Ma Xiaojie: Enhancing the Quality and Efficiency of Universities in Serving the Integrated Development of Scientific, Technological, and Industrial Innovation
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that "technological innovation and industrial innovation are the fundamental paths for developing new quality productive forces." As the source of technological innovation and a key driver of industrial innovation, universities must accurately grasp the connotations and objectives of the integrated reform of the systems and mechanisms for education, technology, and talent. Universities should focus on constructing a "tripod" system for the collaborative development of talent cultivation, technological innovation, and the transformation of achievements. By promoting the integrated development of technological and industrial innovation, they contribute wisdom and strength to accelerating the achievement of high-level technological self-reliance and self-strength.
I. Technological Innovation and Industrial Innovation are the Fundamental Paths for Developing New Quality Productive Forces
Throughout world history, the rise and decline of a nation have been largely determined by its technological prowess and industrial competitiveness. Currently, as the changes unseen in a century [1] accelerate, we must actively seize the opportunities for iterative upgrading of productive forces brought about by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. Only by cultivating and developing new quality productive forces can we build new competitive advantages and gain the initiative in development.
Developing new quality productive forces is an inherent requirement for promoting high-quality development. Without advanced and developed productive forces, there can be no material and technical foundation for building a great modern power. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "New quality productive forces are those in which innovation plays the leading role. They break away from traditional economic growth modes and development paths for productive forces, featuring high technology, high efficiency, and high quality. They represent an advanced state of productive forces that conforms to the new development philosophy." Through the integrated application of digital technologies and systemic innovation of production modes, new quality productive forces transform and upgrade traditional industries, develop strategic emerging industries, and foster future industries. They construct an innovation system that supports industrial transformation and upgrading, providing technical support to resolve resource and environmental constraints as well as the bottlenecks of traditional growth models. This not only generates new poles of economic growth but also promotes the high-end, intelligent, and green development of manufacturing. By building open technological innovation networks and bridging the "digital divide," we can promote resource sharing and optimized allocation, leading to a significant leap in production efficiency and benefits, forming multi-dimensional "spillover effects" and accelerating the cultivation and strengthening of emerging industries.
Promoting the integration of technological and industrial innovation is a vital starting point for developing new quality productive forces. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized "solidly promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation to assist in developing new quality productive forces." Technological innovation is the core element of developing new quality productive forces. Industry is the critical carrier for the gestation, development, and growth of these forces. Technological innovation can give birth to new industries, new models, and new growth drivers, pushing productive forces to jump to new levels. For technological innovation to truly transform into a practical productive force that drives development, it must rely on the industrial system to provide market demand, application scenarios, practical verification, and innovation safeguards. Integrating technological and industrial innovation not only breaks through "bottlenecks and hidden reefs" [2] in the process of transforming achievements—ensuring a seamless connection between the innovation chain and the industrial chain—but also helps improve the "double helix" fusion mechanism to reshape the innovation ecosystem. This allows for the shaping of advantages in technological iteration through dynamic adaptation, continuously developing and strengthening new quality productive forces. Currently, the in-depth development of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation provides ample space for universities, research institutes, and enterprises to strengthen synergy and focus technological innovation elements on the practical needs of industrial development.
Universities are a key link in promoting the integration of technological and industrial innovation. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed strengthening the overall coordination of innovation resources and the organization of forces to promote the integrated development of technological and industrial innovation. As the convergence point of education, technology, and talent, universities are both a backbone force for technological innovation and a powerful promoter of industrial innovation. Universities not only shoulder the responsibility of exploring the frontiers of world technology and serving major national strategies but also empower economic and social development by promoting the implementation and transformation of high-quality research results, solving practical problems in industrial development, and clearing the "last mile" from technology to industry. By leveraging their advantages in disciplines and research, universities produce high-quality results that support industrial innovation while driving technological progress. By cultivating a large number of innovative talents, they provide a steady stream of intellectual support for both technological and industrial innovation. In collaborative innovation with the government, enterprises, and research institutes, a group of industry-university-research cooperation platforms and professional technical centers has been established. This has formed innovation mechanisms such as customized talent cultivation, mutual recruitment of dual mentors between universities and enterprises, and joint research breakthroughs, effectively promoting the integrated development of industry, academia, and research, and playing a key pivotal role in the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation.
