Recently, the list of the second batch of Philosophy and Social Sciences Laboratories of the Ministry of Education was released. The Laboratory for Intelligent Governance of Complex Social Systems, jointly applied for by Central South University and Hunan University of Technology and Business, has been approved. This is the first Philosophy and Social Sciences Laboratory of the Ministry of Education that our university has been granted.
The Laboratory for Intelligent Governance of Complex Social Systems is headed by Academician Chen Xiaohong of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. For many years, the laboratory has taken "complex social systems" as its research object and "intelligent governance" as its methodology. It has gathered the strengths of superior disciplines in management science and engineering, transportation, public health, computer science, environmental engineering and other fields. Facing the national strategic needs and key scientific issues, it has carried out interdisciplinary and integrated research, and systematically explored the innovative theories and practical systems of intelligent governance of complex social systems with Chinese characteristics.
As a Philosophy and Social Sciences Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, the laboratory will continue to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, serve the major strategic needs of Chinese modernization, focus on the core proposition of "Intelligent Governance Empowering Chinese Modernization", expand the boundaries of multidisciplinary research, build a problem-oriented interdisciplinary scientific research mechanism, and effectively promote the efficient output and practical transformation of scientific research achievements. Focusing on building an independent knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences, it will build a high-quality innovation platform integrating "digital twin of social systems - simulation and deduction of governance policies - international dissemination of Chinese governance solutions", which attaches equal importance to teaching, scientific research and policy consultation. It will provide theoretical paradigms and technical support for solving the modernization problems of complex social system governance and promoting the realization of a smart society.
It is reported that the Philosophy and Social Sciences Laboratories of the Ministry of Education are currently the highest-level philosophy and social sciences laboratories in China. In 2021, the Ministry of Education established the first batch of 30 Philosophy and Social Sciences Laboratories. In 2025, the pilot construction of the second batch of Philosophy and Social Sciences Laboratories was launched, with a total of 25 laboratories selected.
（Source | Central South University News Network ；First Review | Fu Linna；Second Review | Wang Yangjie；Third Review | Liu Yongmei, Wang Zongrun）
