The inaugural meeting of the International Grey System Alliance of Education and Research (IGAER) was successfully held at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics on 20th November. Representatives from over 20 countries with the research area of grey system research attended the inaugural meeting. Guoquan Zhang, the deputy director of International Cooperation Office hosted the conference.

At the beginning of the inaugural meeting, on behalf of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), Vice President of NUAA, Zhiqiu HUANG, warmly congratulated the establishment of IGSAER and expressed his gratitude for the significant contributions made by societies, universities and institutions worldwide. He highlighted that the grey system theory was originated in China, and the Grey System Research Institute from NUAA has actively promoted its development and application by having achieved significant global impact. As the initiator of this international alliance, NUAA aims to stand together with global partners to forge an international collaboration platform in grey systems, and to advance educational collaboration, talent development, joint research, and services.

Some distinguished scholars delivered the opening remarks for the inaugural meeting, including Prof. Yingjie Yang, Executive Chairman of the International Association for GSUA, Prof. Ing. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, Vice-Chancellor of Sunyani Technical University, Prof. Boumediene Hamzi from Imperial College London, and Sifeng Liu, President of International Association of GSUA.

Some presidents or rectors of universities worldwide, leaders from the founding members of IGSAER, and the representative from Emerald Group sent videos and letters to congratulate the establishment of IGSAER.

At the conference, a launch ceremony was held for releasing the logo of IGSAER, as well as for establishing the joint laboratory between NUAA and Poznan University of Technology.

Following the inaugural meeting, a roundtable meeting of member of IGSAER was convened. Representatives shared the development of grey systems in various countries, and discussed the details of alliance charter. The roundtable meeting was chaired by Prof. Naiming Xie, Secretary General of International Association of GSUA, Vice Dean of the College of Economics and Management (CEM), NUAA.

IGSAER is initiated by NUAA, together with the founding members from over 20 countries, including the UK, Spain, Poland, Romania, Pakistan, Ghana, and spanning across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa. IGSAER aims to disseminate and develop grey system theory through strengthening international academic cooperation, and to provide meaningful insights to address decision-making problems under uncertainty.