The Rector visiting the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

It took place in Shanghai the meeting between Prof. Guido Saracco, Rector of Politecnico di Torino, and Prof. Zhang Daogen, President of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), the oldest academic institution in China on human and social sciences that is, thanks to an extensive network of relationships, one of the main think tanks whose research products and publications have always been a reference for decision makers and policy makers in China and worldwide.

Prof. Saracco held, in front of a large audience of Chinese professors and university students, the lectio magistralis entitled "Engineering and Social Sciences: a challenge for XXI Century" with which he proposed a broad reflection on the relationship between technology and society, highlighting the need to bring citizens closer to the scientific method and strengthen the dialogue between universities and civil society. After his lecture, Prof. Saracco and Prof. Zhang exchanged their ideas and views on the technologies and humanities, as well as the role of universities for those.

The meeting-event, organized by the China Center of Politecnico, testifies to the careful policy of openness and collaboration towards China that Politecnico has undertaken over the years and it is itself an important new seal of the collaboration between the Politecnico di Torino and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, as for its think tank “Security and Crisis Management” of which our Rector is an authoritative member.

During the lecture, there was also the opportunity to present the fruitful cooperation between the Energy Security Lab (ESL) and SASS in the field of analysis on the energy security and sustainability aspects of the "Belt & Road Initiative ". As pointed out by Prof. Bompard, director of ESL and vice-director of the China Center, the initiative is attentive to the aspects of the energy transition and develops a holistic approach that combines physical-technological issues with geopolitical and environmental issues. The joint report by SASS and PoliTO titled “Energy Interplay and Security Within the Belt and Road Initiative” was also issued as a tangible outcome of the cooperation.