The Ministry of Science and Technology, the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the China Association for Science and Technology recently announced to commend the organizations and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to science popularization since 2020, and Zhejiang Lab (ZJ Lab) was awarded the title of "National Advanced Collective in Science Popularization".

Since its establishment in 2017, ZJ Lab always considers science popularization as important as scientific and technological (S&T) innovation. We insist on producing original results, build popular science brands, and have carried out diversified thematic events to promoted science and technology in order to inspire scientific thinking, spread scientific knowledge, and carry forward the spirit of science.

Open Day Branding

The ZJ Lab Open Day event was held regularly, in which representatives of S&T workers, business circles and the public were invited to ZJ Lab. Additionally, such events as the "Technology Close to Life" themed exhibition and scientific round table were well planned to share trends in science and technology and the latest scientific achievements. Primary and middle school students from mountainous island counties and other places were invited to participate in ZJ Lab's annual "Looking for Teens in AI" science exploration activity, to spark their curiosity about science through engagement in "Scientific Visit, Popular Science Talk, S&T Practice, and A Conversation with Science".

Original Hardcore Science

ZJ Lab independently produced "Xiaozhi" popular science videos; promote science and technology in cooperation with "X.Pin" (Cha Ping Jun in Chinese pinyin), an influencer on BiliBili; developed the "Seek Answers Through Science" program in cooperation with Zhihu; launched an issue of "Linking Scientists" in cooperation with China Science and Technology Museum; set up a PanSci podcast program entitled "More Than Science" (Bu Zhi Ke Ji in Chinese pinyin); recorded "The Mission of Science", a series of reading videos on popular science; set up a young scientist talk show column to tell stories of young researchers, and wrote articles explaining S&T achievements… We insist on producing original results and popularizing hardcore science, and work with high-quality science popularization platforms to make our science more interesting and accessible.

Carrying Forward the Spirit of Scientists

Since ZJ Lab was included in the first batch of education bases promoting the spirit of scientists in Zhejiang Province, we are tasked with carrying forward the spirit of scientists while disseminating scientific knowledge. Adhering to the combination of "bringing in" and "going global" strategies, ZJ Lab organized events such as the lecture on the spirit of scientists and "ZJ Lecture · A Dialogue with Visitors", in which experts and scholars who are engaged in China's S&T innovations and working on the scientific front line were invited to share their stories about scientific research and reflections on life. The youth talk group of ZJ Lab was established to imbue schools, enterprises, counties, cities and sub-districts with the spirit of scientists. Furthermore, the Zhijiang Tide Science Communication Studio was established to strengthen science communication in an organized way. Exhibitions on the theme of "promoting the spirit of scientists and striving to be a dream chaser in the new era" were held to encourage the younger generation to continue the spirit of innovation and hard work, to inherit and carry forward the spirit of scientists in the new era with their practical actions, and to gather strength for progress in building a technologically strong China.

Being awarded the "National Advanced Collective in Science Popularization" is not only an affirmation of our past efforts, but also a stimulus to our consistent efforts to strengthen science popularization in the future. Setting ambitious goals leaves us no choice but to move on. Aiming for the mission of science communication in a more professional way, we aspire to do more and better.

If you have any expectations and suggestions about our science popularization efforts, you are also welcome to interact with us in the comments section. Finally, thank you for all of your support to ZJ Lab's efforts to popularize science and technology!