focused on topics such as nuclear reactor engineering, nuclear technology applications, digital nuclear energy and intelligent equipment, radiation research and applications, nuclear fuel and materials, radiochemistry and chemical engineering, nuclear physics and accelerators, intellectual property rights, and nuclear science and technology information. The speakers fully exchanged and discussed their research results with the participating representatives.

Has the establishment of the consortium achieved the expected results? Yang Qi told the Cover News reporter that judging from the gradual expansion of the scale and exchange circle, and the success of the activities hosted by the nuclear societies of various provinces (regions) in turn, the purpose of the consortium's work has been achieved. "Of course, further efforts are needed, and the role of the platform needs to be further amplified. Further efforts need to be made to gather scientists and scientific and technological workers from all parties in the central and western regions, and to promote the development of science and technology, so as to do the work in a detailed and practical manner."

"As a non-governmental association, how to improve its attractiveness, enhance its cohesion, and be representative and authoritative is the most important and difficult problem." Yang Qi told the Cover News reporter that the recognition of the role of the association platform by the majority of scientific and technological workers is the most critical, and the formation and strengthening of cohesion is an important manifestation of the value of the association platform. The association is not an administrative agency and cannot work by administrative orders. Instead, it relies entirely on the love and enthusiasm for the nuclear cause and the work of the association, and is driven entirely by the spirit of selfless dedication, unity and cooperation, and hard work. Relying on the leadership of the presidents of the nuclear associations of each province (region), the secretariat team of the association, which is composed of the secretary-general and the secretary, is sincere and united, and carefully planned and promoted.

In addition to academic exchanges: popular science communication is the key

Talking about the future development direction of the consortium, Yang Qi pointed out,The three major priorities are to strengthen academic exchanges, popularize science, and strengthen win-win cooperation.

"In terms of academic exchanges, we should closely focus on my country's three-step nuclear energy strategy, combine the characteristics of the central and western regions, and strengthen planning and organization. The central and western regions almost cover the entire industrial chain of design, research and development, manufacturing, testing, etc. in the fields of fission and fusion in my country. The work of the consortium should be responsible and forward-looking, and should closely focus on the national nuclear energy and nuclear technology development strategy." Yang Qi told the Cover News reporter that popular science work related to nuclear science also needs to be strengthened and strengthened, and popular science work must also be integrated into the promotion of the spirit of nuclear scientists. The importance is self-evident.

The importance of nuclear science popularization is reflected in many aspects, from enhancing basic scientific knowledge and changing public perceptions to promoting scientific and technological progress, assisting in the implementation of national strategies, and even enhancing international cooperation and exchanges. Extensive and in-depth nuclear science popularization activities can not only improve the public's scientific literacy, but also cultivate more scientific and technological talents for the country and society, and promote the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements. Therefore, investing more resources in nuclear science popularization and using various communication channels and interactive forms will help to establish a social environment with popularized scientific knowledge, active technological innovation, and high public participation.

"At this annual meeting, we hope that the consortium will give full play to its hub and platform role, strengthen communication and cooperation, integrate advantages, gather strength from all parties, and jointly create brand activities such as academic exchanges, popular science publicity, and achievement transformation, so that more resources can be shared and used, and collaborative innovation can be guided and promoted." Gao Keli, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Nuclear Society, told the Cover News reporter that in the future, with the joint efforts of the nuclear societies of the eight provinces and regions, he believes that the consortium's work will be well done, the nuclear energy and scientific and technological undertakings in the central and western provinces will continue to advance, and due contributions will be made to promoting the healthy and sustainable development of my country's nuclear energy.