On Aug 5, Huazhong Agricultural University hosted a delegation led by Shi Liang, president of Guangxi Yangxiang Group Co Ltd, seeking to advance a new university-enterprise partnership. The two parties held a special meeting to discuss the establishment of a joint AI-powered feed-saving engineering research institute.
The institute will leverage the power of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, smart equipment, and circular economy principles. The goal is to build a world-leading AI-driven technological and industrial system that focuses on smart ingredient manufacturing, precision nutrition, intelligent feeding, and a circular breeding-farming model. This will help achieve the strategic goal of "using less grain, reducing waste, and producing more meat", thereby leading the industry's high-quality transformation.
President Yan Jianbing praised the 15-year collaboration as a model for industry-academia partnerships. He noted the university's commitment to strengthening fundamentals, fostering interdisciplinary research, and integrating education and industry. The university will work with the group on a full-chain innovation strategy to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces in agriculture.
Shi Liang highlighted Yangxiang Group's innovative strides in smart breeding, precision nutrition, and intelligent production. He noted that the company is currently building a fully digitalized platform for the entire industry chain, from gene to table, which will provide extensive application scenarios for the new institute.
To ensure the institute's success, Shi Liang emphasized the importance of a systematic design for the entire chain, from real-world applications to commercialization. He called for the establishment of clear, measurable goals for industrialization and commercialization, a dedicated team for day-to-day operations, a sustainable input-output mechanism, and a robust system for converting research into practical, commercial applications.