II. The "Tripod" Collaborative Development of Talent Cultivation, Technological Innovation, and the Transformation of Achievements in Universities Provides Strategic Support for Integrating Technological and Industrial Innovation
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must persist in handling education, technology, and talent together, both producing more technological achievements and transforming those achievements into actual productive forces." Universities should remain student-centered, advance with the times to promote the innovation of educational paradigms and the restructuring of research organizations, and build a "tripod" system of collaborative development for talent cultivation, technological innovation, and the transformation of achievements. This will ensure a continuous output of innovative talent, a precise supply of core technologies, and the efficient transformation of technological achievements, deeply serving the integration of technological and industrial innovation.
Filling the fountainhead of continuous innovation with high-quality talent cultivation. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Talent is the primary resource for innovation. Talent resources are an important force and a significant advantage for our country in intense international competition." Universities carry the dual task of basic discipline education and frontier knowledge exploration. Current talent cultivation has moved beyond traditional professional capacity building toward cultivating composite talents who possess a deep professional foundation, a broad cross-sector perspective, and continuous innovation capabilities. First, the educational philosophy is shifting from a "supply-oriented" focus on knowledge transmission to a "demand-driven" focus on innovation empowerment. Scientific frontiers and practical innovation are integrated into the entire teaching process, and a new educational paradigm focused on "the student as the subject, problem-orientation, and ability-based learning" is gradually taking shape. The "research-education-industry" closed-loop ecosystem allows students to achieve the dual improvement of knowledge accumulation and innovation ability while tackling real research problems. Second, the disciplinary structure is shifting from "fragmented" disciplinary barriers to "boundary-crossing" interdisciplinary integration. Scientific breakthroughs and the resolution of complex problems have shifted from single-discipline depth to knowledge interlacing and multi-disciplinary collaborative evolution; major original innovations are increasingly emerging from the integration of deeply intersecting disciplines. Universities should actively adapt to technological trends and the laws of innovation, explore differentiated cultivation models for top-tier innovative talents, break down "knowledge islands" [3] between traditional disciplines, and promote collaborative education across disciplines and fields. Third, the cultivation mechanism is shifting from a "closed campus" single-point breakthrough to an "open network" ecosystem cultivation. The university talent cultivation system is undergoing systemic restructuring, gradually moving from a "mechanical" stacking of elements to an "organic" creation of an ecosystem. Equipping students with academic mentors, industrial mentors, and entrepreneurial mentors, and establishing supporting mechanisms for cross-college course selection and credit recognition, will effectively cultivate students' systematic ability to handle both basic research and complex problem-solving.
Building the core engine of knowledge production and dissemination through frontier technological innovation. Technological innovation is the source of power for technology transfer and the transformation of achievements; even more, it is the key to improving the overall efficiency of the national innovation system. The technological innovation activities of universities are evolving from a linear "laboratory model" to a networked, collaborative innovation ecosystem. First, we must persist in the "Four Orientations" [4] strategic guide to consolidate the foundation of basic research. Focusing on national strategic needs, we must enhance the innovative synergy of national-level research bases, strategic scientist teams, and major technological tasks. We should strategically prioritize fields such as next-generation information technology, new energy, and biomedicine, realizing a "double-wheel drive" of breakthroughs in basic research "from 0 to 1" and the tackling of "bottleneck" (choke-hold) [5] key core technologies. Second, we must strive to form an innovation value chain of "knowledge creation—technology transfer—industrial transformation." We should incorporate the "cognitive breakthroughs" of basic research, the "application leaps" of technical development, and the "value realization" of industrial transformation into a unified value network, forming a virtuous cycle where "knowledge drives technology, technology empowers industry, and industry feeds back into knowledge." We must strengthen the dynamic connection between basic research and industrial application, pushing the transformation of traditional single-discipline research toward a paradigm focused on application scenarios. Third, we should practice the "Big Science" [6] collaborative concept to build an "innovation community." Persisting in a problem-oriented approach, we should combine urgent national needs with academic innovation, construct an "organized research" system, and rely on platforms such as National Key Laboratories to integrate multi-disciplinary forces for collaborative innovation. By optimizing the allocation of the capital chain, talent chain, and innovation chain, we can build comprehensive platforms for connecting science-education, industry-education, and school-enterprise, achieving the orderly aggregation and virtuous cycle of knowledge, technology, and data. Through the new type of whole-nation system, we will integrate strategic technological forces—including National Key Laboratories, leading technology enterprises, and university research institutes—to form a "Big Science" force for tackling key challenges.
