On July 11, the unveiling ceremony for STEP Learning Academy was solemnly held in the auditorium of STEP’s Suyi Road campus. Prominent figures from academia and business—including Professor Wang Qilong, Executive Vice President of Shandong University; Professor Xu Dianguo from Harbin Institute of Technology; Professor Cheng Xiuzhen, Dean of the School of Computer Science at Shandong University and IEEE FELLOW; and Dr. Xiao Weirong, President of B&R Greater China—joined STEP Director and General Manager Wu Yuhui to pull the launch lever and unveil the plaque for STEP Learning Academy, marking the official commencement of operations of the academy.
Speech by Ji Defa, Founder of STEP and Chairman of the Academic Council
Ji Defa, the founder of STEP, attaches great importance to talent development within the company and has served as the first chairman of the STEP Academy. In his enthusiastic address, he pointed out that, in the face of a rapidly growing smart manufacturing market and a fiercely competitive landscape filled with formidable rivals, STEP needs to place even greater emphasis on nurturing its talent pool. With the ambition of becoming an internationally renowned brand in the field of smart manufacturing and a world-class enterprise, STEP urgently needs to integrate both internal and external resources, establish a continuously improving training system, cultivate an intrinsic source of growth within the company, and develop leading talents in science and technology as well as employees of world-class caliber.
Ji Defa stated that establishing the STEP Academy has long been a cherished aspiration of STEP employees. Since being recognized as a National Enterprise Technology Center in 2015, STEP has been actively promoting the construction of its Central Research Institute and national-level laboratories, thereby creating the necessary conditions for advancing technological progress within the company. Now, with the establishment of the STEP Academy, we will cultivate leading professionals in fields such as intelligent manufacturing, digital technologies, and advanced manufacturing techniques, and continue to significantly increase our investment in scientific and technological research and development over the long term. At the same time, the STEP Academy will also offer programs to train management professionals, thereby enhancing corporate leadership capabilities. The STEP Academy will collaborate with renowned universities to form the STEP Academic Alliance, taking a comprehensive approach—from talent selection and deployment to talent development and retention—to build a robust and integrated talent ecosystem for STEP.
Speech by Wu Yuhui, General Manager of STEP
Wu Yuhui introduced that the STEP Corporate Academy will design core courses centered around the company’s strategic objectives, targeting technical R&D personnel, management cadres, frontline employees, as well as suppliers and users. The training will be extended to key members across the value chain, thereby promoting industrial advancement and strengthening relationship cohesion.
Speech by Professor Wang Qilong, Executive Vice President of Shandong University
Wang Qilong stated that the “STEP Academy’s talent strategy” aligns perfectly with the fundamental mission of universities—cultivating virtue and nurturing talent. By identifying, valuing, nurturing, and effectively utilizing talent, STEP Academy has successfully integrated and interconnected resources from various sectors, innovated talent-development models, broadened talent-cultivation pathways, and unleashed the intrinsic motivation within enterprises. This approach truly enables employers to play a leading role in talent cultivation, attraction, and utilization, helping talents achieve comprehensive capability enhancement and adapt to the rapidly evolving innovation landscape. Shandong University is eager to explore development paths together with STEP Academy, fostering mutual exchange and sharing of university and enterprise resources, co-creating diversified talent-development programs, and engaging in comprehensive and in-depth strategic cooperation in areas such as industry-education integration, technological research, and social practice—pooling strengths and empowering industrial development.
The First Lesson of STEP Academy Begins
Professor Cheng Xiuzhen, Dean of the School of Computer Science at Shandong University and an IEEE Fellow, delivered the first lecture of the STEP Academy, presenting cutting-edge research findings on blockchain technology to over 200 attendees, including STEP management cadres and researchers from the Central Research Institute.
Group photo of guests
