On the morning of January 8, HIE held the 9th Disciplinary Construction and Scientific Research Conference and the 4th Graduate Education Conference to comprehensively summarize achievements in regard to disciplinary construction, scientific research, and graduate education during the "13th Five-Year Plan", as well as to draw a comprehensive blueprint for the reform and development of the 14th Five-Year Plan.

President Yi Bing made a conference report, Party Secretary Chen Yuetang delivered a concluding speech, Deputy Secretary Ning Liwei announced the "The 30^th Teaching Anniversary" award list, Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee Yu Guibang announced the winner list of 2019-2020 Advanced Departments and Advanced Individuals for scientific and technological work, deputy President Li Junlin announced the 2020 Hunan Province Excellent Master's Thesis and School-level Excellent Master's Thesis Supervisor Commendation Document, and Vice President Luo Yiping presided over the conference. All school leaders, party committee members, middle-level cadres, provincial and school-level academic leaders, graduate tutors, graduate teachers, doctors, professors, degree secretaries, graduate representatives, and award-winning personnel attended the meeting.

President Yi Bing pointed out that, during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, under the correct leadership of the higher-level party committee and government, through the unremitting efforts of the faculty and staff of the school, discipline characteristics of HIE have become increasingly prominent, scientific research has been fruitful, and graduate education has reached a new level. Its school-running strength and core competitiveness have been continuously enhanced, which can be best demonstrated in the following aspects: new progress has been made in the construction of "Double First-class"; outstanding achievements in scientific research; remarkable results in platform and team building; effective promotion of industry-university-research cooperation; continuous deepening of university-industry integration; continuous improvement of postgraduate training quality; application for authority of granting master degree has achieved phased results.

Party Secretary Chen Yuetang made a concluding speech. He pointed out that the conference was comprehensive which summarized achievements of the past and raising questions for the future. Focusing on the theme of "Deepening Application-oriented School Positioning, Enhancing Core Competitiveness", Chen Yuetang put forward three requirements. First, we must profoundly sum up experience, face problems directly without evading or covering up, and turn crises into opportunities. He pointed out that in the face of new development tasks, we must strengthen not only discipline, scientific research, and graduate education, but also team management, work style, and governance. We shall stretch the long board to make up for the short board, so as to constantly develop the school with high quality. Second, we must strengthen confidence and courageously overcome difficulties. He emphasized that we must aim at development goals, seize opportunities, and move forward bravely with hard work day and night. Third, we must adhere to the application-oriented school positioning, accurately understand the needs of economic and social development, and combine the characteristics and advantages of HIE with those requirements to deepen university-industry integration and strengthen university-enterprise cooperation.

Faced with a new starting point and a new mission, Chen Yuetang called on all faculties and students of HIE to forge ahead to build the school into a high-level application-oriented engineering university with distinctive characteristics, so as to present the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC and the 70th anniversary of HIE with outstanding achievements!