UM undertakes project under China’s National Key R&D Programmes

The University of Macau (UM) recently signed an agreement with China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) on undertaking a key research project in the field of the Internet of Things and smart cities. The project is part of the top-tier National Key R&D Programmes in China. In addition to providing solutions for key social issues, the programmes have been continuously addressing issues in industrial competitiveness, indigenous innovation, and national security strategy. UM’s appointment to undertake the project shows national recognition of its research capacity in the field.

The National Key R&D Programmes have incorporated 13 previously-existing programmes, including the 863 Programme (for R&D), the 973 Programme (for basic research), and the National Science and Technology Support Programme. The three-year project undertaken by UM will focus on the development of technologies for efficient integration and dynamic recognition for applications in public service.

Many cities in China, including Macao, suffer from various problems, such as weak information infrastructure and constraints on informationalisation. These problems have posed challenges for smart city development. The project undertaken by UM aims to tackle these challenges through the use of multi-source heterogeneous data, studies of technologies related to the efficient operation of urban computing platforms, and other methods. The project will also demonstrate successful examples of smart city development on AI-based ‘City Brain’ platforms. Organisations that will participate in the project include UM, Beihang University, South China University of Technology, Zhejiang Lab, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Institute of Urban Scientific Planning and Design, Alibaba Cloud in Hangzhou, and AutoNavi Holdings Limited. The chief scientist of the project is Xu Chengzhong, head of smart transport research at UM’s State Key Lab of Internet of Things for Smart City. He is also the dean of UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology and a chair professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science. This is the first time that a UM professor has been appointed to head a project under the National Key R&D Programmes.

Established in 2018 with the approval of the MoST, UM’s State Key Lab of Internet of Things for Smart City is the only state key lab in China in the area of Internet of Things applications for smart cities. The lab boasts a strong research team, whose members include one member of Academia Europaea, one fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and three fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. 

Source: Faculty of Science and Technology