Enriching the paths for realizing innovation value through the transformation of achievements. In pushing technological innovation, universities must both "reach the sky" (ding tian) and "stand on the ground" (li di). "Reaching the sky" means strengthening basic and applied research to create world-class achievements and secure a place in the global high-tech arena. "Standing on the ground" means closely integrating with unique characteristics to better transform research results into actual productive forces, ensuring these achievements play a major role in the country's pillar industries and leading sectors, making significant contributions to national economic construction and social development. First, we must promote the transformation toward a system-integrated research paradigm. We must break through the traditional "discipline-oriented" knowledge production model and establish an "organized research" model based on "national strategy—problem-orientation—system integration" centered on national strategic needs and industrial breakthroughs. Through interdisciplinary research platforms, we can integrate resources for basic research, applied research, and engineering, pushing research activities from free exploration toward "demand-responsive" models, allowing original innovation to directly serve "bottleneck" technology bottlenecks. By dynamically adjusting research directions and resource allocation, we can achieve a seamless transition from the laboratory to industrialization. Second, we must improve the support mechanisms for innovation transformation. By building these mechanisms, we can form a complete closed loop from knowledge creation to industrial landing, achieving the cyclic appreciation of innovation elements. We should establish a front-end concept verification system to accelerate technical feasibility validation through professional evaluation and early cultivation; build pilot-scale testing and maturation platforms to link laboratory results with the key stages of large-scale production; innovate the system for distributing rights and interests to stimulate the motivation of research subjects through long-term profit sharing; and leverage financial tools to clear market channels through the capitalization of intellectual property. Third, we should leverage the "government-industry-university-research-user" collaborative mechanism. Guided by government coordination, driven by the demand side, supplied with core technology by universities, led by enterprises in engineering development, and upgraded through user feedback, a spiral innovation cycle can be formed. By building innovation zones around universities and industrial innovation consortia, we can aggregate platform resources like National Key Laboratories and industrial research institutes, promoting the high-density aggregation, high-efficiency flow, and high-quality allocation of technological achievements, talent, and capital. At the same time, we must optimize the orientation of value evaluation, incorporating contributions to technology transfer and the effectiveness of industrial services into the research evaluation system and talent evaluation dimensions, encouraging researchers to "write their papers on the motherland's soil" [7].
III. Leveraging the Unique Advantages of Universities to Promote the Deep Integration of Technological and Industrial Innovation
On the new journey, facing the new missions and requirements of deeply integrating technological and industrial innovation to jointly serve the development of new quality productive forces, universities should give full play to their unique advantages in education, technology, and talent. They must continuously innovate new models and paths for working together with enterprises to define technological problems, collaboratively cultivate innovative talent, jointly conduct research breakthroughs, cooperate to promote the transformation of achievements, and together shape a healthy innovation culture. This will better promote the integrated innovation of industry, academia, and research, fostering new growth drivers and shaping new advantages for high-quality development.
Optimize the cultivation system for top-notch innovative talents and foster the primary actors of integrated development. Top-notch innovative talents are the core force promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that we must "improve the mechanism for adapting talent cultivation to the needs of economic and social development, and enhance the quality and efficiency of autonomous talent cultivation." Universities should focus on the requirements that future science, technology, and industry will place on the knowledge structure and competencies of personnel. They must continuously improve the effectiveness of "ideological and political education" [8], implement the project of "fostering virtue through education" [9] in the New Era, and unswervingly use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to "mold the soul and educate the person." By integrating the ethics of scientific innovation and the sentiment of "serving the country through industry" into both specialized ideological-political courses and the broader curriculum [10], universities can guide students to courageously shoulder the missions of the times and grow into innovative talents possessing both a scientific spirit and a sense of social responsibility.
