The Academic Committee of the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB), Chinese Academy of Sciences, held its first meeting of 2025 on March 30, 2025. (Credit: IHB)

The Academic Committee of the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB), Chinese Academy of Sciences, held its first meeting of 2025 on March 30, 2025. Chaired by Prof. CHEN Yiyu (CAS member), the meeting brought together committee members and institute leadership to review research progress and discuss future strategic planning.

Prof. Miao Wei, Director of IHB, presented a comprehensive report on IHB’s major research progress and key achievements in 2024, as well as the outcomes of institutional reforms and strategic research structuring. He also outlined efforts to initiate major projects aimed at achieving scientific and technological leadership, and introduced the preliminary framework for the institute’s 15th Five-Year Plan.

The committee members engaged in in-depth discussions regarding the institute’s achievements under the 14th Five-Year Plan and the strategic layout for the 15th Five-Year Plan. They fully affirmed the effectiveness of the institute's structural reforms and its strategic layout focused on the three major research directions: water, fisheries, and algae. The members also offered constructive suggestions on how to strengthen interdisciplinary research, leverage AI to empower scientific innovation, achieve key technological breakthroughs, and better serve the country’s major strategic needs under the new circumstances.

In his concluding remarks, Prof. CHEN Yiyu stressed the importance of maintaining IHB’s traditional strengths while driving innovation during the 15th Five-Year period. He emphasized the need to uphold fundamental principles while fostering innovation, cultivate emerging interdisciplinary fields, and continuously enhance original innovation capabilities to tackle "bottleneck" technological challenges. He also highlighted the importance of achieving major breakthroughs in both addressing fundamental scientific problems and supporting national strategies. 

On behalf of the institute, Prof. Miao Wei expressed gratitude to the academic committee for its long-standing support and strategic guidance. He stated that IHB will carefully review and integrate the experts’ suggestions into the 15th Five-Year Plan. Through optimizing resource allocation and strengthening collaborative innovation, IHB aims to develop a high-quality plan to guide the institute’s future growth.