CCF YOCSEF Tianjin Successfully Held the Technical Forum "How to Crack the 'Last Mile' of Industry IT Application Innovation Adaptation?"

Hosted by the China Computer Federation (CCF), organized by the CCF Young Computer Scientists & Engineers Forum Tianjin (CCF YOCSEF Tianjin), and co-organized by General Data Technology Co., Ltd., the College of Intelligence and Computing of Tianjin University, and Tianjin Taifan Technology Co., Ltd., the technical forum themed “How to Crack the ‘Last Mile’ of Industry IT Application Innovation Adaptation?” was held on January 9, 2022 in Tianjin. Due to the sudden COVID-19 outbreak in Tianjin, the forum was moved online.

Online Attendees

The forum began with four experts from Nankai University, GBase, Cashway Technology Co., Ltd., and Phytium Technology Co., Ltd. introducing their achievements in the field of IT application innovation adaptation through keynote speeches. Subsequently, the keynote speakers, invited panelists, and all online participants engaged in heated exchanges and discussions around three topics: “What are the causes hindering the ‘last mile’ of industry IT application innovation adaptation?”, “How to overcome the various obstacles currently blocking the ‘last mile’ of industry IT application innovation adaptation?”, and “How can IT application innovation enterprises, university research institutes, and government departments collaborate to ensure a smooth path for industry IT application innovation adaptation?”

Forum Agenda

In the keynote session, Zhao Wei, Senior Vice President of GBase, first delivered a report titled “Introduction to Domestic Databases Supporting Industry IT Application Innovation.” The report shared GBase’s experience in IT application innovation adaptation work in the financial sector, along with practical cases and solutions in the financial industry. Then, Professor Sun Yufan from Nankai University gave a report titled “Porting Deep Learning Frameworks to Domestic E-Class Supercomputing Platforms.” Professor Sun shared her team’s experience in porting deep learning frameworks to domestic platforms, detailing the technical barriers and the team’s solutions. Finally, Professor Sun discussed issues such as the IT application innovation adaptation ecosystem and talent cultivation, noting that IT application innovation adaptation involves a huge workload and that domestic chips should integrate with mainstream international frameworks, fostering mutual exchange and development. The third keynote speaker was Vice President Zhang Yunfeng of Cashway Technology, whose report was titled “Promoting Information Technology Application Innovation in the Financial Industry – Cashway IT Application Innovation, Building Secure and Controllable New Finance.” Zhang Yunfeng reported on four aspects: policies on financial IT application innovation, Cashway’s work in the financial IT application innovation field, current challenges facing China’s IT application innovation industry, and corresponding suggestions.

Finally, Wang Yonggang from Phytium Technology delivered a report titled “Phytium CPU Adaptation and Support,” which introduced Phytium’s full product line, support for software adaptation and optimization solutions, industry applications, and Phytium’s efforts to build an IT application innovation ecosystem and cultivate IT application innovation talent.

During the open discussion, all online participants had lively discussions on the three forum topics. Based on the discussions, the following summary was made.

Discussion Topics

The “Last Mile” Is Not Simple

Li Bin from Kylinsoft believed that the “last mile” of IT application innovation adaptation is not simply about solving some issues between general software products, but rather a full-scale breakthrough. Whether from the perspective of industry development, supporting policies, completeness of the product technology system, the entire domestic ecological chain, or the policies and technologies required when all vendors participate in IT application innovation, it is all-encompassing. Professor Zhang Yuzhi from Nankai University suggested using the term “last mile” sparingly or not at all. He argued that IT application innovation adaptation is not a simple software integration task; it is a very heavy workload. Yet, it is also the step closest to users and a critical step for promotion. IT application innovation adaptation is a highly honorable task, and its status should be elevated. Li Haifeng from the Civil Aviation University of China believed that in some industries, IT application innovation adaptation is the final step of application, but the absence of policy support may be the key obstacle hindering the last step.

Barriers to IT Application Innovation Adaptation Must Be Addressed One by One

Professor Wei Jizeng from Tianjin University pointed out that current IT application innovation adaptation faces problems such as (1) multiple technology routes and dispersed R&D resources; (2) weak ecosystem support, making it hard to achieve scale; and (3) lack of institutional guarantees. The numerous obstacles on the path of IT application innovation adaptation cannot be rushed through; they must be tackled one by one. Lu Min from the Civil Aviation University of China believed that from the demand side, national policy support is needed. He called for demand-side organizations to participate in IT application innovation, use market-based approaches to integrate fragmented forces, and for academic achievements in IT application innovation to be actively applied. He also suggested establishing an IT application innovation development fund to enhance cooperation between universities and enterprises.

Cultivating Engineering Capabilities of IT Application Innovation Talent Is Crucial

Professor Sun Yufan believed that cultivating students’ engineering development capabilities is crucial in the IT application innovation field, especially the cultivation of development capabilities and experience with underlying hardware and software. Professor Zhang Peng of Tianjin University believed that young people should be more exposed to underlying technologies and engage in fundamental engineering. Professor Zhang Yuzhi proposed that college students’ awareness of the significance of engineering technologies and underlying application technologies should be raised, the technical level of low-level hardware design should be improved, and the underlying adaptation engineering should be made a prestigious endeavor. The importance of IT application innovation adaptation needs to be widely disseminated.

University-Enterprise Collaboration to Cultivate Talent and Help Build an IT Application Innovation Ecosystem

Chen Yarui from Tianjin University of Science and Technology, drawing on the experience of his university’s collaboration with Kylin in cultivating IT application innovation talent, noted the need to increase the promotion of the IT application innovation industry, enhance university-enterprise cooperation, and accelerate technology implementation. Professor Wei Jizeng believed that IT application innovation talent should be cultivated from three dimensions: awareness, capability, and willingness. Universities and enterprises should collaborate to nurture talent and open employment channels, creating a closed loop that helps establish an IT application innovation ecosystem. Wang Sen, Secretary-General of the Tianjin Software Industry Association, believed that platform building and talent cultivation are extremely important for universities. Guidance should be provided on students’ employment choices, raising their sense of mission, and promoting the establishment of an IT application innovation adaptation ecosystem platform. Academic achievements in IT application innovation must be actively applied in practice.

National and Local Policy Support to Drive the Development of the IT Application Innovation Industry

Wang Sen believed that while the country is gradually promoting the development of the IT application innovation industry, local implementation is not strong enough. The promotion of IT application innovation requires increased local implementation efforts and a more supportive and proactive attitude. Lu Min argued for the need for national policy support from the demand side and called for action from IT application innovation demand-side organizations. Professor Wei Jizeng pointed out that the government should support and promote the establishment of R&D centers for domestic basic software, facilitate university-enterprise cooperation, and drive the development of IT application innovation. Tianjin’s Haihe Laboratory (IT Application Innovation) is an excellent platform to implement this plan.

This year marks the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan, and there is still a long way to go for IT application innovation adaptation. Scholars and industry experts at the forum conducted in-depth discussions on the problems facing industry IT application innovation adaptation and the ways to address them from the perspectives of policy, ecosystem, and technology, and actively offered suggestions for the construction of industry IT application innovation adaptation. It is hoped that the suggestions formed at this forum will serve as a reference for the future ecosystem construction, talent cultivation, and policy guidance of industry IT application innovation, and also provide insights for the top-level planning of Tianjin’s IT application innovation industry. This is YOCSEF – shouldering social responsibility! Enhancing member capabilities!