On April 23rd, HIE signed an agreement with Lu Bingheng, the academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the National Innovation Institute of Additive Manufacturing (NIIAM) to co-construct an "Industrial Institute of Intelligence and Intelligent Manufacturing". The signing ceremony was held at Xi'an and attended by vice-president Wei Kexiang. The two sides will cooperate in aspects of personnel training, scientific research and discipline building in the field of additive manufacturing.

HIE has actively implemented the specific measures on the project of "Rejuvenating the University through Science and Technology" put forward in the Fourth Party Congress, strengthening the collaboration with the national scientific research platform and achieving a breakthrough in the construction of national scientific research platform. According to the agreement, HIE will assist NIIAM to carry out the transformation of additive manufacturing technology achievements in Xiangtan, and NIIAM will create conditions to absorb teachers and graduate students of HIE for special training and further study, so as to cultivate high-level talents in the field of additive manufacturing for HIE.

NIIAM is the first batch of national manufacturing industry innovation center implemented by MIIT to carry out the strategic project of China's manufacturing powerhouse. Focusing on the major common needs of industry innovation and development and guided by national strategic goals and manufacturing innovation and development, NIIAM implements technology R&D, transfer and transformation and first commercialization through the collaborative innovation between "Multidisciplinary Cross-innovation" and the "Government-Industry-University-Research-Innovation-Corporation" project and the model of "Corporation + Alliance". Thus, it can form support for industrial generic technology and provide competitiveness for industry development. Based on Xi'an National Research Institute of Additive Manufacturing Co., Ltd., with academician Lu Bingheng and Wang Huaming as leaders, high-level talents as technical leaders, and senior engineers, masters, doctors, and professional technicians as technical backbones, major equipment, important materials, key processes, core software and core components as key common technologies, the Innovation Center has carried out research on technology maturity levels 4-7 to solve industry problems.