On the afternoon of July 4, 2025, the SMG Innovation Salon was successfully held in the main lecture hall of Discipline Building 2 on the High-Tech Campus. The event specially invited Zhao Baijin, an outstanding alumnus of the Anhui Provincial Engineering Research Center for Advanced Functional Polymer Films and a representative of Jiangsu Boiln Plastics Co., Ltd., to return to his alma mater. Centered on the theme “R&D Innovation: From Technological Exploration to Industrial Application,” he shared industry trends from the industrial frontline as well as practices in innovation and entrepreneurship. Faculty members and students of the laboratory gathered to participate in this forward-looking and practice-oriented exchange.
As a successful example of a researcher moving from the laboratory into industry, Zhao Baijin drew on his rich R&D experience in enterprises and, starting from current development trends in the polymer materials industry, systematically analyzed the pathways for realizing technological innovation and the key challenges in market transformation. Through specific cases, he vividly explained how frontier scientific research thinking can be transformed into market-competitive products, and shared his methods and insights for promoting R&D implementation in an enterprise environment. His presentation not only outlined a clear industrial landscape, but also provided students engaged in scientific research with an important perspective for understanding industry dynamics and connecting technology with products.
During the discussion session, faculty members and students actively raised questions on topics such as “how to effectively align research directions with industrial needs,” “the core competencies required of enterprise R&D personnel,” and “the transition from academic thinking to engineering and business thinking.” Drawing on his own career experience and industry observations, Zhao Baijin provided detailed answers to each question. The interaction was lively, with continuous exchanges of ideas.
This salon was another successful practice in the SMG Innovation Salon series, continuing to build a platform for dialogue between faculty, students, and industry, while helping broaden research horizons and stimulate innovative thinking. Going forward, the laboratory will continue to invite more industry experts to campus, promote the deep integration of industry, academia, and research, and foster an open atmosphere for exchange in cultivating interdisciplinary talent with industry insight and innovation capabilities.
