Report on ISU Education Research Professional Committee 2019

Mr. Chen Wenxing

Academician of China Engineering Academy

Vice-chairman of ISU

Director of ISU Education Research Professional Committee

President of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University

Dear chairman Zhang Guoqiang, all the guests and colleagues,

Good morning, on behalf of the ISU Education Research Professional Committee, I warmly congratulate Mr. Zhang Guoqiang on his election as chairman of International Silk Union. And I would like to extend my warmest welcome to the leaders, guests, and colleagues of the conference.

Since its established in 2017, ISU Education Research Professional Committee has 16 members from China, Australia, India, Poland, Brazil, Thailand and other countries. On Oct. 9, 2018, and Sep. 27 this year, the committee held twice meeting to exchange the silk educational research and scientific innovation, etc. Here, I would like to make a brief introduction to the work of the committee in recent years, especially in the past year, in the areas of silk education, scientific research, and cultural exchange.

1. Silk Education

(1) Distinctive professional education

Chinese universities with undergraduate and higher education in the field of sericulture mainly including Southwest University, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Zhejiang University, Shenyang Agricultural University, South China Agricultural University, which are recruiting students every year. And Anhui Agricultural University, Guangxi University, Yunnan Agricultural University are not enrolling students every year, but related scientific research is still actively underway.

All major textile universities in China have content related to silk science education, which has contributed to the cultivation of talents in the silk industry. Among them, Soochow University and Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (ZSTU) are more prominent.

With the support of the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Department of Education, In 2016, ZSTU restored the major of silk design and engineering (the only one in the country), combining the design and engineering, positioning to the talent development of application, characteristic and international, cultivating composite talents who can meet the inheritance and development of the silk industry. (Since 2017, one class about 30 students has been enrolled each year. The quality of the students is good and the admission score is higher than other engineering majors.)

In April of this year, ZSTU signed a contract with the China National Silk Museum for the establishment of the International Silk Institute. The goal is to build a high-level, international and influential institute. The two sides share their advantageous resources, highlight the intersection of "culture and technology", and integrate of "modern and traditional", to meet the needs of talent diversity.

(2) Colorful training classes

Training Program on Processing Technology and Innovation Design of Modern Silk Products

Since 2016, ZSTU held the international training program on  “Processing Technology and Innovation Design of Modern Silk Products” by the Ministry of Science and Technology every year. More than 80 students from 12 countries including Thailand, Vietnam, India, and Egypt have participated in the training, promoted developing countries' scientific and technological cooperation and talent exchange in the field of silk product design and processing, contributed China's strength to the technological advancement of world silk.

Training Program on Art & Technique Heritage and Creative Design of Brocade

Since 2017, approved by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, ZSTU held the Intangible heritage Inheritance training program on Art & Technique Heritage and Creative Design of Brocade. Conducted six advanced training class for more than 120 inheritors and practitioners in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Shandong, Guizhou, Hunan and other places.

National Advanced Training Course on Reeling Technology and Management

Soochow University hosted the National Advanced Training Course on Reeling Technology and Management in 2018 and 2019, set up a technology exchange platform of "production, university, research and application" for management and technical staff of silk production enterprises

Assisting Uzbekistan's sericulture enterprises integrate into the “Belt and Road“ Initiative

In 2018, 16 sericulture technicians from Uzbekistan came to China to learn sericulture seed technology. Mr. Wang Yongqiang, member of ISU Education Research Professional Committee and the deputy director of Zhejiang Sericulture Research Institute, and other experts gave lectures and technical guidance to Uzbekistan sericulture technicians. And signed a framework agreement with the Uzbekistan Ministry of Industry to help Uzbekistan in the development of silkworm breeds, disease prevention and control, breeding technology, cocoon processing and other front-end industries.

Various types of silk-related training classes conducted by the committee members and their units have enhanced the communication and exchanges between countries and China with multiple levels and perspectives. Created the conditions for promoting long-term cooperation and mutual benefit between countries.

2. Silk Research

On April 20 this year, Soochow University organized the "Seminar on 2019 Silk Technology and Industry Development" to study and analyze the status of silk technology and industry. It is dedicated to building a communication platform for the industry, building a technological innovation system for the deep integration of industry, university and research, and promoting the high-quality development of the silk industry.

In October, 2018, the 5th International Symposium on Advanced Textile Science and Technology was held in ZSTU, this September, ZSTU and ISU Education Research Professional Committee together held the 15th Asian Textile Conference - Silk Science and Technology, everyone exchanged and shared new ideas, new technologies and new achievements, and jointly discussed new opportunities and new challenges facing the field of silk science and technology.

