On April 29, 2024 Innovation Methods Forum was held at China Science and Technology Hall in Beijing. The forum brings together top domestic experts, scholars, entrepreneurs, and technology workers in the field of innovative methods to jointly explore the practical application of AI and innovative methods, and promote the important role of innovative methods in technological progress and economic and social development.

At the meeting, Professor Qi Ershi, former Dean of the School of Management (now the College of Management and Economics) at Tianjin University (TJU) and Executive Director of the Innovation Method Research Association, was awarded the "Innovation Method Achievement Award".

This award is a national science and technology award established by the Innovation Methods Research Association, aimed at recognizing individuals and projects with outstanding achievements or significant contributions in the field of innovation methods research, promotion, and application, representing the highest level of innovation methods in China.

As one of the founders of the Industrial Engineering discipline in China, Professor Qi Ershi has always been committed to the research and practical application of the concepts, methods, and technical tools of lean management in industrial engineering. He has unique insights into the field of innovative methods, especially management innovation methods, and has proposed a theoretical system of "management innovation methods" that is suitable for China's national situation. He has trained a large number of professional talents, promoted the application and development of industrial engineering and lean management in various industries in China, and has been widely recognized and praised by the academic and business communities.

TJU is one of the earliest higher education institutions in China to establish the discipline of industrial engineering after China’s reform and opening up. The predecessor of the Industrial Engineering major was the Industrial Management Engineering major established in 1979. In 1992, the Ministry of Education first approved the construction of the Industrial Engineering major at TJU. After 32 years of construction, the Industrial Engineering major has become a national first-class undergraduate major and an advantageous characteristic major in Tianjin. In the 2023 ranking of soft science majors, the Industrial Engineering major of TJU was rated as A. This major currently have national first-class courses, national quality courses, national bilingual demonstration courses, national quality resource sharing courses, and conduct research in fields such as industrial engineering and management innovation, quality engineering and management, Six Sigma management, lean production, human factors engineering, and complex system management, which are at a leading level in China.

By College of Management and Economics

Editor: Sun Xiaofang