By Meng Fanrong

BEIJING, July 1, (China Economic Net) - Outstanding doctoral candidates from multiple countries were recognized with Academic Star awards at the third Doctoral Symposium on “Belt and Road” Collaborative Innovation in Agricultural Science and Technology, held on June 30 in Beijing.

The symposium, sponsored by the China Scholarship Council and co-organized by the College of International Education of the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GSCAAS), brought together more than 120 participants, including supervisors and doctoral students from Pakistan, Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and other countries, as well as alumni representatives, through both online and offline formats.

Doctoral candidates recognized with Academic Star awards at the third Doctoral Symposium on “Belt and Road” Collaborative Innovation in Agricultural Science and Technology, photo by GSCAAS

The event featured four main sessions: expert reports, doctoral exchanges, expert commentary, and field visits. Doctoral students from China and abroad engaged in in-depth academic exchanges on topics including crop disease-resistant breeding, food quality and safety, fruit tree variety improvement, green agricultural development, as well as animal reproduction technologyand disease prevention and control.

Following the symposium, participants visited the China Agricultural Museum and the National Crop Genebank to gain an immersive experience of China’s rich agricultural heritage and the country’s latest scientific and technological achievements in agriculture.

Muhammad Shahzad from CAAS’s Institute of Animal Husbandry, a Pakistani researcher, served as a co-host of the symposium and presented on the “Development of a Novel Minimal Handling Protocol for Ovarian Stimulation.” He was among those honored with the Academic Star Award.

His research focuses on China-Pakistan joint collaboration in animal reproduction for sustainable agriculture. Speaking passionately about the power of academic cooperation, he shared his perspective on how the long-standing Sino-Pak partnership has created lasting benefits through technology transfer, capacity building, joint laboratories and sustainable food systems that strengthen both nations for generations to come.

Several Pakistani students, alongside peers from other countries, received Academic Star awards, highlighting the increasing international engagement in China’s agricultural research and the strengthening of “Belt and Road” academic partnerships.