Shanghai News, CNS, November 18 (Reported by Chen Jing) It was reported on Nov. 18 that the 2025 Annual Conference of Industry and Education Consortium in National Agricultural Food Industry and the 3rd Industry-University-Research Collaboration & Innovation Seminar in Food Industry was held in Shanghai, with the theme "Industry-Education Collaboration, Intelligent Creation of the Future" in this conference.

    The highly anticipated 2025 Report of Talent Supply and Demand in Food Industry was officially released at the opening ceremony. The report was jointly prepared by the Industry and Education Consortium in National Agricultural Food Industry, foodmate.net, and Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College. In the report, it systematically reviewed the background of educational policies, characteristics of industrial layout, talent demand structure, training supply status, and practices in industry-education integration, deeply analyzed the underlying causes of supply-demand imbalance, and proposed countermeasures, aiming to provide important references for decision-making by governments, enterprises, universities and colleges, and other parties.

    It is reported that Kong Shuangshuang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Consortium Secretariat, and Li Bo, Director of the Academic Affairs Office of Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, as a representative of the preparation units, made an on-site interpretation on the core content of the report.

    Under the guidance of the Steering Committee of National Vocational Education Teaching in Food Industry, the Conference was jointly hosted by the Industry and Education Consortium in National Agricultural Food Industry and Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, and co-organized by Beijing Food Institute, Shanghai Society of Food Science, and Shanghai Food Association. More than 300 participants attended the Conference, including relevant leaders from government departments, member units of the Consortium, authoritative organizations in the industry, scientific research institutions, renowned universities and colleges, as well as many outstanding enterprises in the agricultural food, along with experts, scholars, teacher and student representatives, and guests.

    Yu Xuejun, Executive Secretary-General of the China National Light Industry Council and Director of the Steering Committee of National Vocational Education Teaching in Food Industry, Luo Yunbo, Chairman of the Industry and Education Consortium in National Agricultural Food Industry, President of Beijing Food Institute, and Professor of Beijing Technology and Business University, Zhang Zhengrong, Deputy Party Secretary and President of Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, and Li Yuanzhao, Vice Chairman of the Consortium, delivered speeches at the opening ceremony of this Conference successively. They unanimously emphasized the urgency and importance of deepening the integration of industry and education and promoting the intelligent, green and healthy transformation of the food industry, and expressed their great expectations for the future development of the Consortium.

    "Driving Learning, Teaching, and Employment through Competitions" has always been the core approach for the Consortium to promote talent cultivation. Over the past year, with the support and assistance of various member units of the Consortium, a series of distinctive events were held around "Growth of Food Talent", including the 2nd Agricultural and Food Career Planning Competition, the 2025 Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and the 2025 Food Science Popularization Explanation Competition. All these events not only discovered young reserve forces for the industry but also built a practical bridge for the integration of industry and education. At the Conference, the series of events including the 2nd Agricultural and Food Career Planning Competition, the 2025 Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and the 2025 Food Science Popularization Explanation Competition were recognized, and the finalist lists were announced. Moreover, Shandong Business Institute, as an outstanding representative of the career planning competition, made a speech to share its experience in competition organization and insights into talent cultivation.

    In the launch of the 2026 consortium events, the attending leaders jointly pressed the start button to announce the official launch of the three major events: the 2026 Agricultural and Food Career Planning Competition, Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and Food Science Popularization Explanation Competition.

    In the keynote report session, Li Yang, Director of the National Food Management Center of China Light Industry and Secretary-General of the Steering Committee of National Vocational Education Teaching in Food Industry, delivered a keynote report titled Innovative Development and Future Trends of the Food Industry. The report, from the overall industry perspective, deeply analyzed the innovation directions and future trends of the food industry, which clarified the development path and broadening the perspective for us.

     Ma Jun, Deputy Director of the Vocational Education Department of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, delivered a keynote report titled Practices of Industry-Education Integration in Shanghai Vocational Education. Ma Jun comprehensively demonstrated the in-depth practices and fruitful achievements of industry-education integration in Shanghai vocational education. These valuable experiences not only highlight Shanghai's pioneering role but also provide referable solutions for national industry-education integration.

    At the thematic forum, Lu Jiafu, Deputy Director of the Steering Committee of National Vocational Education Teaching in Food Industry and a Teaching Master of National "Ten Thousand Talents Program", gave a keynote report titled In-Depth Thoughts on Higher Vocational Talent Cultivation in the Context of Digital Intelligence. The report analyzed the new requirements of the current digital intelligent transformation of the food industry on the ability structure of higher vocational talents, and discussed how higher vocational institutions can align with industrial digital intelligent needs in aspects such as curriculum systems, practical training bases, and teacher development.

    Cheng Li, Vice Dean and Professor of the School of Food Science and Technology at Jiangnan University, gave a thematic report titled FoodSeek Large Model - Exploration and Practice of Constructing a Specialized Large Model for Food Science. The report introduced the research and development background, objectives, and application scenarios (such as research assistance, intelligent teaching Q&A, etc.) of the FoodSeek large model, focused on the key steps and difficulties in the construction process of a specialized large model for the discipline, and offered prospects for its application in food science.

    Yang Lifei, Deputy Director and Senior Engineer of Grain Standards at the Standard Quality Center of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, delivered a thematic report titled Standard Conversion Paths and Strategies for Food Industry-University-Research Innovation. The report interpreted the formulation and update trends of national standards and industry standards in the food field, discussed how to quickly convert scientific research achievements into industry standards and promote technology implementation and industrial upgrading, and analyzed the key role of standards in ensuring food safety and improving product quality.