On the morning of December 31, 2025, the special lecture "Scientific and Technological Innovation and Green Development of Deep-Sea Mining", part of the "Voice of Mining" Academic Forum series, was held in the second-floor lecture hall of the JI Hotel. The event was hosted by the university and organized by the School of Energy and Mining Engineering. The lecture featured as its keynote speaker Li Jiabiao, a renowned Chinese marine geologist and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Before the lecture, Han Shangfeng, Party Secretary of the University, met with Academician Li Jiabiao and his delegation in the reception room of Office Building No. 1, and the two sides held in-depth discussions on academic cooperation and talent development in the field of deep-sea resource exploitation. Subsequently, President Liu Bo, Assistant to the President Yang Fanlin and Li Jiabiao attended the lecture together. The lecture was chaired by Liu Bo.

On behalf of the university, Liu Bo extended a warm welcome and sincere thanks to Li Jiabiao. He noted that the deep sea holds abundant mineral and energy resources and is an important frontier for humanity to explore the unknown and develop resources. Advancing the exploration, development and sustainable utilization of deep-sea resources is both a strategic necessity for the nation's long-term development and a shared responsibility in participating in global ocean governance. The university will focus on national strategic needs, strengthen scientific research in such areas as the exploration and development of deep-sea energy and resources, build platforms for academic exchange, and guide faculty and students to broaden their scientific horizons, cultivate a strong commitment to mining, and reinforce their sense of mission in serving the building of a maritime power and an ecological civilization.

Focusing on the core scientific and technological challenges facing deep-sea mining, Li Jiabiao elaborated on the innovative breakthroughs and key technological advances achieved in resource exploration technology, mining platforms and equipment, and environmental safety. Li Jiabiao pointed out that deep-sea mining holds an important strategic position, and that scientific and technological innovation is the fundamental driving force for its sustainable development. Only through interdisciplinary integration and joint research involving industry, universities, research institutes and end users can the coordinated and sustainable development of mining exploitation and marine protection be achieved.

During the interactive session, attending faculty and students actively raised questions on topics such as the technical and economic feasibility of deep-sea mining and entry points for young scholars' research. Drawing on his own research practice, Li Jiabiao provided detailed answers to each question in turn; his profound insights greatly inspired the faculty and students.

In his closing summary of the lecture, Yang Fanlin said that the lecture not only broadened the academic horizons of faculty and students, but also provided important inspiration for the university's relevant disciplines to conduct research and innovation oriented toward national strategic needs and focused on frontier fields.

More than 120 people attended the lecture on site, including relevant heads of the School of Energy and Mining Engineering and the Party and Government Office, as well as young faculty members, doctoral students and master's students from the School of Energy and Mining Engineering and the College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering.