Recently, the results of project approval for the 2026 Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation were announced. Associate Professor Jin Xue, Dr. Wang Yecheng, and Dr. Zhang Dingfan from the Institute of Marine Economy and Management were approved for Youth Fund Projects (Category C).

The approved projects are grounded in the realities of Shandong’s marine economic development and focus respectively on research directions including enhancing the resilience of Shandong’s marine industry chain, collaborative governance of marine ranch data, and assessment and optimization of mariculture production potential. They closely address frontier issues such as high-quality development of the marine economy, governance of marine data elements, and sustainable utilization of marine resources, reflecting distinctive disciplinary characteristics and a practical orientation.

The approval of these three Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation projects is an important achievement of the Institute in responding to the development needs of Shandong’s marine economy, continuously strengthening research team building and young talent cultivation, and enhancing its level of research innovation. In the future, the Institute of Marine Economy and Management will further strengthen organized research, improve the research project cultivation mechanism, continuously refine distinctive research directions in the field of marine economy and management, and promote close alignment between research innovation and national strategies and local development needs, providing stronger intellectual support for building a maritime power and for Shandong to build a highland for modern marine economic development.