On the afternoon of December 6th, the kick-off meeting in preparation for the application for the 2025 National Natural Science Foundation grant was held in the COSCO Auditorium of Dalian Maritime University. Vice President Zhao Youtao attended the meeting. Professor Li Meng from the Department of Civil Engineering of Tsinghua University, Professor Zhang Guoqing from the Navigation College of Dalian Maritime University, and Professor Li Xin from the College of Transportation Engineering of Dalian Maritime University were invited to give presentations. The meeting was chaired by Gong Yongjun, Director of the Office of Science and Technology.

Zhao Youtao first welcomed and thanked Professor Li Meng on behalf of the university. He stated that the university has long attached great importance to the application and preparation for the National Natural Science Foundation grant. He hoped that all relevant departments and colleges could align thoughts, raise awareness, and effectively achieve the goals of "optimizing existing resources, absorbing new ones, and activating variables." He also emphasized the need for stronger collaboration to improve the quality of the application proposals, aiming for a new breakthrough in the number of applications granted by National Natural Science Foundation in 2025.

Gong Yongjun summarized the university's 2024 National Natural Science Foundation grant application and approval situation, and mobilized efforts for the 2025 grant application. During the report and exchange session, Professor Li Meng took road traffic safety as an example to explain how to identify core and key technologies based on engineering needs in response to the new demands for enhancing road resilience in the new era, which in turn help to refine research questions. He also shared his experience and techniques on how to organize and write application proposals based on the research questions. Professor Zhang Guoqing gave a comprehensive introduction to the discipline of marine engineering, offering a detailed analysis of the 2024 grant application situation in this field. He particularly emphasized key considerations in the application process, such as format review, application restriction review, and the research question attributes. He encouraged applicants to maintain a goal-oriented approach while also embracing the freedom to explore new ideas. Professor Li Xin focused on the importance of "demand-driven and problem-oriented" approaches in the application process, and using the discipline of Traffic and Transportation Engineering(E12) as an example, elaborated on how to align application proposals with actual needs and research questions. Following that, the review process for grant applications was explained in detail, highlighting common mistakes during the application process and offering suggestions on how to avoid them.

Nearly 400 participants attended the meeting, including deans, vice deans of research, research secretaries of various schools, and applicants planning to submit applications for the 2025 National Natural Science Foundation grant.