Qi Hui did not look happy when Liu Qian entered his office. “You’re late. I already have a prior engagement, so I have to go to the administrative office.”
Liu Qian could tell Qi Hui was displeased. He hurriedly explained. “My bad. I had to answer a call, so I was held up for a couple of minutes.”
Qi Hui pressed his brow as he stood up from the chair. He stopped harping on Liu Qian’s delay. “You mentioned needing patent use authorization previously. What is this regarding?”
Liu Qian handed the patent authorization document that he had prepared in advance to Qi Hui.
He said, “We are going to take on a new project. Since it is related to the AI system we have just built, we need the institute to sign a release form.”
Qi Hui roughly knew what Liu Qian needed from him. He took the paperwork from Liu Qian and glanced at it briefly before placing it on the table.
He was more concerned about the new project that Liu Qian had just mentioned. “What new project are you talking about? Is it a project from the institute?”
“Nope.” Liu Qian shook his head and spoke candidly. “DO Corporation has reached out to me and shown interest in my student’s AI system.”
“Huh?” Qi Hui found the company name familiar, but he could not put his finger on it.
“It’s a company known for being pioneers in smart systems,” explained Liu Qian.
Qi Hui instantly remembered the company. A wave of disbelief swept across his face. “Why would an internet-related company want to work with your department?”
It would make more sense if the company wanted to collaborate with the Computing department. Liu Qian was from the Bioinformatics division. Even though they worked on computers, it was a completely different field.
When Liu Qian saw the look on Qi Hui’s face, he could tell that Qi Hui felt puzzled that a big company like DO Corporation would want anything to do with them and promptly felt annoyed.
Liu Qian kept his composure and straightened his back as he retorted. “They just want to implant a chip into a robot. Over a decade ago, scientists have already written theses for human chip implantation. Why wouldn’t it make sense for the DO Corporation to reach out to us?”
Qi Hui did not know what to say since Liu Qian made a strong argument. After some time, he asked. “I’m glad they are interested in working with you. How’s the progress? Why haven’t you mentioned it before?”
“We are still discussing the details, so I did not bring you into it yet. After the paperwork is done, we can proceed,” explained Liu Qian unhurriedly.
Liu Qian lacked power, so he did not have the authority to sign the paperwork. Otherwise, he would rather avoid working with Qi Hui.
After all, Qi Hui always looked down on his division, so he was naturally worried that the man would make trouble for them.
Since such research opportunities were serious affairs, Liu Qian knew Qi Hui would not disrupt their work openly.
Qi Hui went quiet briefly before he picked up the paperwork and asked., “Do you need this urgently?”
“It would be best if we could get it done in a day or so,” replied Liu Qian.
If there was no patent involved, this release form would not matter as much. Since the patent for the system was in order, it was a top priority to get clearance from the institute.
Qi Hui glanced at Liu Qian before he pondered and said, “Fine then. I have Mr. Wei’s number, so I can ask him about this later and set up a time to meet. You still have to prepare a proper proposal for the new project and submit it to me.”
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