On the morning of October 10, supported by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, The World University Forum on Materials Science & Engineering Leadership (MSE2019), co-sponsored by WUT and Tsinghua University, opened in Wuhan International Conference Center. More than 100 scientists, experts and scholars from nearly 100 universities in the field of global materials science, including 10 Chinese and foreign academicians, attended the forum.

Zhou Xianwang, mayor and deputy secretary of Wuhan Municipal Party committee, Zhang Qingjie, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of WUT, Enrique Lavernia, academician of American Academy of engineering and Chancellor of University of California Irvine. Wei bingbo, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of Chinese Materials Research Society. Paul Evans, director of Nature Research, China, Li Jing, President of Xiangyang NO.4 middle school, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was hosted by Professor Dylan Apelia, academician of the National Academy of Engineering(NAE).

J. Fraser Stoddart，Nobel Laureate in Chemistry，2016

Zhang Qingjie, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of WUT

President Zhang extended a warm welcome to the leaders and guests attending the meeting. He said that this forum , for the first time in history, gathers the world's top universities in the field of materials, in a cohesive, influential and innovative manner.  It is a great honor for us to invited the 2016 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Fraser Stoddart, who will spend two days with students helping them to grisp a beeter understanging of  the frontier of science. President Zhang pointed out that the frontier of materials science has been combined with nanometre, biology, information, artificial intelligence and other fields in a closer fashion. Therefore, materials science plays an increasingly important role in promoting industrial development and emerging industry development. However，the concept of sustainable engineering education and the knowledge system of interdisciplinary has not been well established yet. The government, universities and industry should work together for the reform of materials science and engineering field. At present, more and more universities and industries begin to implemment reform on the personnel training of materials science and engineering. Supported by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology, the International School of Materials Science and Engineering of WUT is an experimental area for personnel training reform of materials science and engineering. WUT hopes that this forum will provide material leaders with an opportunity to exchange disciplines knowledge , and a platform to promote communication and cooperation, and harvest friendship.

Zhou Xianwang, the Mayor and Deputy secretary of the CPC Wuhan Municipal Committee of Wuhan

Zhou Xianwang, the Mayor and Deputy secretary of the CPC Wuhan Municipal Committee of Wuhan, extended a warm welcome to the experts and scholars and expresses his congratulation for the forum. He said that the material industry is the basic industry of national economy, and new materials are the forerunner of the material industry. With the rapid development of new material industries including photoelectric materials, nano materials and chemical polymeric materials, Wuhan is becoming an important town of material science and engineering research as well as the cradle of talent cultivation, in China and even the world. WUT and other 51 universities have set up materials science and engineering majors, with more than 30 academicians of the "Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering(CAE) and overseas academicians 8 Nobel Prize winners have set up scientific research stations in Wuhan. Taking new materials as an important strategic emerging industry, the government of Wuhan is speeding up its pace to build a new support for high-quality development, and welcomes scientists, strategic scientific and technological talents, industry leaders, and outstanding young talents from this field to come to Wuhan for innovative entrepreneurship. Wuhan will do a good job in all aspects and create a world-class environment for talent cultivation.

Professor Dylan Apelia, academician of the National Academy of Engineering(NAE).

Some presidents and the dean from the famous Materials Science and Engineering School over 15 countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, India, South Korea and Mexico, together with Chinese presidents and dean from the school, which is ranking A - or above in the evaluation of materials discipline of Chinese universities, attended forum. Among them, there are 3 university presidents, 1 Nobel Prize winner, and 10 Chinese and foreign academicians.

During the forum, they have made discussion focusing on the theme of sustainable development of materials science and engineering in the 21st century. They discussed about the education and reform of materials science and engineering in the 21st century, new research frontiers of materials science and engineering, collaborative development of materials science and engineering and industry 4.0, etc., and Wuhan Declaration on Sustainable Development of Materials Science and Engineering in the 21st Century is issued for the first time in this forum. The Declaration presents a grand blueprint for the development of this field.

In recent years, China's basic material industry has developed rapidly. The annual output of various materials such as steel, aluminum alloy and cement ranks first in the world. Yet, it has also consumed a lot of resources and energy, putting the environment under great pressure. Material science research plays an important role in promoting the development of China's manufacturing technology and it is the basis of improving the innovation ability of the national manufacturing industry. Facing the historical mission entrusted to Chinese universities by the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, WUT, the organizer of this forum, will continue to adhere to the development path forged by more than 70 year’s construction of high-level universities with characteristics, and push the construction of high-level universities with characteristics into a new level. The goal could be achieved through the leading of first-class disciplines, excellent education support, modern university management and comprehensive coordination guarantee. 

This forum is a grand gathering for global material leaders to seek common development and talk about the future. The success of this forum drew a new blueprint for the development of global materials discipline, lighted the direction of future, and set up a sharing platform for personnel training and scientific research for the development of materials discipline, which reflects the influence, appeal and cohesion of China's materials discipline in the world.