On June 10, the symposium titled "Eternal Spirit, Enlightened Future – Symposium on the Inheritance and Innovation of the Spirit of Scientists in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," guided by the Beijing Association for Science and Technology, co-hosted by the Beijing Communication Technology Research Association and Beijing City University (BCU), and organized by the School of International Culture and Communication (SICC), was held at BCU's Aerospace City Campus.
The event comprised two sessions: expert keynote speeches and an immersive aerospace technology experience. It brought together experts and scholars from domestic think tanks, universities, publishing institutions, and aerospace research institutes to conduct in-depth discussions on AI-empowered inheritance of the spirit of scientists, innovation in science communication, and the implementation of the aerospace spirit in popular science practices. Through on-site aerospace science experience displays, the event adopted an innovative format of "theoretical discussion + experiential engagement" to bridge the path from theoretical research on the spirit of scientists to public popularization. Major media outlets including Science and Technology Daily, China Daily, Beijing Daily, as well as Xinhua Net, People's Net, and Guangming Net, were present for coverage and interviews.
At the opening ceremony, Tian Peiyuan, Vice President of BCU and President of the Beijing Communication Technology Research Association, and Wang Chao, Deputy Director of the Management Committee of the Space Star Science Popularization Education Base, delivered speeches.
Tian Peiyuan pointed out that artificial intelligence is reshaping human production and lifestyles with unprecedented depth and breadth, becoming a strategic technology leading the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, while also bringing new opportunities and challenges to the dissemination of the spirit of scientists. On the one hand, the development of AI technology needs the guidance of the spirit of scientists – facing new issues such as algorithmic bias, data security, and ethical challenges, scientific and technological workers must adhere more firmly to the scientific attitude of seeking truth, the patriotic dedication to the country, and the open-minded collaboration. On the other hand, AI technology also provides new means for the dissemination and promotion of the spirit of scientists – through intelligent communication, immersive experiences, and digital storytelling, the spirit of scientists can be "revitalized" and "activated," reaching more people's hearts.
Wang Chao stated that the manned spaceflight spirit is a vivid epitome of the spirit of scientists. Various interactive aerospace experience projects will allow the public to experience the charm of science and technology and inherit the spirit of endeavor in intuitive and engaging ways.
During the keynote speech session, five industry experts shared their insights, analyzing from five dimensions – the changes facing the international dissemination of the spirit of scientists in the digital age, the extension of its connotation, reflections on its communication, its inspiration for youth education, and its empowerment of rural science popularization – offering multifaceted analyses of the logic and practical pathways for inheriting the spirit of scientists in the AI era, sparking vibrant exchanges of ideas.
In the immersive aerospace technology experience session, attendees visited physical aerospace exhibits, aerospace video materials, and intelligent interactive installations, getting an up-close look at the development journey and glorious achievements of China's aerospace industry. Experts provided in-depth explanations on the formation background and contemporary value of the manned spaceflight spirit and the lunar exploration spirit, vividly illustrating the spiritual qualities of hard work and continuous pursuit of excellence demonstrated by generations of aerospace researchers.
The venue featured multiple immersive VR aerospace experience devices. These devices, based on real space missions, created interactive content: simulating rocket launches, weightless roaming inside the space station, robotic arm extravehicular tours, and extravehicular operations in diverse virtual scenarios, allowing participants to experience the entire process from rocket launch to space, daily life in the space station, and space exploration from the astronaut's first‑person perspective. The lifelike virtual scenes made participants feel the challenges and hardships of space missions, and made the manned spaceflight spirit – "able to endure hardship, able to fight, able to tackle key problems, and able to dedicate" – tangible and perceptible.
On the day of the event, students from the Primary School Division of Beijing Haidian District Renbei Experimental School visited the site for tours and experiences. The students were full of enthusiasm, getting close to aerospace scientific achievements through interactive practice and experiencing the endeavor of aerospace professionals. After the experience, many students expressed that they truly felt the hardship and greatness of space missions, and that a seed of curiosity for science and dreams of the stars had been planted in their hearts.
This event is an important component of the Beijing Association for Science and Technology's "Ideological and Political Publicity Project for Science and Technology Workers," and also a key implementation project for the Beijing Communication Technology Research Association to fulfill the association's science popularization deployment and deepen the dissemination of the spirit of scientists.
In the future, BCU will join hands with the Beijing Communication Technology Research Association to further deepen cooperation with relevant entities: on the one hand, leveraging expert think‑tank resources to conduct a series of academic seminars on the spirit of scientists, exploring new pathways for spiritual inheritance in the digital age; on the other hand, building on the current aerospace exhibition to create a mobile aerospace science popularization exhibition hall, which will successively tour Beijing's primary and secondary schools and rural areas on the outskirts. By persistently using immersive technological experiences as a lever, the university aims to root the spirit of scientists and the manned spaceflight spirit in the hearts of young people, empower spiritual inheritance through technology, and guide popular science for public benefit with spiritual leadership, continuously injecting new momentum into the enhancement of scientific literacy for the capital's citizens.
