今日(1月25日),日本經(jīng)濟(jì)新聞網(wǎng)發(fā)布了一篇孟晚舟的投稿文章。據(jù)了解,孟晚舟投稿的這篇文章是基于2018年9月在新加坡演講時的內(nèi)容整理的。大概一周前,據(jù)衛(wèi)報報道,英國著名的牛津大學(xué)宣布將不再接受華為所提供的研究經(jīng)費(fèi)及捐款。而該決定則是因?yàn)榭剂?ldquo;近來公眾對于英國和華為合作關(guān)系的擔(dān)憂”所致。
而孟晚舟在投稿中稱:“華為從未想過從合作伙伴那里獲取各種專利或研究成果”,表示今后將繼續(xù)資助能帶來科學(xué)與技術(shù)進(jìn)步的基礎(chǔ)研究。
作為華為創(chuàng)始人任正非的長女,孟晚舟擔(dān)任華為技術(shù)副董事長兼首席財務(wù)官一職。美國提出因有參與向被經(jīng)濟(jì)制裁的伊朗出口產(chǎn)品的嫌疑,要求加拿大警方對其實(shí)施逮捕。去年12月初,孟晚舟在加拿大轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)時被捕。目前處于被保釋狀態(tài),暫居在溫哥華家中。
華為副董事長孟晩舟的投稿全文
誕生于中世紀(jì)歐洲的大學(xué)在數(shù)個世紀(jì)的時間里,主要是為了將那個時代的知識傳播到下一代而存在。人類知識的發(fā)展,當(dāng)時主要是通過在同業(yè)公會制之下工作的人們來積累。但產(chǎn)業(yè)層面的經(jīng)驗(yàn)積累和大學(xué)研究很少產(chǎn)生交集。
但是,學(xué)術(shù)界和產(chǎn)業(yè)界的關(guān)系在工業(yè)革命的時代發(fā)生改變。大學(xué)從單純普及知識的“場所”變?yōu)榱俗非?ldquo;知識”最前線的場所。詹姆斯·瓦特開發(fā)出近代蒸汽機(jī),是在格拉斯哥大學(xué)負(fù)責(zé)修理效率低下的初期階段蒸汽機(jī)之時。蒸汽機(jī)隨后在制造業(yè)和交通工具等得到廣泛利用。
到了1940~1950年代,民間企業(yè)和研究機(jī)構(gòu)開始在基礎(chǔ)研究領(lǐng)域發(fā)揮一定的作用。美國電話電報公司(AT&T)的貝爾實(shí)驗(yàn)室開發(fā)出晶體管、激光器和信息理論。隨著美國德州儀器(TI)開發(fā)出集成電路,“摩爾法則”的時代到來。
現(xiàn)在,大學(xué)和企業(yè)前所未有地緊密結(jié)合。大學(xué)在人工智能(AI)領(lǐng)域走在基礎(chǔ)理論研究的最前端,而谷歌、Facebook、特斯拉和華為等技術(shù)領(lǐng)先企業(yè)則正致力于理論的實(shí)用化。
18萬名華為員工的近半數(shù)參與研發(fā)。最近10年的研發(fā)費(fèi)用超過600億美元,計劃今后數(shù)年投入150億~200億美元。
我們要作為IT企業(yè)取得成功并生存下去,取決于研發(fā)部門能否準(zhǔn)確地預(yù)測通信技術(shù)的發(fā)展。為了看清未來,要培育開放的企業(yè)文化,我們一直鼓勵員工,推崇“一杯咖啡吸收宇宙能量”。這句話的含義是不要只顧著工作,要偶爾拿出時間,大家聚在一起,彼此讓各種思想相互碰撞,這一點(diǎn)也非常重要。
為了培育和外部的合作關(guān)系,啟動了“華為創(chuàng)新研究計劃(HIRP)”,為全世界大學(xué)和研究機(jī)構(gòu)構(gòu)建了虛擬的咖啡吧,在這里,大家可以交流各種思想。首先于2010年在歐洲啟動。通過這個計劃為最具可能性的方案提供資金。通過HIRP,與全球前100的大學(xué)和30多個國家的國家級研究機(jī)構(gòu)的學(xué)者緊密合作。
為了更廣泛地支持基礎(chǔ)研究方向與華為業(yè)務(wù)相一致的科學(xué)家們,我們在2014年擴(kuò)充了HIRP。由HIRP支持的項(xiàng)目數(shù)超過1200個,許多都已經(jīng)成功實(shí)現(xiàn)商業(yè)化。例如華為與德國慕尼黑工業(yè)大學(xué)聯(lián)合研發(fā)的降噪技術(shù)已經(jīng)用到手機(jī)上。另外德國國家工程院院士Josef Nossek教授提出將無線技術(shù)應(yīng)用于光通信的構(gòu)想,大幅降低了光傳輸產(chǎn)品所用芯片的功耗。
有一部分人似乎心存疑慮,但華為從未想過從合作伙伴那里獲取各種專利或研究成果。英國牛津大學(xué)決定新的項(xiàng)目今后不再接受來自華為的資金援助,但我們的目的只是從研究人員的成功與失敗中學(xué)習(xí)。
這種開放式的合作是消除橫亙在科學(xué)與商業(yè)應(yīng)用之間鴻溝的唯一方法。為此,不僅僅需要資金,還要保持耐心。因?yàn)橛行┗A(chǔ)性的理論投入到實(shí)際應(yīng)用要花上數(shù)十年時間。
只有大學(xué)與企業(yè)開始相互合作,才能消除這種時間性的阻隔。大學(xué)不進(jìn)行基礎(chǔ)研究,產(chǎn)業(yè)就沒有理論基礎(chǔ)。如果沒有產(chǎn)業(yè)界、學(xué)術(shù)界的知識就只能封閉在象牙塔里。
華為之所以向各種各樣的大學(xué)提供資助,就是因?yàn)檎J(rèn)識到大學(xué)里追求的科學(xué)研究就像燈塔一樣照亮未來的發(fā)展方向。科學(xué)家是燈塔的所有者,研究成果可以按照研究者自身喜好的方向?qū)崿F(xiàn)商業(yè)化。
華為今后將繼續(xù)資助能帶來科學(xué)與技術(shù)進(jìn)步的基礎(chǔ)研究。這樣的合作活動不僅僅有助于華為的業(yè)務(wù)活動,還將給社會和整個產(chǎn)業(yè)做出貢獻(xiàn)。
注:孟晚舟2018年12月被加拿大當(dāng)局逮捕,現(xiàn)在被保釋。孟晚舟本人投稿的事實(shí)和內(nèi)容有報道的價值,因此刊登全文。投稿原文為英語,日經(jīng)中文網(wǎng)刊登的中文內(nèi)容由日語原稿翻譯而成。
(華為副董事長孟晚舟投稿的英文全文)
Why Huawei values collaboration with universities
Meng Wanzhou
Universities originated in medieval Europe,wher for centuries they existed mainly to pass existing knowledge on to subsequent generations.Advances in human knowledge were driven primarily by craftsmen working in guilds.Industrial craftsmanship and university research rarely crossed paths.
Meng Wanzhou
That changed during the Industrial Revolution,when universities went from simply disseminating knowledge to pushing back its frontiers.James Watt developed the modern steam engine while repairing an inefficient early model at the University of Glasgow.His refinements led to the widespread use of steam power for manufacturing and transport.
Private companies and institutes began playing a role in basic research in the 1940s and 1950s.AT&T's Bell Labs invented the transistor,the laser,and information theory while an engineer from Texas Instruments ushered in the era of Moore's Law by inventing the integrated circuit.
