PASCO’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Board Election Successfully Held in Vienna
On the afternoon of 26 November, the Austrian-Chinese Technology Association successfully held its 2023 annual meeting and board election at the Chinese Culture and Art Centre Vienna (Chinesisches Kultur- und Kunstzentrum Wien). The meeting was hosted by board members Han Ying and Guo Meng.
Ke Xiao, a diplomat at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Austria, delivered remarks on behalf of the Science, Education and Culture Section. She noted that since its founding the association had been committed to scientific and technological exchange and cooperation between China and Austria, and warmly acknowledged its past contributions. She affirmed that the embassy would continue to support the association’s work as before, and expressed the hope that it would make further contributions to China-Austria exchange. The embassy and the science and technology team would continue to support international exchange and cooperation in science, technology and innovation — including with Austria — and advance the implementation of the “International Science and Technology Cooperation Initiative.”
Dr Jiang Jixiong, head of the CRRC Zhuzhou joint R&D centre for rail transit in Austria, then thanked the association in his remarks for providing a friendly exchange platform, expressing the hope that everyone could use it for active, effective exchange and to open up further cooperation opportunities. He too pledged to actively support the association’s development.
At the meeting, Chairman Guan Qi reviewed the association’s work from 2020 to 2023: thanks to the joint efforts of all board members and members and the support of many quarters, over the past three years the association had built an open platform for fellowship, exchange and service. Using the Danube Knowledge Forum as a springboard, it held many high-quality online and in-person lectures that drew numerous participants to exchange and learn. The association also actively engaged with other overseas Chinese groups and with research institutions and companies at home and abroad, and together with other associations founded the “Global Alliance of Overseas Chinese Automotive Engineers,” broadening its reach. It successfully ran the Code4u youth programming classes, helping young people build sound programming thinking and skills, and organised and took part in many sports and recreational activities such as badminton tournaments and dragon-boat races, creating further opportunities for exchange. Board member Wang Hong then presented the financial report for the term. With that, the board successfully completed its work of the past three years.
In accordance with the association’s statutes, the board resolved to elect Professor Jin Shengli as the new chairman, and the appointment was officially announced at the meeting. Chairman Jin said that after twelve years of development the association had become an important force and a solid bridge in China-Austria technology exchange. Chinese technology professionals, he said, carry a future-facing spirit of inquiry, a heart grateful to the times, an open mind that knows both China and Austria, and a sincere love of science. Nurturing these and letting them take effect would be the guiding theme of the next three years. Under the motto “Hearts and minds together, never alone,” the association would further consolidate the exchange and cooperation platform for Chinese technology professionals in Austria, build the association into a home for technology professionals, and contribute more to China-Austria technology exchange. Over the next three years it would actively follow developments in its fields, publicise members and their latest achievements, and run various scientific, academic and social activities under the themes “PASCO Academic Forum,” “PASCO On-site Series” and “PASCO Interaction Series.”
The leadership teams of the individual departments then introduced themselves and outlined their plans for future work; detailed introductions are to appear gradually on the association’s WeChat channel. Finally, the members present approved the official renaming of the association from “Promotion Association for Scientific and Technical Cooperation between China and Austria (PASCO)” to “Professional Association of Chinese Scientists and Technologists in Austria (PASCO).”
In the academic session that followed, researcher Tong Kailin spoke on the development and outlook of motion planning for autonomous driving; drawing on his own research, he described the technology’s evolution and current state and analysed motion planning in depth. Dr Wang Shiyi’s talk showcased many applications of GPT-style AI in everyday life and study — from report analysis and image analysis to graphic design and photo restoration. Zhang Chi of the University of Vienna and AI business-application expert Lian Ting joined the panel discussion moderated by Dr Liu Xiaoshan after the talks, sharing their experience and engaging further with the audience.
Lei Fengyun, former science and technology counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Austria, also sent his congratulations, wishing the 2023 annual meeting every success and the new chairman Jin Shengli and the new board a successful election and term, and asking that his regards be conveyed to all the association’s experts and friends. Kurt Wallner, Mayor of the Austrian city of Leoben, sent a letter of congratulations on behalf of the city, extending warm wishes to all participants, wishing the meeting every success, congratulating Professor Jin on his election, and looking forward to further cooperation.
With that, the 2023 annual meeting of the Austrian-Chinese Technology Association was successfully held. Participants from all walks spoke freely and look forward together to an even brighter future for the association.
Editor: Li Junjian
Photos: He Qiqi
