In preparation for the appraisal and inspection of the Ministry of Education in 2021, the Academic Committee of the Key Laboratory of Herbage & Endemic Crop Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education was held at the 120 National Key Conference Room in the afternoon of November 14. Prof. Xu Xing, vice president of Ningxia University, Prof. Peng Liangcai from the College of Plant Science & Technology of Huazhong Agricultural University, Research Fellow Hou Xiangyang from the Institute of Grassland Research of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Research Fellow Liu Gongshe from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Liu Yule from the School of Life Sciences of Tsinghua University, Research Fellow Gong Jiming from the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology of the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as Liu Qifeng, vice director of and Bao Tungalag from the Division of Science & Technology of IMU, Prof. Hu Wei, dean and Prof. Wang Xiao, vice dean of the School of Life Sciences of IMU, Prof. Hasuul, the 1st director of the Key Laboratory of Herbage & Endemic Crop Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education, and all the faculty members of the key laboratory were present at the meeting.
The meeting was conducted by online and offline interaction with all the members of the Academic Committee outside the campus attending the meeting through the online video platform of Tencent. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Qi Zhi, director of the Key Laboratory of Herbage & Endemic Crop Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education. Prof. Qi extended his warm welcome to the committee members and experts present at the meeting and introduced the participants of the meeting to the leaders and experts attending the meeting. Authorized by the meeting, Prof. Hasuul gave an introduction to the historical context of the establishment, course of development and the construction of “one team and two platforms” of the Key Laboratory of Herbage & Endemic Crop Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education. Meanwhile he pointed out that it was a commendable achievement for the team of the laboratory to be ranked as excellent in the appraisal of the key laboratories of the autonomous region.
In his speech, Liu Qifeng, director of the Division of Science & Technology of IMU, remarked that the Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education had scored considerable progress and extraordinary achievements under the leadership of the School of Life Sciences of IMU and Prof. Qi Zhi, the director. Meanwhile, an excellent opportunity of development for receiving the inspection and realizing development by leaps and bounds was furnished as the meeting was held right after the conclusion of the 5th Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China which had sketched a new blueprint for the development of the national economy.
Liu’s speech was followed by Prof. Hu Wei, dean of the School of Life Sciences of IMU. She remarked that as an important academic platform of the School of Life Sciences of IMU, the Key Laboratory of Herbage & Endemic Crop Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education would receive a full inspection by the Ministry of Education in 2021, the importance and decisiveness of which were self-evident. Prof. Hu Wei expressed her wishes that the entire faculty enhance their awareness, attach great value to the inspection by the Ministry of Education, get prepared for the inspection, and spare no efforts to ensure the inspection a complete success. She also expressed her wishes that the experts and professors offer their valuable suggestions and give full play to their role as the think tank so as to provide a strong professional support to the development of the Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education; she wished the experts, scholars and leaders of relevant departments of IMU to attach more significance to the development of the laboratory at the critical juncture of the development of the laboratory. She confirmed that the School of Life Sciences would spare no efforts in ensuring and endorsing the comprehensive construction and development of the laboratory.
Prof Lin Xiaofei, vice director of the laboratory, gave a report on the work of the laboratory in 2019-2020 in which she presented detailed introduction to six aspects including scientific research, the building of talent team, the education of postgraduates, the education of undergraduates, activities in science popularization and laboratory management. Members of the Academic Committee including Research Fellow Hou Xiangyang, Research Fellow Liu Gonghse, Prof. Liu Yule, Research Fellow Gong Jiming, Prof. Peng Liangcai and Prof. Xu Xing responded to Prof. Lin Xiaofei’s report by making speeches in which they fully recognized the achievements of the laboratory over the past years, and unanimously confirmed that the sufficient preparation and outstanding achievements of the laboratory had laid a solid foundation for the coming inspection. The members of the committee also gave pertinent suggestions and advices on the future development plan of the laboratory and the inspection. In conclusion, director Qi Zhi expressed his sincere thanks to the experts and scholars for their valuable suggestions and gave a detailed introduction to the future development of the laboratory, which brought the meeting to a close in a lively atmosphere.
