On 28th April, the first “Plant Protection & Artificial Intelligence” seminar, aka, Laboratory Unveiling Ceremony hosted by Qingdao Agricultural University(QAU) was held in the academic hall. The meeting aimed to conscientiously implement the spirit of the 19th Party Congress and help the rural revitalization strategy to discuss new models for plant protection and artificial intelligence development, promote ecological civilization construction and build beautiful China in new ideas, new paths and new initiatives. Chen Jianping, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering;  Lan Yubin, National Thousand Talents Program Expert and Director of the International Joint Research Center for Precision Agriculture Aviation Application Technology; Zhao Zhonghua, Director of the Pest Control Division of the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center of the Ministry of Agriculture; Du Shaobo, Deputy Director of the Qingdao Municipal Party Committee; Xu Guangju, deputy mayor of Pingdu; He Wei, chairman of Beijing Hewlett-Packard Sannong Technology Co., Ltd., were invited to attend. President Xia Xiyun attended the seminar and delivered a speech. The opening ceremony of the seminar was presided by Vice President Yuan Yongbing. 

On behalf of the school, Song Xiyun expressed his congratulations to the opening of this seminar and paid tribute and gratitude to the leaders at all levels and friends from all walks of life who have long been concerned about and supported the development of the school. Song Xiyun pointed out that since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the country has been deepening the implementation of a series of major strategies and major projects such as innovation-driven development, rejuvenation of the country through science and education, rural revitalization, and conversion of old and new kinetic energy.  In the field of “agriculture, rural areas and farmers”, we will seize the opportunity of the rapid development of intelligence and the Internet of Things, promote the deep integration of the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence and modern agriculture, and create “smart” agriculture and “intelligent” agriculture. Cultivating new growth points in agricultural development and forming an important engine of new agricultural kinetic energy is major revolutions that will help China's agriculture achieve leapfrog development. 

Song Xiyun emphasized that in order to promote the interconnection of Internet + agricultural development, the school established the Shandong Institute of Intelligent Agriculture in 2017 to comprehensively strengthen the integration of traditional superior disciplines such as plant protection with modern information technologies such as the Internet and big data, and cultivate disciplines and new growth points for scientific research, and finally improve the traditional superior disciplines and the level of agricultural information research and development. It is hoped that the College of Phytomedicine will be more active in seeking academic exchanges and cooperation, and strive to promote research in related fields of the school to a new level. It is also said that the leaders and experts will continue to care about the development of the school and give more valuable suggestions. 

Professor Chen Jianping, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered a speech and expressed his wish to hold the first national "Plant Protection & Artificial Intelligence" seminar in QAU, hoping that the plant protection profession will take a clear road in combination with artificial intelligence, and make the application of plant protection profession more productive, convenient, efficient and fast, contributing to the innovation and development of the plant protection profession. It is hoped that the college will achieve all-round development of intelligent development and achieve greater breakthroughs in solving actual production problems. 

Researcher Zhao Zhonghua, director of the Pest Control Division of the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that China's agriculture is realizing industrial upgrading, and the combination of artificial intelligence and agriculture will facilitate chemical reaction and bring greater challenges. He hoped that the school would take it seriously with a more innovative model, actively participate in and build the laboratory. 

Du Shaobo, deputy director of Qingdao Municipal Party Committee of Agricultural Industry, Xu Guangju, deputy mayor of Pingdu, and He Wei, chairman of Beijing Hewlett-Packard Sannong Technology Co., Ltd. also delivered speeches, wishing our university is getting more prosperous, wishing "plant protection & artificial intelligence" laboratory would grow into a laboratory with great influence in the field of artificial intelligence in China and the world.

In the later "Plant Protection & Artificial Intelligence" unveiling ceremony, Academician Chen Jianping, former Vice President, Yongbing, CEO He Wei, and Dean Liu Tongxian of the College of Plant Medicine jointly unveiled "Plant Protection & Artificial Intelligence".

After the opening ceremony, Dean Liu Tongxian presided over the “Plant Protection & Artificial Intelligence” seminar.  Academician Chen Jianping of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Dai Qinhai, President of Beijing Hewlett-Packard Sannong Technology Co., Ltd., Yu Qiang, Director of the Software Research Institute of the National Computer Association, National Thousand Talents Program Expert, and Lan Yubin, Director of the International Joint Research Center for Precision Agriculture Aviation Application Technology gave a spectacular speech on the topics of plant protection, artificial intelligence, and rural revitalization and came up with insights on the combination of plant protection and artificial intelligence.