On October 10, the School of Economics and Development at Nankai University invited Researcher Ye Zhenyu from the Institute of Industrial Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, to give a special lecture. The lecture was titled "A Preliminary Exploration of the Evaluation of the Implementation Effects of Major Regional Strategies" and was hosted by Professor Zhou Mi, Director of the Chinese Center for Urban and Regional Economics Research. Professor Liu Binglian, Dean of our School, delivered the welcoming remarks, and Professor Li Lanbing, Director of Nankai University's Strategic Development Department, gave the concluding speech.

Researcher Ye Zhenyu has long been engaged in research on national regional strategies and policies. The lecture focused on three main topics: the evolution of major regional strategies in China, the evaluation framework for implementation effects, and the application of evaluation results. The lecture was delivered in an engaging and insightful manner. During the discussion session, faculty and students from our institute engaged with Professor Ye Zhenyu on topics such as data acquisition in the process of compiling regional development evaluation indices, the selection of collaborative development models, and solving collaborative development issues through market-based approaches.

With the development of information technology and AI, our institute began building an Applied Economic Big Data Laboratory eight years ago, which is now well-established. It has completed the spatial data acquisition of 100 indicators in 10 categories for 85 cities in China and has the capability for economic policy evaluation, market analysis, and economic forecasting. Additionally, our institute has introduced two Ph.D. courses: "Applications of Machine Learning in Economics" and "Big Data Analysis Techniques." Faculty and students from our institute have published research papers using machine learning methods in academic journals.

The think tank expert lecture series is a reflection of the new "Discipline-Think Tank" interactive educational model being constructed at our institute. It plays an important role in deepening academic exchanges and enhancing our institute's influence in the field of regional economic research.