We must continuously refine the cultivation system for top-notch innovative talents by further breaking down educational stage boundaries, disciplinary barriers, and the borders between universities and enterprises. Taking the "competency map" of personnel in key industrial fields as a goal and focusing on consistent cultivation across multiple educational stages, we should systematically restructure the curriculum, textbook, scientific research training, and internship/practice systems. We must promote the construction of "dual mentor" teams consisting of "academic supervisors plus industrial professors," and create immersive, experiential practical teaching systems. This will allow students to complete the full-cycle cultivation of innovative abilities within authentic industrial scenarios, effectively increasing the alignment between the education system and the urgent needs of technological development and national strategy. Furthermore, we must optimize the systems for personnel recruitment and cultivation, innovating new mechanisms such as joint university-enterprise appointments and regular job rotations to introduce a cohort of composite talents with industrial R&D experience or entrepreneurial backgrounds. We should tailor research capacity enhancement plans for young talents, creating conditions for them to form innovation teams across disciplines and fields. Supporting young talents to participate deeply in the entire industrial production process through on-site residencies will enable the young faculty cohort to gradually grow into strategic scientists possessing both academic and industrial insight.
Construct a demand-driven disciplinary ecosystem and strengthen the vehicles for integrated development. Disciplines are the primary vehicles through which universities conduct scientific innovation and serve industrial development. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted that we must "take technological development and national strategic needs as the guide, focus on improving innovation capabilities, optimize the layout of higher education, improve the mechanism for adjusting disciplinary settings in universities and talent cultivation models, and strengthen the construction of basic, emerging, and interdisciplinary subjects as well as the cultivation of top-notch talents." Universities should continuously optimize their disciplinary layout and structure, proactively adapting to national strategies, industrial demands, and technological developments. We should improve the dynamic linkage mechanism between disciplinary structures and industrial clusters, successfully implement breakthrough plans for basic and interdisciplinary subjects, and—oriented toward the technical needs of emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biomanufacturing, new energy, and new materials—holistically design strategic disciplines and directions for priority development. This will create a disciplinary pattern that resonates at the same frequency as national strategic needs and industrial transformation.
We must promote the cross-disciplinary integration of subjects with greater intensity. Based on the dual logic of technical principles and industrial demand, we should break down inherent disciplinary barriers and inter-school boundaries, explore the full-process participation of leading enterprises in disciplinary construction, and in an "organized" manner [11], promote interdisciplinary construction driven by specific projects or problems. This will facilitate full intersection, deep integration, and mutual growth among different disciplines. We must accelerate the optimization of the disciplinary innovation ecosystem. Following the principles of assessing basic disciplines by their theoretical contribution and disciplinary support, applied disciplines by their technical transformation efficiency and social service value, and interdisciplinary subjects by their degree of collaborative innovation and national strategic contribution, we should continuously deepen and refine the classified evaluation system for disciplines. We should explore the establishment of "special disciplinary development zones," granting pilot disciplines special policies in areas such as personnel recruitment, platform construction, and resource investment, thereby incentivizing disciplines to become "reactors" for technical innovation and "accelerators" for industrial upgrading.
Strengthen the supply of high-quality scientific and technological innovation to consolidate the foundation of integrated development. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "give full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of scientific and technological resources, better play the role of the government in all aspects, and mobilize the enthusiasm of all links in the production-study-research chain, so as to form a working pattern for joint assault on key core technologies." Universities should further strengthen "organized research" [11], comprehensively analyze the needs of major national strategies, regional economic and social development, and the construction of a modern industrial system. Focusing on fields such as information, equipment, and energy, they should form innovation teams to tackle major problems, and proactively plan the construction of major scientific research apparatuses, shared service platforms for technological resources, and innovation support centers for basic and interdisciplinary subjects, thereby continuously enhancing the efficiency of scientific innovation.
