L’Oréal’s “Generation Shines” Tech Girls Empowerment Program 2026 Kicks Off First Event in Suzhou, Using “One-Day Masterclass” to Empower Middle School Students in the AI Era

SuzhouJune 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On June 12, marking the 30th anniversary of the founding of L’Oréal Suzhou Shangmei Factory, the newly upgraded “Generation to Generation” Tech Girls Empowerment Program 2026 held its first “Invite In, Reach Out” event in Suzhou. The event, structured as “A Day of Great Lessons,” integrated practice, science education, and critical thinking. Through factory visits, AI science classes, and roundtable dialogues, it created a multi-dimensional empowerment experience of “seeing science, listening to science, doing science, and debating science,” helping middle school students build a correct understanding of AI, cultivate irreplaceable scientific thinking qualities, and accumulate independent thinking and action capabilities for the future.

As a key entity in the Suzhou Industrial Park, L’Oréal Suzhou Shangmei Factory has long been committed to opening up science education resources to young people. This time, it was designated as the “Suzhou Industrial Park Youth Off-Campus Education Base.” In the future, it will continue to leverage its industrial advantages to help enhance the scientific literacy of young people in the park and nurture future talents for technological innovation. For a long time, L’Oréal’s global factories, packaging laboratories, and operations centers have been open to community middle school students, with employees volunteering to introduce technology. Additionally, L’Oréal awarded the “Generation to Generation Tech Girls Empowerment Program Partner School” title to the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China Suzhou School, deepening collaboration with the school to ensure the “Generation to Generation” empowerment chain takes root and flourishes on campus.

Leaders and guests including Nan Jing, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Women’s Development Foundation; Liu Hua, Deputy Secretary of the Suzhou Industrial Park Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee; Xu Xiaoyan, Deputy Director of the Suzhou Industrial Park Education Bureau; Lan Zhenzhen, President of Public Affairs for L’Oréal North Asia and China; Huang Qunfei, Principal of the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China Suzhou School; and Dr. Zhou Xiaofeng, Researcher at the Institute of Industrial Artificial Intelligence, Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the event. On this innovative land with deep ties to L’Oréal, they jointly witnessed a generational relay of scientific knowledge.

Nan Jing, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Women’s Development Foundation, stated: “The foundation is deeply engaged in women’s development work. In collaboration with L’Oréal and the Computer Network Information Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, we jointly launched the ‘Generation to Generation’ Tech Girls Empowerment Program. The project actively responds to the national strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, focusing on nurturing female tech talent reserves, allowing young people to experience the charm of cutting-edge technology up close. In the next step, the foundation will integrate resources from all sides, continuously improve the science and innovation empowerment system, and help more girls pursue their dreams in technology.”

Entering the 30-Year-Old Factory, Touching Smart Manufacturing Firsthand

As L’Oréal’s first factory in China, the Suzhou Shangmei Factory celebrated its 30th anniversary. Twenty middle school students from the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China Suzhou School in the Suzhou Industrial Park entered the factory as “Science Exploration Officers,” embarking on a journey to explore AI and beauty manufacturing. Lan Zhenzhen, President of Public Affairs for L’Oréal North Asia and China, and Lu Xiangling, General Manager of L’Oréal Suzhou Shangmei Factory, kicked off the event. They joined the students at the history wall to learn about the factory’s 30-year development journey. Subsequently, the students entered the factory workshop to observe and learn about AI’s intelligent applications in the factory. Engineers introduced them to smart manufacturing scenarios such as intelligent inspection robot dogs and AI product inspection systems, allowing them to experience the integration of AI and beauty manufacturing up close.

The students also entered the laboratory, where under the guidance of lab researchers, they personally conducted pH tests, viscosity tests, microscope tests, and cosmetic-making simulation experiments. Through “hands-on” activities, they experienced the fun and wonder of science.

Xu Xiaoyan, Deputy Director of the Suzhou Industrial Park Education Bureau, stated: “Off-campus education is an important supplement and extension of on-campus education. Off-campus science education provides students with a more intuitive and hands-on real learning environment. It can also quickly introduce cutting-edge technological resources to meet students’ diverse exploration needs. It plays an irreplaceable role in cultivating students’ interdisciplinary thinking, hands-on practical skills, and innovative spirit.”

