A group of 28 faculty members and students from Belgium's VIVES University of Applied Sciences visited Shanghai's Lin-gang Special Area on March 23 for a cross-border industry dialogue.

The students, who are mechanical engineering majors, found their field of expertise closely aligned with the area's key industries — advanced equipment manufacturing, new energy vehicles, and integrated circuits.

The group's first stop was the Dishui Lake AI Innovation Hub, a sci-tech innovation community, where they were amazed by breakthrough technologies such as CATL's intelligent chassis as well as human-robot collaboration, as demonstrated by automated chess robots.

The Belgian faculty members and students view the innovations on display in the Dishui Lake AI Innovation Hub. [Photo/WeChat ID: shlghr]

The group then visited the Yangshan Deep-Water Port, the world's largest and most automated container terminal. There, they observed cranes and gantry systems efficiently handling massive container flows with minimal human control.

"This is the first time I've seen such an impressive smart port," one student said. "The coordination and automation of the machinery far exceeded my expectations."

The Belgian students visit the Yangshan Deep-Water Port. [Photo/WeChat ID: shlghr]

The final visit took the group to the Jinqiao Lin-gang Smart and Hi-tech Industry Park, where representative enterprises showcased innovations such as energy storage battery systems. Several professors expressed interest in introducing the technologies to Belgium in an effort to promote cross-regional industrial collaboration.

The visit not only gave European students a direct look at Lin-gang's industrial and technological achievements but also strengthened educational and industrial dialogue between China and Europe. Moving forward, Lin-gang plans to continue welcoming international talent to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in the area.