From June 2 to 3, a Forum on University Procurement Management and E-bidding Informatization Development was held at Tianjin University (TJU). The purpose of the forum, organized by Tianjin University’s Office of Bidding Management, was to discuss and explore the ideas and directions for the development of colleges and universities procurement informatization construction, speed up the reform of universities procurement, and implement the development concept of innovation, coordination, openness, and sharing. More than 300 representatives attended this event, including Zhao Yuan, Deputy Director of the Central Government Procurement Center, and Ma Jianbin, Deputy Director of the Government Procurement Center of the Ministry of Education, and Jia Chuan, Deputy Director (Presiding) of the Procurement Department I of the Government Procurement Center of the Ministry of Education, and representatives from more than 100 colleges and universities across the country, such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Zhejiang University and Renmin University of China, and reporters from the Chinese Government Procurement News, and the Government Procurement Information Daily, and supplier representatives and tendering agents in Beijing and Tianjin.

Liu Dongzhi and Zhang Fengbao, Vice Presidents of Tianjin University, and representatives in charge of related departments and offices, attended the meeting. The Forum consisted of two parts: the keynote speeches section and the panel discussions section. The Forum was chaired by Wu Yingxin, Deputy Director of the Bidding Office of Tianjin University.

The keynote speeches section was held in Zhengdong Library, Tianjin University on June 2.

Ma Jianbin put forward three requirements for the procurement work in colleges and universities. First, universities should attach great importance to public procurement. He pointed out the close relationship between procurement and the development of universities. The reform of internal governance structure in universities was an important part of the establishment of a modern university system. Government procurement should be implemented as the important guarantee of a world-class university and first-rate disciplinary development and the realization of the development of higher education. At the same time, government procurement should act as an important measure to standardize budget expenditures in colleges and universities and prevent corruption risks. Second, we must pay attention to the construction of procurement informatization. The development of procurement informatization construction is an effective way to solve such problems as low procurement efficiency, poor quality, and risks of corruption. Third, we should attach great importance to Tianjin University’s experience. Tianjin University took the first step and brought the Central Government Procurement Center's bidding electronic auxiliary system to the university and formed the “TJU Model”. It achieved a notable result. It played a leading role as a model for universities directly under MOE and even among universities across the country.

Zhao Yuan made a keynote speech on "Comprehensive Solutions to University Public Budget (Government Procurement) Implementation", and explained centralized procurement policy in public budget units and the construction and development of an informatization platform. He explained the informationization of the Central Government Procurement Center. In particular, he offered the idea of informatization construction suitable for the characteristics of government procurement in universities, and discussed the new direction of government procurement reform and new ideas and methods of government procurement platform integration and sharing and informatization construction of public budget units in the future.

The Head of the Bidding Management Office of Tianjin University made a keynote speech on the “Research and Practice of College Electronic Bidding System”. As an initiator of the “TJU Model,” he shared the experience of building a full-process paperless electronic bidding system for colleges and universities, citing the Tianjin University’s e-bidding system as an example, and talked about the realization of the sharing of resources such as experts, information, and technology among universities in China, and the application prospects of AI technology in tendering procurement.

Shao Lan, Director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Office of Tianjin University and Deputy Director of the Assets and Laboratory Management Department, gave a report, “Informatization of the College Equipment Purchasing Process". She introduced Tianjin University's implementation requirements for the reform of universities government decentralization, integration and optimization of service and the practice of using information technology to build equipment procurement process management so as to create a good scientific research environment. She also described the full life cycle management, full-process information integration of resources, concepts and ideas of dynamic monitoring overall management.

The panel discussions section was held at the 1895 Administration Building on Peiyangyuan Campus of TJU on June 3. It included three parallel sessions and one mobile session. At parallel session No.1, the Central Government Procurement Center, the Government Procurement Center of the Ministry of Education and dozens of colleges and universities, discussed the construction of government procurement informatization in higher learning institutions. At parallel session No.2, the Bidding and Tendering Management Office of TJU conducted an electronic bidding system demonstration. At parallel session No.3, the equipment and material procurement information system of Tianjin University was introduced to representatives from other universities. At the mobile session, The Bidding Management Office of TJU carried out a circular demonstration of the electronic bid evaluation.　　

This Forum is centered on achieved results, theoretical discussion and conceptual exploration of the “TJU Model”, which was widely praised by the Central Government Procurement Center, the Government Procurement Center of the Ministry of Education and representatives from other universities. This successful convention brought about a new wave of informatization construction of bidding and procurement among higher learning institutions and gave a boost to the development of college government procurement.