On December 2, 2025, Room O209 of Almaty Logistics and Transport University (ALT University) ushered in a landmark moment — the official inauguration of the Joint Global Sensor Laboratory co-founded by the university and FOTIMA, a leading enterprise in the sensor industry. Simultaneously, the "China-Central Asia 'Belt and Road' Education + Business Dual Centers" were launched here, and the centers were accredited as an "Official Belt and Road Inspection Site" by the embassy. This marks the upgrade of the industry-academia-research cooperation between the two parties from technological R&D to a regional industrial service platform.
The opening ceremony boasted a distinguished lineup: Ms. Huang Xiaomin, a consular official from the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan, and presidential representatives from 28 Kazakhstani universities attended to witness the event. Lu Yizhen, CEO of FOTIMA, and the Rector of ALT University jointly unveiled the plaque. Core forces from the education and industrial sectors of Central Asia gathered, making this cooperation not only a university-enterprise linkage but also a landmark event for the docking of education and industry between China and Kazakhstan under the "Belt and Road" Initiative.
"Standing in Almaty, a technological and educational hub connecting China and Central Asia today, I feel a strong sense of responsibility," said Lu Yizhen, CEO of FOTIMA, on behalf of the third generation of her family engaged in the sensor industry, in her speech. She emphasized the enterprise's foundation as a national-level "Little Giant" enterprise specialized in cutting-edge technologies in China — leading and participating in the drafting of national standards for the sensor industry, breaking international technological blockades, and ranking 13th in the international white paper of the niche market. These accumulations are the "sincere trump cards" for this cooperation
She compared the cooperation between the two parties to a "technological bridge connecting China and Central Asia" and clearly outlined the cooperation framework on site:
1.Educational Foundation: Plan to systematically develop sensor courses and textbooks covering junior high school, senior high school, master's and doctoral programs in Central Asia with ALT University. Combining China's 70 years of industrialization experience and local needs, online AI courses will be launched simultaneously to "sow the seeds for the future technological development of Central Asia";
2.Talent Mobility Channel: Relying on the "China-Central Asia Educational Exchange Center", assist Central Asian students in pursuing further studies at top Chinese universities and interning at FOTIMA's operation centers and bases in Ningbo, Guangzhou, etc. Meanwhile, welcome Chinese students to participate in ALT's junior college to undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs to realize two-way academic exchange;
3.In-depth R&D and Intelligent Manufacturing: The co-founded "Global Sensor Laboratory" is not a single research space but a joint R&D platform focusing on core industries in Central Asia such as oil and gas, nuclear power and new energy, aerospace. It will jointly apply for international projects, tackle industry challenges, and promote the industrialization of research results.
As a top transportation and logistics university in Kazakhstan, the representative of ALT University responded at the ceremony: The attendance of presidents from 28 Kazakhstani universities is a recognition of this "full-chain cooperation model". The university will take the laboratory as the core, cooperate with FOTIMA to cultivate technical talents suitable for local industries, and at the same time, leverage the window function of the "Belt and Road" inspection site to attract more international resources to participate in collaborative innovation.
From university-enterprise technological cooperation to the landing of "Education + Business" dual centers, and then to being accredited as an "Official Belt and Road Inspection Site", this launch is not only a two-way empowerment between FOTIMA and ALT University but also highlights the depth and breadth of the integration of education and industry between China and Kazakhstan under the "Belt and Road" framework. In the future, with the promotion of the FOTIMA team, the two parties will take the "dual centers" and the laboratory as links, making "small sensors" the "perceptual organs" of the intelligent world, promoting the localized application of technology, and writing a new chapter in China-Central Asia scientific and technological education cooperation.
