To explore the frontiers of the advanced materials industry, bridge the gap between theoretical learning and industrial practice, and gain an in-depth understanding of scientific innovation and technology commercialization in the field of high-end functional film materials, a summer social practice team from Hefei University of Technology visited the Anhui Provincial Engineering Research Center for Advanced Functional Polymer Films at the University of Science and Technology of China on July 14, 2026. The team conducted a study and research program on scientific and technological innovation, exploring firsthand the research and innovation system for functional film materials and the collaborative development model integrating industry, universities, and research institutes.
This visit to the university was an important part of the team’s series of social practice activities. At the USTC Engineering Research Center, the team systematically learned about advances in frontier fundamental research on high-end functional polymer films through on-site visits, discussions, and demonstrations of research achievements. Members of the Engineering Research Center provided a detailed introduction to the team’s major research achievements in the modification, structural optimization, and performance enhancement of functional film materials. They also explained the central ideas underlying the laboratory’s innovative research and development, its key technological challenges, and its future research directions. The two sides additionally held in-depth discussions on the incubation of university research achievements, mechanisms for university–enterprise cooperation, and the implementation and commercialization of research projects, exploring feasible pathways and innovative models for deeper integration among industry, universities, and research institutes in the field of functional film materials.
Before this visit, the social practice team had already conducted field research on the industrial front line through a dedicated visit to the Anhui Wanwei Advanced Functional Film Materials Research Institute. At the institute, team members toured the functional film production lines and research laboratories at close range. They gained a comprehensive understanding of the research and development directions, advanced manufacturing processes, and industrial applications of major products such as polyvinyl alcohol functional films, while directly observing the complete process through which new materials progress from laboratory technologies to industrial products.
Extending from industrial production sites to the frontiers of university research, these activities established a multidimensional research framework combining “industrial practice + research-oriented learning.” This enabled the participating students to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the complete chain in the field of high-end functional film materials, spanning fundamental research, technological breakthroughs, achievement commercialization, and industrial application. Team members said that the experience effectively supplemented what could not be gained through classroom-based theoretical learning alone and allowed them to appreciate firsthand the rapid progress and strong capabilities of independent innovation in China’s advanced materials industry.
