(Reported by Wei Chen and Reziwaguli) Recently, the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Wuhan Institute of Technology and Heshun Community jointly held a symposium on school community collaboration. The meeting was convened to fully implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, reinforce the practice based education system in higher education, fulfill the social responsibility of universities to serve local communities, and deepen the collaborative education framework between the university and the community. At the symposium, the two sides reviewed the outcomes of their joint efforts, exchanged insights on talent cultivation, and mapped out plans for future development. The goal was to enhance the quality and impact of the collaboration and ensure its long term, in depth sustainability. Relevant officials and staff members from both sides attended the meeting.
During the symposium, Secretary Li of Heshun Community delivered a speech and expressed gratitude to the Materials School for its longstanding involvement in community volunteer services, which have supported community development and youth science outreach. Since the two sides established their partnership in 2022, they have adhered to the principles of resource sharing, mutual complementarity, and collaborative education, carrying out regular volunteer and science popularization activities. Over the years, they have organized more than 100 volunteer events involving over 800 volunteers. Building on the school's distinctive strengths, they have also created several branded science and culture programs. Among them, "Science Adventure" has run for over 20 sessions, with service hours exceeding 4,500, providing a science platform for young people in the community. The upgraded "Charm of Science, Fun with Crafts" intangible cultural heritage classroom has integrated science education with cultural preservation, earning wide praise from residents. Secretary Li expressed the hope that both sides would deepen their collaboration and bring in more university resources to support community development and the growth of young people.
At the symposium, Ke Ma, Deputy Party Secretary of the school, thanked Heshun Community for providing a platform for talent development and gave an overview of the school's academic features, educational philosophy, and practical training framework. He emphasized that serving the local community is an important mission for universities and that school community collaboration serves as a vital vehicle for implementing the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education and for building an integrated system that combines theoretical learning with grassroots practice. The school has long adhered to the principles of serving society, preserving culture, and educating through practice, channeling various resources down to the grassroots level and treating the community as a hands on classroom for students to hone their skills. Through a range of activities, the school guides students in their personal growth and achieves mutual empowerment between individuals and society. Looking ahead, the school will continue to leverage its disciplinary strengths, deepen the collaboration, enrich its educational platforms, and further facilitate the development of its students.
At the symposium, the school presented a banner to Heshun Community to express its gratitude for the community's support of the school's work and to symbolize their enduring partnership. Afterwards, Secretary Song of Heshun Community accompanied the school delegation on a tour of the community's various functional areas, introducing the community's development and past collaborative efforts, which laid a solid foundation for future cooperation.
Drawing on previous progress and actual needs, the two sides held in depth discussions on school community collaboration, practice based education, and community service, reached a consensus, and clarified the key focuses for the next phase of joint efforts. The core priority is to continue consolidating the science outreach front. First, youth science education should remain at the heart of the collaboration, with regular fun science activities to build a branded outreach program that meets the learning needs of young residents. Second, outreach formats should be innovated by keeping pace with emerging technologies, integrating AI elements into science instruction, diversifying activity types and content, broadening young participants' technological perspectives, and sparking their interest in scientific innovation. Third, the disciplinary strength of materials science and engineering should be brought to the fore, with customized science classrooms that are both engaging and professionally grounded, so that specialized knowledge reaches the grassroots and science enters the everyday life of the public.
The symposium successfully solidified the foundation for collaboration between the school and Heshun Community, while also refining the pathways for practice based education and community empowerment. Moving forward, the School of Materials Science and Engineering will continue to deepen the new "university plus community" collaborative education model. By leveraging its disciplinary strengths and pooling resources from both sides, the school aims to enrich collaborative content, innovate forms of cooperation, and enhance overall effectiveness. It will work to channel high quality resources down to the grassroots level, empower community development with youthful energy, support young people's growth through hands on education, and drive the partnership toward even more fruitful outcomes.
