Recently, the Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education announced the results of the 2024 thematic case study project approvals. Nankai University received approval for six projects, among which the case study titled "Empowered by Digital Intelligence: How Tianjin Port Is Building a World-Class Smart and Green Port", led by Professor Xiao Jianhua, Director of the Modern Logistics Research Center of our institute, was successfully approved.
This case study focuses on Tianjin Port and offers an in-depth analysis of how digital intelligence is enabling its transformation into a world-class smart and green port. The research will explore four key areas:
"Intelligence-Driven Transformation" – Collaborating with Huawei to establish a fully digitalized port ecosystem.
"Collaborative Innovation" – Partnering with universities and research institutions to build industry-academia-research collaborative platform.
"Port-City Integration" – Promoting seamless data connectivity between the port and urban industries.
"Low-Altitude Economy" – Exploring new application scenarios for the low-altitude economy in port areas, aiming to form a systemic solution characterized by technological breakthroughs, ecological synergy, and port-city symbiosis.
This case not only provides a replicable model for the global port industry’s smart and green transformation but also integrates into courses such as Applied Cases in Logistics and Supply Chain and Frontiers in Logistics, injecting new momentum into the cultivation of interdisciplinary talent and the strengthening of industrial chain resilience. It contributes to enhancing China’s international discourse in the smart port sector and offers Chinese wisdom to the global development of digital and intelligent shipping.
This thematic case solicitation was organized by the Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education and the China Professional Degree Case Center. It focused on four major themes—Green Development, New Quality Productive Forces, Healthy China, and Digital China—with the aim of uncovering and showcasing the rich “mines” of practical achievements from China’s reform, opening-up, and modernization efforts. It seeks to guide scholars to research China-focused issues, summarize domestic experiences, and effectively tell China’s story to the world.