Today,universities and companies are collaborating more closely than ever.Universities are leading the charge in basic theoretical research on artificial intelligence while leading companies like Google,Facebook,Tesla and Huawei Technologies are putting scholars'theories to practical use.
Nearly half of Huawei's 180,000 employees are engaged in research and development.Over the past decade,we have invested$60 billion in R&D and plan to spend$15 billion to$20 billion annually over the coming years.
As a tech company,our success--indeed,our survival--depends on how accurately our R&D predicts the evolution of future communications technology.To get it right,we foster a culture of openness,encouraging employees to"absorb the energy of the universe over a cup of coffee."This is a way of saying they should take time out of the work day to get together and bounce around ideas.
To foster collaboration externally,the Huawei Innovation Research Program provides a virtual coffee shop wher we can exchange ideas with universities and research institutes around the world.First launched in Europe in 2010,the program funds proposals that offer the greatest potential.Through HIRP,we work closely with most of the world's top 100 universities and with scholars at 50 national laboratories in more than 30 countries.
In 2014,we expanded HIRP to support a wider range of scientists whose basic research aligns with our business.To date,the program has funded 1,200 projects,many of which have successfully been commercialized.For example,the noise canceling technology that we developed together with the Technical University of Munich is used in mobile phones.We also work closely with Professor Josef Nossek,a member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering,whose application of wireless concepts to optical communications has reduced the power consumption of chips used in certain optical transmission products.
Contrary to what some have alleged,Huawei is not after our partners'patents or research results.While we have noted Oxford University's decision to decline further funding for new projects from Huawei,our goal is only to learn from researchers'successes and failures.This type of open collaboration is the only way to close the gap between basic science and its commercial application.It requires not only funding but patience,as the journey from a basic theory to its practical adaptation may take decades.
We can only bridge this divide when universities and companies collaborate.Without basic research by universities,industrial development would lack theoretical foundations;without industry,knowledge would remain cloistered in the ivory towers of academia.
Huawei supports universities so that scientific research can be a lighthouse that illuminates a path toward the future.Scientists own the lighthouse,allowing them to commercialize the fruits of their research however they like.
Huawei will continue funding basic research that leads to advances in science and technology.This collaboration will benefit not only our own commercial efforts,but industry and society as a whole.
Meng Wanzhou,also known as Sabrina Meng,is chief financial Officer of Huawei Technologies.
This article has been adapted from an unpublished speech Meng delivered last year in Singapore and was provided to the Nikkei Asian Review following Oxford's decision this month to decline funding from Huawei for any new projects.Meng is under house arrest in Vancouver,Canada pending extradition to the U.S.(完)