Led by Female Scientists, Decoding AI’s “Brain Circuit”

Carrying the warmth of hands-on practice, the students embarked on an in-depth exploration of AI’s underlying logic. Dr. Zhou Xiaofeng, Researcher at the Institute of Industrial Artificial Intelligence, Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a science class titled “Exploring AI’s Brain Circuit” at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China Suzhou School, attended by over 700 middle school students from the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China Suzhou School, Dushu Lake School Affiliated to the University of Science and Technology of China, and Suzhou Industrial Park Wenjing Experimental School. Zhou started with “What is AI,” tracing the evolution from humans using tools to overcome physical limits, through the steam and electricity revolutions, to extending brainpower through computing power. He then vividly used the metaphor “reading ten thousand books is like writing with divine inspiration” to describe the pre-training and autoregressive generation process of large language models in AI, while also pointing out AI’s “hallucinations” and credibility issues. Combining AI applications in writing, intelligent agents, and industrial manufacturing, he looked ahead to the development trends of data, computing power, and algorithms working in synergy.

Huang Qunfei, Principal of the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China Suzhou School, pointed out: “Young people are always innovative, possessing the greatest enthusiasm and motivation for innovation. This event connected classroom learning, on-site visits, and in-depth research, building a ‘science growth overpass’ of theory and practice, inheritance and innovation for students. In this era of rapid change, young people should pursue scientific dreams with youthful vitality and a spirit of exploration, achieving self-growth and value enhancement.”

AI Roundtable Dialogue: Practicing Thinking and Judgment Through Q&A

Does AI make “getting things done” easier, and is “doing it by hand” still meaningful? In the AI era, how should education bring everyone closer to science? When AI can generate “perfect” content, which human qualities become more precious? — Centered on these three core issues of middle school science education in the AI era, a roundtable dialogue ensued. Hosted by science blogger Yu Guang, a PhD from Fudan University, the roundtable featured three guests: Lan Zhenzhen, President of Public Affairs for L’Oréal North Asia and China; He Yuan, Vice Principal of the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China Suzhou School; and Dr. Zhou Xiaofeng, Researcher at the Institute of Industrial Artificial Intelligence, Chinese Academy of Sciences. They offered students more food for thought and inspiration from different perspectives.

Regarding the significance of “doing it by hand,” Zhou Xiaofeng pointed out that practical experience determines how far AI can help people go. AI can improve execution efficiency, but practice cultivates longer-term judgment skills. He Yuan shared educational observations, noting that learning cannot skip the process; the practical process allows students to think and understand better. Discussing “how to bring everyone closer to science,” Lan Zhenzhen stated that science is not a talent but a learnable way of thinking. This year’s program upgrade is precisely to let students immerse their hands in real scientific research processes. Zhou Xiaofeng shared the core of scientific training: breaking down problems, maintaining skepticism toward answers, and rational division of labor between humans and machines. When the topic shifted to “AI generates perfection, which human qualities are more precious,” He Yuan believed that AI homogenizes expression, making aesthetic education and empathy increasingly important. Lan Zhenzhen, using L’Oréal’s industry practices and stories of past tech girls’ growth as examples, pointed out that algorithmic convergence creates aesthetic risks, while true beauty comes from imperfect yet genuine growth breakthroughs.

“From touching reality in hands-on classes, to cognitive upgrading in AI science classes, to independent judgment in critical thinking classes, ‘A Day of Great Lessons’ provides middle school students with a richer science education experience,” said Lan Zhenzhen, President of Public Affairs for L’Oréal North Asia and China: “This year, the program has been fully upgraded. Jointly promoted by L’Oréal China, the China Women’s Development Foundation, and the Computer Network Information Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it pioneers a three-generation hand-in-hand empowerment chain of ‘female scientists + young tech workers + tech girls,’ allowing students not only to ‘listen to science’ but also to ‘do science’ firsthand. The program will continue to blossom across the country, consistently supporting future female scientists and making the ‘Generation to Generation’ commitment resonate with tangible results.”