On November 26-28 of this year, the committee assisted the Nanchong Association for Science and Technology, and Sichuan Provincial Silk Association to hold a "Seminar on Silk Industry Collaborative Innovation Development", and invited domestic silk experts to teach reeling technology, silk variety design, new dyeing and finishing technology, silk quilt standard, corporate technological innovation and brand building, etc., helped to improve the Sichuan silk industry.

In recent years, Chinese experts have made a lot of works in deep processing technology of sericulture resources, intensive and factory sericulture technology, processing technology of functional silk and its products, digital and short-flow silk reeling equipment technology, creative design and weaving technology for silk products, ecological and intelligent printing and dyeing of silk, and silk cultural relics protection technology, etc. It has condensed and cultivated a group of industrial technology innovation talents, which has promoted the development of the silk industry. For example, High Fashion Silk (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. started to promote the intelligent information workshop project in 2017, which has greatly improved the production efficiency and product quality, and has taken the lead in the national silk industry.

The double-sided digital printing technology mainly developed by Wensli  Group can meet the requirements of higher standards such as double sided with same color and pattern or double sided with different color and same pattern. At present, many domestic enterprises have mastered the double-sided digital printing process, which has greatly improved the grade of printed products.

The weaving technology of butterfly satins developed by Cathaya Group, generating the logic of butterfly texture with computer simulation, realized the stepless gradient of jacquard pattern. And the hyaluronic acid finishing technology has provided silk with better water absorption and moisture retention, which better meets the needs of consumers in direct contact with the skin.

Intensive sericulture has been mentioned in China for almost three decades, and the industry has never stopped this effort to change the natural economy of the silkworm.

About Intensive sericulture, everyone is more concerned about the artificial feed, and Jiangsu has done this earlier. In April this year, the Jiangsu Sericulture Institute held a report meeting on "Practical Technical Achievements of Artificial Feed Silkworm" in Rudong county. After nearly ten years of efforts, Rudong county reduced costs, built a standardized platform, and produced high quality silk, which has formed a replicable model of artificial feed sericulture technology. The experts believes that Jiangsu's artificial feed sericulture technology is basically mature and has the prerequisites for transition to modern sericulture.

Artificial feed sericulture technology is a prerequisite for achieving large-scale, mechanized, and factory sericulture. Zhejiang Babei has pioneered silkworm-raising factory. According to Babei, the phase I project of full-age artificial feed has been successfully mass-produced, and has an annual production capacity of 10,000 tons of high-quality fresh cocoons, which is of great significance.

In terms of industrial promotion, Zhejiang and Jiangsu have taken different paths. Jiangsu's current young silkworm artificial feed technology is relatively mature, and large silkworm artificial feed technology is also mature, but its feeding cost is much higher. Zhejiang is another path with three keywords: full-age, artificial feed and silkworm-raising factory (not artificial silkworm, but fully closed industrialized and intelligent cultivate).

A lot of innovative research has been carried out around silk material at home and abroad, especially in the modification of the structure and properties of silk by GM Technology. For example, study on silk fiber containing spider fibroin, study on natural colored silk cocoons, etc.

The industry also passed international standards, deepened exchanges and cooperation with Italy and France, improved the power of discourse and influence of China's silk standardization. In 2014, ISO issued the International Standard for Defects and Evenness Test, which is the first international standard for silk formulated by China; in November 2018, ISO issued the International standard for Silk- Test Method for Determining the Size of Silk Yarns.

3. Research and Exchange of Silk Culture

The committee also actively carries out research and exchange activities on silk culture at home and abroad. In 2018, Zhejiang Silk and Fashion Culture Research Center established at ZSTU. The center held a series of academic seminars, it’s one of the key research bases of philosophy and social sciences in Zhejiang Province.

Last year and in November of this year, the “Belt and Road” silk workshop was jointly held with the Confucius Institute at the University of Mauritius, so that the students can feel the charm of Chinese clothing culture, further stimulate their interest in studying in China. Every year, several outstanding students are selected to participate in our school's international clothing lectures.

Committee members actively participated in the "2019 Vietnam-International Silk and Brocade Cultural Festival", made a special report at the seminar, and presented the brocade scroll to the wife of Vietnamese Prime Minister.

Regarding silk education, scientific research, and cultural exchanges, committee members and their units, and ISU member units, have also carried out a lot of work. In the future, our committee will work hard to deepen domestic and foreign cooperation in education and research, strengthen the related international work, welcome to give us more valuable comments.