On November 15, 2025, a high-level event focusing on "AI for Science" commenced. The opening ceremony and main forum of the 2025 Xili Lake Forum were held in the Thousand-Person Auditorium of the Shenzhen University Town International Conference Center. This year's forum was hosted by Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School (PKU Shenzhen), the rotating chair unit of the X9 Alliance of Universities and Institutions, and the International AI for Science Alliance.
Scene of the 2025 Xili Lake Forum
Under the theme "Accelerating Scientific Discovery, Defining the Future of Industry," the 2025 Xili Lake Forum featured 28 specialized forums covering various categories such as industry forums, achievement transformation, basic research, talent forums, and science popularization sessions. Through keynote speeches and a series of discussions, the forum delved into how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the paradigm of scientific research, catalyzing new discoveries in frontier science, reshaping future education systems, and facilitating industrial iteration and innovation. The forum is committed to building bridges between scientific breakthroughs, educational transformation, and industrial upgrading, promoting AI technology as the core engine leading high-quality social development.
The forum opened with the XILI Dialogue session, themed "AI for X," which focused on the practical frontiers of AI across different industries, systematically outlining its enabling application logic and implementation paths. Guests explored how AI will reshape the future technological and industrial landscape, charting specific paths for organizations and individuals to seize opportunities and address challenges, thereby collectively steering the transformation of the intelligent era.
XILI Dialogue: AI for X
Following the dialogue, a unique human-AI collaborative work—the opening song "New Chapter of Nanyan Garden"—ignited the "switch" of the venue space and the hearts of all participants. The lyrics for this piece were generated by Tencent Music's "Wenqu Lyric Generation Model" using prompts written by PKU Shenzhen; the song was then created using the "Morning Star AI Song Making Model," culminating in a live performance by students from the Overseas Chinese Town Primary School affiliated with the Nanshan Foreign Languages School (Group). This work deeply integrates three core elements: the "PKU Gene," the "Shenzhen Spirit," and "AI for Science," concisely showcasing the firm belief and broad prospects of university-local collaboration in deepening technological innovation. This tripartite, human-AI collaborative creative model echoed the forum's theme, breaking down the inherent boundaries between industry and disciplines through artistic form. It vividly suggested that AI aims not to replace creators but to collaborate with them, tapping into the most ancient wellspring of art—the flutter stemming from the pure experience of youth, the free will bursting forth within constraints, and the ever-aspiring heart yearning to resonate with the world.
Opening Song: "New Chapter of Nanyan Garden"
At the opening ceremony, Qin Weizhong, Deputy Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Shenzhen, delivered a speech and declared the Xili Lake Forum open. Academician Zhang Jin, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Peking University Committee, Executive Vice President of Peking University, and Dean of PKU Shenzhen, stated that "AI for Science" represents the innovative integration of artificial intelligence and scientific research, and is a key achievement and emerging field of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. Regarding the forum's goals, Zhang Jin expressed three expectations: First, integrate "AI" and "X" to create future growth poles at the collision of boundaries and frontiers; Second, link "Innovation" and "Development" to cultivate new quality productive forces at the intersection of technology and industry; Third, connect the "Bay Area" and the "World" to build a community with a shared future under the banner of openness and cooperation. He emphasized that Peking University will join hands with Shenzhen to commit to transforming AI for Science from a "key variable" into the "greatest increment" that revolutionizes scientific research paradigms, drives urban capability leaps, and supports economic and social development.
Zhang Jin, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Peking University Committee, Executive Vice President of Peking University, and Dean of PKU Shenzhen
Three key releases took place during the opening ceremony. First, the International Intellectual Property College, co-established by the National Intellectual Property Administration and Peking University, was officially launched. This college, specifically constructed by the Peking University School of Transnational Law and located in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, aims to build a high-end platform for cultivating IP talents with international influence, integrating education, research, think-tank functions, and international cooperation, serving the national IP power strategy and the construction of a high-level IP talent hub in the Greater Bay Area. Second, the "Boya AI4S Top Talent Program," a continuous bachelor's-master's-doctoral program under the Peking University AI for Science Academy, was officially launched. This program will cultivate interdisciplinary talents proficient in both AI principles and specific scientific fields through a dual-supervisor system combining "AI + Science." Third, the delivery and signing ceremony for the Phase I of the Shenzhen University Town International Campus was held, marking a collaborative effort by five universities to jointly create the future, further strengthening the cluster capability of the Xili Lake area in industry-university-research collaboration and open innovation.
Signing and Release Ceremony
The forum released seven major achievements of the X9 Alliance, fully demonstrating the exploratory practices of AI in scientific research infrastructure, talent cultivation reform, and regional innovation policies. These included: the Shenzhen Science Compass, jointly developed by Shenzhen International Science and Technology Information Center, DP Technology, PKU Shenzhen, Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, and Shenzhen Supercomputing Center; a new-generation AI database and knowledge base platform replacing traditional literature, jointly developed by SISTIC, PKU Shenzhen, and DP Technology; the AI4S LAB, the world's first one-stop digital-intelligent life science research platform created by PKU Shenzhen; the domestically developed native multimodal understanding and generation unified large model UNIWORLD V2, jointly developed by PKU Shenzhen and Rabbit Marketing; and a new-generation protein large model jointly developed by PKU Shenzhen and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Heavyweight initiatives such as the "Large Model Science and Engineering" full-time master's program jointly established by Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School and Tencent, and the Nanshan District AI Application Scenarios List were also announced. These AI achievements in science and education demonstrate the ecological synergy of industry, academia, and research, which will further enhance academic research efficiency and inject strong momentum into the scientific research ecosystem and industrial upgrading.
At the forum, experts and scholars shared their cutting-edge insights and in-depth analyses in the field of artificial intelligence.
Experts and Scholars Delivering Keynote Speeches
A flag handover ceremony was held, where Zhang Jin, representing the current rotating chair unit PKU Shenzhen, handed over the X9 Alliance flag to the next rotating chair unit, represented by Huang Zhong, Party Secretary of Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen. The handover symbolizes the continued deepening impact of AI-enabled scientific research and industrial upgrading in the fields of education, technology, and urban development, injecting new momentum into the collaborative development of industry, academia, and research in the Xili Lake International Science and Education City.
Flag Handover Ceremony
Through various formats like keynote speeches and roundtable dialogues, the 2025 Xili Lake Forum provided participants with a high-end platform to gain in-depth understanding of frontier AI technologies, exchange innovative ideas, and explore cooperation opportunities. Adopting a "1+N+X" model, this year's forum included 1 opening ceremony and main forum, 28 professional forums, as well as supporting activities like the "Open Day" campus open day and the X9 Alliance sports league, promoting the construction of an open and integrated innovation ecosystem. The forum will dedicatedly build the "Xili Lake Academic Month," which grandly commenced on November 15 in Shenzhen University Town and will continue throughout the entire month of November.
