Recently, the "Starry Sky and Vast Ocean: Setting Sail from Yantai—Academician Ye Peijian and Youths Jointly Building the Dream of a Strong Aerospace Nation" exchange event, hosted by the Yantai Communist Youth League Committee, Yantai Education Bureau, Yantai Association for Science and Technology, Shandong Aerospace Electronics Technology Research Institute, and other organizations, and undertaken by Yantai University, was held at Yantai University. As the leading institution of the Yantai High-Tech Industrial Development Zone Aerospace Industry-Education Consortium, our school was invited to organize representatives of teachers and students to participate in the event. They engaged in discussions with Academician Ye Peijian and experts in the aerospace field on the spirit of aerospace, deepened industry-education integration, and injected new momentum into the high-quality development of the regional aerospace industry.
Ye Peijian, a recipient of the national honorary title of "People's Scientist," is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and served as the chief commander and designer of the Chang'e-1 lunar probe at the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). He is also a consultant for subsequent deep-space exploration missions. A leading figure in China's major aerospace projects, Academician Ye has spent half his life closely connected to the nation's aerospace endeavors, from lunar exploration to the pursuit of Mars. He is hailed as the "cornerstone" of China's Chang'e lunar exploration team.
At the event, Academician Ye delivered a keynote lecture titled "Carry Forward the Spirit of Aerospace and Strive for the Construction of a Strong Aerospace Nation", systematically reviewing the leapfrog development of China's aerospace industry from "starting from scratch" to "retrieving samples from the far side of the moon." Drawing on breakthroughs in the Chang'e-1 to Chang'e-6 lunar exploration projects, he elaborated on the core values of the aerospace spirit—independent innovation and collaborative work. He encouraged young people to "aim for the stars while keeping their feet firmly on the ground." Deeply inspired, our school's representatives raised questions during the interactive session, such as "How to integrate the aerospace spirit into vocational education talent cultivation?" Academician Ye urged the students: "Vocational education is the cradle of nurturing master craftsmen for the nation. With the mindset that 'success does not have to come from me, but success must involve me,' you should write glorious chapters in your lives by serving the country with your skills!"
As the leading institution of the Yantai High-Tech Industrial Development Zone Aerospace Industry-Education Consortium, our school leverages regional industrial advantages to deepen cooperation with leading enterprises such as Shandong Aerospace Electronics Technology Research Institute and Shandong Huayu Aerospace Space Technology Co., Ltd. Since its establishment in April 2025, the consortium has set up platforms such as the "Digital Lighthouse Smart Factory College" and the "Agricultural Drone R&D Center," while forming a team of "industry mentors" composed of enterprise technical experts to promote deep alignment between the education chain and the industrial chain. During the event, our school, together with Yantai University, Shandong Aerospace Electronics Technology Research Institute, and other institutions, explored pathways for "integrating ideological and political education across primary, secondary, and higher education." Plans were made to incorporate the aerospace spirit into the curriculum system and develop cross-stage, cohesive ideological and political practice projects to cultivate high-quality, "ethically and technically proficient" talent for the regional aerospace industry.
At the conclusion of the event, representatives of our teachers and students joined Academician Ye Peijian in planting a "Tree of Aerospace Spirit Inheritance," pledging their youthful vow to "serve the country with skills and contribute to national strength." The participants deeply grasped that the aerospace spirit—"extraordinary resilience, combat readiness, problem-solving, and dedication"—is not only a spiritual monument in the journey of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation but also a "guiding beacon" for vocational education in the new era. Our school will continue to uphold the aerospace spirit as its soul, industry-education integration as its backbone, and vocational education reform as its wings, cultivating more "light chasers" for the construction of a strong aerospace nation. Let the "light of vocational education" illuminate the "starry sky and vast ocean!"
