section 01: opening ceremony
on the morning of july 14, the opening ceremony of the 2023 ci-lam (china-italia laboratory on advanced manufacturing) summer school was successfully held at the university of bergamo. this summer school is jointly organized by tsinghua university, the university of bergamo, and the university of naples federico ii. the event was attended by university leaders, professors, local industry cluster representatives, as well as dignitaries from the chinese consulate general in milan. this year, a total of 13 chinese graduate and doctoral students were dispatched to the summer school, including 10 from the department of electrical engineering, and 1 each from the departments of precision instruments, the department of mechanical engineering, and the department of medicine.
at 10 am, the opening ceremony officially commenced, with professor gianluca urso from the university of bergamo, one of the coordinators of the ci-lam project, delivering the welcoming speech. he noted that this marks the fifth edition of the ci-lam summer school. except for the first edition held offline in 2019, the subsequent three editions from 2020 to 2022 were conducted online. therefore, being able to meet in italy after three years filled him with great joy, and he warmly welcomed everyone to bergamo.
professor gianluca urso emphasized that the ci-lam project is the unique high-level collaboration platform between china and italy in the field of advanced manufacturing, established in 2017. its aim is to facilitate and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in advanced manufacturing and cutting-edge research and development. ci-lam brings together resources from enterprises, universities, and research institutions, engaging in collaborative research activities, fostering application and product innovation, and supporting practitioners in both countries, especially smes and emerging businesses, to adopt new industrial standards and technologies.
section 02: ceremony
the opening ceremony featured speeches by president sergio cavalieri of the university of bergamo, president matteo lorito of the university of naples federico ii, and vice president jiang peixue of tsinghua university, respectively delivered from bergamo, naples, and beijing. they jointly announced the commencement of the fifth edition of the ci-lam summer school. consul yao liangjun from the chinese consulate general in milan also spoke, expressing strong support from the chinese embassy in italy for this project. representatives from the italian industrial and academic sectors, as well as other partners of the project, also delivered speeches.
president sergio cavalieri warmly recalled the history and future prospects of the joint laboratory. he stated that the ci-lam project provides the university of bergamo with an international cooperation platform, enabling collaboration with research institutions from other italian cities and china, in exploring the grand blueprint of the industry 4.0 era.
president matteo lorito of the university of naples federico ii extended a warm welcome to the visiting students and professors from tsinghua university and the university of bergamo, looking forward to their presence in naples. he hoped that the students would have a fruitful experience during their stay in naples.
vice president jiang peixue of tsinghua university expressed his delight in meeting professors and students from various universities. he viewed ci-lam as an excellent platform for international exchange and cooperation, where talents from different universities and research institutions could gather to contribute collectively to the future industrial development.
the ceremony concluded with remarks from mr. wang jian, co-founder of ci-lam and chairman of the alliance for technological automation, expressing his satisfaction with the achievements of the joint laboratory since its inception. he hoped that this year's summer school would serve as a new starting point, fostering collaboration in talent development, research, technology transfer, and industrial growth. he stressed that manufacturing should not be seen as a traditional industry; with advanced enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing will provide a solid foundation for sustainable human development.
section 03: roundtable discussion
in the evening, president sergio cavalieri of the university of bergamo received our delegation in his office and held a roundtable discussion. during the discussion, everyone freely shared their impressions of their visits and experiences in bergamo over the past few days. it was unanimously agreed that bergamo is a welcoming and comfortable city, with local businesses and research institutions at the forefront of the world. during the session, mr. wang jian and ms. zhang jindan, representing the team, presented unique commemorative gifts from tsinghua university to professors from the university of bergamo and the university of naples.
following the roundtable discussion, president sergio cavalieri hosted a welcome dinner on behalf of the university of bergamo to greet our delegation.
section 04: ci-lam summer school
as part of the activities of the china-italia laboratory on advanced manufacturing (ci-lam) established in 2017, the ci-lam summer school targets graduate students engaged in advanced manufacturing. its objective is to provide an international collaboration platform for the development of relevant advanced technologies. since its inception in 2019, the ci-lam summer school has now reached its fifth edition. this year's program involves the participation of 13 students from the university of bergamo, 13 students from tsinghua university, and 10 students from the university of naples federico ii.
the fifth edition of the ci-lam summer school is scheduled from july 12 to july 27 in bergamo and naples, italy. during the opening ceremony, participants of the summer school visited renowned local enterprises and industrial clusters in bergamo, including abb, schneider electric, taneris, cosberg, as well as the robot joint laboratory in the kilometro rosso innovation park. the theoretical course phase will take place from july 17 to 21 in naples. upon the conclusion of the course, participants will receive certificates jointly issued by the collaborating universities.