We must accelerate the building of collaborative innovation unions. Taking the promotion of Higher Education Research Institutes as an opportunity, universities should further expand deep cooperation with governments, research institutes, other universities, and industry leaders. We should coordinately advance the co-construction of joint laboratories based on multifaceted advantages, carry out joint assaults on major technical bottlenecks facing enterprises, and conduct joint university-enterprise talent cultivation centered on projects, thereby forming long-term mechanisms for university-enterprise symbiosis and collaborative innovation. We must actively strengthen high-level international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation. Focusing on issues like climate change, energy crises, and food security, as well as technical needs in fields such as agriculture and environmental governance, we should encourage and guide faculty to strengthen exchanges with scientists from all countries, actively participate in or lead the organization of major international and regional scientific plans and engineering projects, and continue to ensure China’s voice is heard in global scientific and technological governance.
Promote the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements to clear the channels for integrated development. The transformation and application of achievements is the key path for merging scientific and industrial innovation. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "timely apply scientific and technological innovation results to specific industries and industrial chains, transform and upgrade traditional industries, cultivate and expand emerging industries, strategically plan for future industries, and improve the modern industrial system." Universities should further improve the "full-chain" collaborative system for the transformation of scientific achievements. Guided by enterprise demand and driven by technical needs, and based on the accumulation of results, they should compile catalogs of independent intellectual property results, proactively unite with key units in technical R&D, intellectual property, market validation, capital investment, and policy support, establish scientific innovation guidance funds, build diversified platforms for technology transfer, and optimize incentive mechanisms for transformation to accelerate the implementation of a batch of breakthrough and leading scientific achievements.
We must strengthen the alignment of supply and demand for scientific achievements. Using the construction of University Science and Technology Parks as a lever, we should build high-standard platforms for the incubation, transformation, transfer, and trade of scientific achievements—integrating proof-of-concept centers, pilot testing bases, and intellectual property protection. We should comprehensively mine transformable and industrializable achievements within universities and build platforms for supply-demand matching and "rank-blind bidding" [12] to ensure more scientific results move from "samples to products" and eventually form industries. We should take multiple measures to mobilize the enthusiasm of faculty for transforming achievements. According to the principle of "looking at frontiers for basic research, breakthroughs for applied research, and driving force for achievement transformation," we must continuously refine the classified evaluation and assessment mechanisms for scientific research. We should actively promote reforms granting faculty ownership or long-term usage rights of job-related scientific achievements and pilot "separate management" mechanisms for such achievements to further release the vitality of transformation.
Exert the leading role of high-quality Party building to create an ecosystem for integrated development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the scientific and technological power we aim to build must "possess a strong scientific governance system and capability, forming a world-class innovation ecosystem and research environment." Universities should further strengthen the leading role of high-quality Party building and the role of primary-level Party organizations as "fortified battle positions." We should promote the establishment of faculty Party branches based on disciplines, major scientific innovation platforms, key core technology assault missions, and achievement transformation projects, forming a new pattern of integrated "Party Building + Scientific Innovation."
We must promote "digital-intelligence empowerment" with systemic thinking, increasing the application and innovation of AI technology in education. We should proactively plan the construction of "AI+" disciplinary structures, curricula, evaluation systems, and new scenarios for teaching and research, as well as new forms of production-study-research cooperation, continuously optimizing resource allocation and the intelligent matching of innovation supply with industrial demand. Finally, we must foster a sound innovation culture in all aspects. We should deeply mine typical cases and advanced deeds of organized research and collaborative innovation from both inside and outside the university. By uniting with enterprises to form lecture groups on "the spirit of the scientist" and "the spirit of the educator," and by widely publicizing the scientific connotations and exemplary deeds of these spirits in universities, enterprises, and communities, we can lead the seamless "two-way convergence" of scientific and industrial innovation with a positive cultural atmosphere. This will provide a continuous and surging impetus for developing new quality productive forces and promoting Chinese-path modernization.