Gong Qihuang: Give Full Play to the Leading Role of Higher Education to Support High-level Science and Technological Self-reliance and Self-strengthening [1]
The Outline of the Plan for Building a Leading Country in Education (2024–2035) (hereinafter referred to as the Outline) clarifies the specific timetable and roadmap for deeply advancing the "trinity" [1] of integrated development for education, science and technology, and talent. It provides a strategic blueprint and action guide for comprehensively building a socialist leading country in education and for supporting and leading Chinese-path modernization through the construction of such a power.
Scientific and technological support is a vital characteristic of a leading country in education with Chinese characteristics. The Outline points out that we must comprehensively construct a science and technology support system driven by innovation so that, by 2035, we will have cultivated and strengthened national strategic scientific and technological forces to powerfully support high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology. Self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology are the foundation of national prosperity, the key to national security, and the strategic support for the innovative development of a major power. As an important component of the national strategic scientific and technological forces, high-level research universities must play their leading role effectively. They must persist in the integrated advancement of education, science and technology, and talent; keep the "greatest concerns of the nation" [2] in mind; and focus on the "four orientations" [3]. They must proactively align with national strategies, serve the cause of self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology, and act as the "commando units" and "vanguard" in resolutely winning the battle over key core technologies.
Continuously optimizing and adjusting disciplinary configurations, driven by scientific and technological development and national strategic needs
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "We must optimize the layout of basic discipline construction; support the development of key, emerging, niche [4], and weak disciplines; promote the interdisciplinary integration of subjects and cross-disciplinary research; and construct a high-quality disciplinary system characterized by comprehensive and balanced development." Currently, the world has entered the era of "Big Science" [5]. The scientific problems to be solved are highly complex, research activities are large-scale and involve a wide range of disciplines, and the degree of organization in basic research is increasingly high. Interdisciplinary integration has become a new fulcrum for scientific and technological innovation.
As the vanguard of higher education in our country, high-level research universities must remain guided by scientific and technological development goals and urgent national strategic needs. They must focus on the commanding heights of scientific and technological competition, enhance their capacity for rapid response in disciplines and majors, and deploy urgently needed disciplines and majors with extraordinary measures. By optimizing disciplinary settings, they should accelerate the cultivation of high-level scientific and technological talent in urgent fields, further promoting "resonance at the same frequency" [6] between the disciplinary system and national strategies. We must persist in exploring the unconventional selection of outstanding students for basic disciplines without sticking to one pattern [7]. We should perfect the integrated cultivation across undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels, successfully run national high-level talent cultivation centers for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology, and promote the deep integration of scientific research with high-level talent cultivation to continuously improve our capacity for the independent cultivation of top-notch innovative talent.
Accelerating the construction of high-level scientific and technological innovation talent teams, with the goal of gathering strategic talent forces
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that we must treat the accelerated construction of national strategic talent forces as a priority among priorities. National strategic talent forces refer to high-quality, professional talent groups in key scientific and technological fields capable of leading major national scientific tasks, organizing the resolution of key core technical problems, guiding the direction of scientific and technical development, and providing powerful intellectual support for national development and security. They are the "lead geese" [8] driving the leapfrog development of scientific innovation and high-tech industries.
High-level research universities must focus on the "high-end, precision, sophisticated, and underserved" [9] areas, recruiting and gathering talent for the nation. They should exert great effort to attract outstanding talent from around the globe, striving to create a "reservoir" for strategic talent reserves, opening "green channels" for the introduction of top talent, and improving flexibility and rapid response capabilities in talent recruitment. We must create powerful platforms and conditions to discover, cultivate, and forge a group of strategic scientists through the actual combat of major tackling missions. We must steel and nurture a group of scientific and technological leaders, forming a scientific research pattern with leading talent at the head and high-level teams as support. This will allow top scholars to better play their strategic leading roles in the layout of scientific research, the refinement of major research directions, and the formation of large research teams. We must actively cultivate the growth echelon of strategic scientists, continuously introducing and meticulously nurturing a group of young talents with solid foundations and outstanding potential. We should support them in "taking the lead and playing the protagonist" [10], allowing more young talents to stand out. We must establish a talent utilization mechanism based on trust, respect the laws of talent development in different fields, scientifically and reasonably set flexible evaluation cycles, and provide long-term, stable support for talent in basic disciplines.
Creating cutting-edge technology that leads the progress of the times, with the mission of serving high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology
Currently, scientific and technological innovation has become the main battlefield of international strategic games. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "Major scientific and technological innovation achievements are the 'greatest tools of the state' and 'sharp weapons of the state'; they must be firmly grasped in our own hands and must rely on self-reliance and autonomous innovation." As the main force of basic research and the fresh force [11] of major scientific breakthroughs, high-level research universities possess unique advantages and a prominent role within the national scientific and technological innovation system. Since the New Era, Chinese universities, acting as the primary completion units, have won more than half of the National Science and Technology Awards, and a large number of landmark major scientific achievements have originated from universities.
At present, the world’s "changes unseen in a century" are accelerating, and a new round of scientific revolution and industrial transformation is developing in depth. High-level research universities must proactively adapt to the laws of scientific innovation in the era of Big Science. They must aim at the global scientific frontiers and major national strategic needs, adhering to the approach of "walking on two legs" [12]—combining goal-oriented research with free exploration. They must continuously improve their capacities for original and autonomous innovation, striving to break through the basic theories and underlying principles behind key core technologies to provide the source of innovation for future industrial development and economic growth. We must proactively align with national strategic goals and tasks, strengthen "organized research," layout a series of key fields and major projects, and intensify innovation in tackling key common technologies, frontier leading technologies, modern engineering technologies, and disruptive technologies, thereby enhancing our capacity to "post rankings and take charge" [13].
Collaborating with other strategic scientific and technological forces to "answer the questions together," with the responsibility of helping the leapfrog development of national scientific innovation
From the perspective of global trends in scientific development, research problems are evolving from simple and individual to complex and common. The scope of research is extending from local and static to systemic and dynamic. Major scientific research challenges require the accumulation of the best resources and the strongest collective force to drive the "accelerated sprint" of China's science and technology. In recent years, China's high-level research universities have actively bridged the chain from basic research and technical R&D to industrial transformation. Using major scientific facilities as a link, they have built joint R&D platforms with national laboratories and high-tech enterprises, cooperating closely with other national strategic scientific forces to form a powerful synergy for advanced scientific innovation. Focusing on local economic transformation and upgrading as well as social livelihood needs, they have co-established off-site research institutions with local governments to enhance regional innovation capabilities and industrial development levels.
Currently, high-level research universities must focus their efforts on transforming research paradigms and organizational models. On one hand, they must face major national strategic directions and key technical fields, advancing the systematic layout of the university scientific innovation organization. They must coordinate closely with national laboratories, national research institutions, and leading technology enterprises to promote the integrated allocation of resources and elements. They should give full play to the advantages of the "whole-nation system" [14] in concentrating resources to accomplish great tasks, creating a high-level network of innovative collaboration. On the other hand, they must accurately identify the "scenarios" for the integrated development of scientific and industrial innovation, strengthening university-enterprise and university-local cooperation. They should establish funds for the transformation of scientific achievements, build an ecosystem for such transformations, and bridge the entire chain—from basic research, key technologies, and equipment development to the transformation of achievements and industrial promotion. This will drive more scientific achievements to be converted into real productive forces as quickly as possible, assisting the "last mile" of industrial innovation and serving as the "vanguard" in developing new quality productive forces.
(Author: Gong Qihuang, President of Peking University)
Source: Guangming Daily (February 18, 2025, Page 15)
Web Editor: Huihui