January 22, 2026, the School of Chemical and Material Engineering held a Development and Construction Seminar in Conference Room A316 of the Chemical Engineering Building, engaging in in-depth discussions on the school's development plans and strategic pathways. The seminar was chaired by Zhiguo Gu, Associate Dean of the School. Weifu Dong, Director of the Institute of Science and Technology, Yuming Dong, Deputy Director of the Development Planning and Discipline Construction Office, and Ren Liu, Dean of the School of Chemical and Material Engineering, each delivered keynote presentations. Team leaders, core faculty members, and young teachers from various research groups within the school attended the seminar. Centered around the theme of "School Construction and Development Planning," the meeting focused on key areas such as disciplinary development, scientific research innovation, talent cultivation, and governance systems, aiming to build consensus, clarify directions, and systematically plan the school's high-quality development path for the next five years.

Weifu Dong, Director of the Institute of Science and Technology, delivered a keynote report titled "Strengthening Organized Research to Promote High-Level Scientific Self-Reliance and Self-Strengthening." The report provided an in-depth analysis of the mission and requirements for scientific and technological innovation in universities in the new era, emphasizing the need to adhere to the strategic direction of the "Four Orientations" and to strengthen the layout of organized research. Dong noted that during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the country will increase its focus on areas such as new energy, new materials, and aerospace. He suggested that the school should actively align with national strategic needs and strengthen systematic research in advantageous fields such as fine chemicals and advanced materials. Citing the university's impressive achievements in 2025, including research funding exceeding 1.56 billion RMB and 170 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, he encouraged the school to further optimize its research organization model and enhance its capacity to serve major national needs.

Yuming Dong, Deputy Director of the Development Planning and Discipline Construction Office, delivered a keynote report titled "Analysis of Key Observation Points in Discipline Construction." The report systematically explained the connotations and pathways for building high-level disciplines from three dimensions: disciplinary competitiveness, sustainability, and leadership. Dong emphasized that discipline construction should adhere to distinctive and connotative development, closely align with industry needs, and improve the discipline evaluation system. He provided a detailed interpretation of the standard requirements for discipline data reporting and evaluation, recommending that the school strengthen systematic planning and process management in discipline construction, with a focus on cultivating distinctive disciplinary advantages.

Ren Liu, Dean of the School of Chemical and Material Engineering, delivered a keynote report on behalf of the school titled *"The '15th Five-Year Plan' of the School of Chemical Engineering: Opening the Path to Sustainable and High-Quality Development."* The report objectively analyzed the challenges and opportunities facing the school's development and proposed a four-pronged development approach centered on "strengthening foundations, consolidating efforts, achieving breakthroughs, and providing institutional support." Liu pointed out that the school will adhere to a student-centered approach, restructuring its talent cultivation system; leverage organized research as a key driver to optimize the layout of disciplinary directions; focus on team building to develop a high-quality faculty; and rely on institutional safeguards to stimulate educational vitality. He emphasized the need to modernize the school's governance system and capacity through systematic reforms, forging a high-quality development path distinctive to Jiangnan University's chemical engineering program.

During the seminar, a new Academic Committee for the School of Chemical Engineering was elected. In the exchange and discussion session following the keynote reports, participating faculty engaged in in-depth discussions centered around three major themes: "refining disciplinary directions," "building cohesive research teams," and "evaluation systems and workload assessment." Regarding discipline construction, it was suggested to further focus on distinctive areas such as "high-end surfactants," "bio-based materials," and "energy catalytic materials," promoting the deep integration of fundamental research and applied development. On team building, participants called for the establishment of a "team leader responsibility + shared team credits" mechanism to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and sustained research efforts. Regarding evaluation systems, there was broad support for optimizing the contribution point system, increasing the weight of practical work such as the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and industry services, and granting teams more autonomy in allocation. The discussion was lively, and consensus gradually emerged, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of the plan.

The successful convening of this seminar marks the official commencement of the "15th Five-Year Plan" development phase for the School of Chemical and Material Engineering at Jiangnan University. Guided by national strategic needs and driven by industry technological transformations, the school will continue to advance organized research, connotative discipline development, and systematic institutional innovation, contributing the wisdom and strength of "Jiangnan Chemical Engineering" to the achievement of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, as well as high-quality industry development.

Zhiguo Gu chairing the seminar

Weifu Dong delivering a report

Yuming Dong delivering a report

Ren Liu delivering a report

Scene of the discussion session