Yan Junjie delivers a speech at the symposium.

The young scholars tour iHarbour.

The 10th Silk and Road International Autumn Symposium for Distinguished Young Scholars (SRIS) & The Sub Forum of the 6th Shaanxi Province Silk Road Forum for Young Scholars took place on Nov 1 in the Western China Science and Technology Innovation Harbour (iHarbour) at Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU). The event gathered outstanding young scholars from 16 countries and regions.

Yan Junjie, vice-president of XJTU, extended a warm welcome to all the guests and briefed them on XJTU's history. He emphasized that iHarbour serves as the primary platform and source for innovation-driven development in Shaanxi province.

He highlighted that XJTU is committed to deepening the integration of industry and education as well as education, science, and talent. Currently, XJTU is actively implementing more proactive, open, and effective talent policies to provide a platform and create opportunities for talent development.

Yang Shengliang, deputy director of the administrative committee of Xixian New Area – where iHarbour is located, outlined the development journey of Xixian as a state-level new area, emphasizing its significant national development and reform missions.

He noted that the establishment of iHarbour and the presence of XJTU have injected immense momentum and provided vast development opportunities for the area. Xixian New Area warmly invites young scholars to choose XJTU and the area as partners for a shared future of growth and innovation.

In the second phase of the symposium, relevant departments of XJTU provided an overview of the university's disciplines, research, graduate education, and team-building initiatives.

Additionally, three young faculty members shared their experiences of career development at XJTU with the visiting scholars. They emphasized XJTU's commitment to creating a world-class research environment for young educators, supported by diverse funding opportunities as well as excellent experimental and office facilities, while expressing their hope for more like-minded colleagues to join XJTU.

SRIS is a high-level talent exchange event initiated by XJTU in 2015, aimed at attracting outstanding young scholars worldwide. In 2016, the symposium was elevated to a regular high-level talent forum hosted by Shaanxi province.

Over nine consecutive sessions, the symposium has invited more than 2,100 exceptional scholars from over 30 countries and regions, providing a vital platform for young scholars to gain deeper insights into XJTU and the educational, scientific, and talent development landscape of Shaanxi.