The Fourth National Maritime Youth Academic Forum and Progress Exchange Meeting on National Natural Science Foundation Projects in the Maritime and Shipping Field was held in Wuhan.

From November 13 to 15, the Fourth National Maritime Youth Academic Forum and Exchange Meeting on the Progress of National Natural Science Foundation Projects in the Maritime and Navigation Fields, jointly organized by Wuhan University of Technology, Dalian Maritime University, Shanghai Maritime University, and Jimei University, was held in Wuhan. Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, President of the Chinese Institute of Navigation, and Chairman of the Academic Committee of Wuhan University of Technology, Yan Xiping; Director of the Ocean Engineering Discipline Project of the Engineering and Material Sciences Department of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Liu Junpeng; Vice Presidents of Wuhan University of Technology, Luo Rong and Zhang Di, attended the forum. More than 300 representatives from over 60 universities and research institutions nationwide participated.

Luo Rong stated that the maritime industry is an important pillar for building a strong country in shipping, oceanic resources, and transportation. Currently, rapid iterations of artificial intelligence, big data, and new energy technologies are driving profound changes in the traditional maritime and navigation discipline system, bringing both new challenges and broad opportunities for innovation. She proposed that the four organizing universities should leverage their disciplinary advantages, continue to reinforce the academic foundation of the forum, consolidate a rotating mechanism for hosting, build a normalized bridge for scientific research collaboration through the forum, and unite innovation forces to serve major national strategies. She also expressed hope that all attending colleagues would engage in full discussions and exchange ideas, collaborate, and address critical challenges in the industry's transformation.

In his speech, Yan Xiping emphasized that the Chinese Institute of Navigation always aligns with national development needs, continuously building platforms for academic exchange, talent cultivation, and result transformation, supporting basic research and technological innovation in the maritime and navigation fields. He stressed that persistence is key in basic research and encouraged young scientific and technological workers to stick to innovative exploration and produce significant results over time; to focus on "key national issues" and identify real problems aligned with national strategies; to approach their work with steadfastness and practical ingenuity, and to cultivate essential capabilities with openness and inclusiveness, thus providing youthful innovation energy for strengthening the country.

During the keynote report session, Liu Junpeng presented a thematic report on the current funding status and frontier directions of basic research in the maritime and navigation fields (E1104). Experts such as Li Xingxing from Wuhan University, Hu Qing from Dalian Maritime University, Yang Shenhua from Jimei University, Wang Shengzheng from Shanghai Maritime University, Geng Xiongfei from the Water Transport Science Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport, Wang Hongdong from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Ma Yong from the Shipping College of Wuhan University of Technology delivered invited reports sequentially. They shared their achievements on cutting-edge topics such as BeiDou-based multi-source integrated positioning and embodied intelligent navigation, VDES communication-integrated fusion, port digital twins, intelligent ships, and new-generation shipping systems.

This forum set up four parallel sub-forums focusing on four major directions: navigation safety and maritime risk prevention and control, maritime intelligent sensing and collaborative governance, green intelligent shipping systems, and ship intelligent navigation and autonomous control. Reports on the progress of National Natural Science Foundation projects in the maritime and navigation fields (E1104) as well as youth academic exchanges were conducted.

It is reported that the National Maritime Youth Academic Forum was jointly initiated by the four universities mentioned above, targeting young researchers in the maritime and navigation fields. It aims to build a high-level platform for academic exchange, promote the transformation of engineering and technological challenges into basic scientific problems, and create an open and collaborative academic community for young people. The first three forums were held successively from 2023 to 2025 in Dalian, Shanghai, and Xiamen. This year's forum focused on frontiers of basic research in the maritime and navigation fields and major industry needs, discussing fund project achievements and academic hotspots to promote the connection between basic research and industrial demands and to support the growth of young research talents.