On December 12th, the 2023 Silk Road International Industry-University-Research-Application Cooperative Conference, hosted by the School Planning, Construction and Development Center of the Ministry of Education and co-hosted by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education and Northwestern Polytechnical University, opened in Xi'an. More than 200 participants, including Li Xingwang, Vice Chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Wu Guoqiang, Deputy Director of the School Planning, Construction and Development Center of the Ministry of Education, Wang Haibo, Deputy Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education, leaders of education departments and universities in western provinces (autonomous regions), academicians, entrepreneurs, and representatives of universities from China, Russia, Italy, and other countries, attended the conference. President Li Jun of the Karamay Campus led a delegation to attend the conference.

The theme of this conference was "Meeting the Silk Road with Smart Manufacturing, Innovating to Shape the Future." It consisted of nine sub-forums on energy and chemical engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace, ecological protection in plateau areas and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, electronics and science and technology, protection, development and utilization of traditional culture, smart water conservancy and low-carbon energy, urban green development, and safety and emergency management. Our university co-hosted the energy and chemical engineering sub-forum with Xi'an Jiaotong University, and invited Patricia Concepción, a professor at the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences and mentor for joint postgraduate training, to deliver a special report titled "Catalyst Development through Fundamental Insights."

During the conference, participants visited the "International Industry-University-Research-Application Achievement Exhibition" and focused on key issues such as the development of core technologies, the improvement of the efficiency of technological transformation and application, and the cultivation of international scientific and technological talents. They conducted deep discussions and exchanges, pragmatically promoting greater achievements in international cooperation in industry-university-research-application along the Silk Road.