Ma Xiaojie: Adhering to the Path of Independent Cultivation for Basic Research Talents
General Secretary Xi Jinping, while presiding over the third group study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee, pointed out that we "must persist in taking the path of self-cultivation for foundational research personnel," "leverage the role of universities—especially 'Double First-Class' universities—as the main force in cultivating foundational research personnel, strengthen the training of high-level personnel urgently needed by the state, and continuously produce a massive reserve force for foundational research." To study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech, we must fully leverage the role of the vital junction where science and technology act as the primary productive force, personnel as the primary resource, and innovation as the primary driver. We must optimize the cultivation system for foundational research personnel across all dimensions and throughout the entire chain, and continuously improve the capacity and quality of self-cultivation for foundational research personnel to provide critical support for high-level science and technology self-reliance and Chinese-path modernization.
I. High-level foundational research personnel are the key force for achieving science and technology self-reliance
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Strengthening foundational research is an urgent requirement for achieving high-level science and technology self-reliance and the only way to build a world power in science and technology.” To advance Chinese-path modernization, we must improve the capacity and quality of the self-cultivation of foundational research personnel, strive to create a large number of foundational research personnel urgently needed for national innovative development, and effectively enhance the supporting capacity and guarantee levels of foundational research.
Foundational research is the "source water" [1] of the entire scientific system. Foundational research is the root of science; it is only through foundational research that uncertainty can be turned into certainty and the unknown into the known. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Many ‘stranglehold’ [2] technical problems facing our country have their roots in the fact that foundational theoretical research cannot keep up, and things at the source and bottom levels have not been clarified.” Along with the rapid advancement of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, the cross-disciplinary integration of subjects continues to develop, the paradigm of scientific research is undergoing profound change, and the integration of science and technology with economic and social development is accelerating. The conversion cycle for foundational research has shortened significantly, and international competition in science and technology has moved forward to the foundational frontiers. At the same time, the cross-integration between science and technology, theory and application, and natural sciences and philosophy and social sciences has become increasingly close. The boundaries between traditional foundational research, applied research, technical development, and industrialization are increasingly blurred. Strategy-oriented systemic foundational research, frontier-oriented exploratory foundational research, and market-oriented applied foundational research are flourishing. Foundational research has permeated every element of the entire chain, from scientific innovation and technical updates to the transformation of achievements and industrial upgrades. Only by solving more foundational frontier scientific problems, achieving major breakthroughs in forward-looking foundational research and leading original achievements, and possessing the ability to lead the direction of frontier and foundational science and technology can we seize the opportunities of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation and provide powerful scientific support for advancing Chinese-path modernization.
Strengthening foundational research is the fundamental cornerstone for achieving high-level science and technology self-reliance. When participating in the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “In fierce international competition, if we want to open up new fields and new tracks for development and shape new drivers and advantages for development, we must ultimately rely on scientific and technological innovation. Whether we can build a great modern socialist country in all respects on schedule depends critically on science and technology self-reliance.” Since the 18th Party Congress, with the deep implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, a batch of major scientific and technological achievements has accelerated to the surface, and new industries, new business forms, and new models have developed rapidly. Our country’s scientific and technological strength has moved from the accumulation of quantity to a leap in quality, and has achieved a systemic improvement in capacity. However, our country still faces problems such as obvious weaknesses in foundational research and original innovation, the urgent need for breakthroughs in some key core technologies, and an insufficient number of top-tier personnel and teams. Only by adhering to the major strategic needs of the country and the main battlefield of the economy, and independently researching and breaking through key scientific problems, can our country's science and technology truly stand up and become strong, and can we accelerate the realization of high-level self-reliance.
Strengthening the self-cultivation of foundational research personnel is an important measure for advancing Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Strengthening foundational research ultimately depends on high-level personnel.” Looking at the history of world development and the history of science, almost all major core technologies that have influenced the world originate from the "0 to 1" original innovation of foundational research, and from the cultivation of large numbers of foundational research personnel urgently needed for innovative development. The Party and the state have always attached great importance to the cultivation of foundational research personnel. In the 1950s, through the organizational method of "tasks leading disciplines," the state planned layouts, built platforms, and cultivated personnel in the field of foundational research according to the actual needs of national construction and development. This created a large number of leading personnel in foundational research and laid the foundation for China's rapid development. Since the New Era, foundational research and original innovation in China have been continuously strengthened, breakthroughs have been made in some key core technologies, and strategic emerging industries have grown in strength. Major achievements have been made in manned spaceflight, lunar and Mars exploration, supercomputers, large aircraft manufacturing, and biomedicine. These are all the results of the convergence of high-level personnel and the full play of innovative efficacy. At a moment when the "two overall situations" [3] are intertwined, and facing the major mission and tasks of Chinese-path modernization, the organized self-cultivation of large numbers of foundational research personnel is what the country urgently needs and the people eagerly expect. It is a necessity of the situation and the times, and moreover, it is the only way forward and a path of self-confidence.
II. High-level research universities are the main force in the self-cultivation of foundational research personnel
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must enhance the ability of education to serve innovative development and cultivate more personnel of all types who adapt to high-quality development and high-level self-reliance.” On the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, "educating people for the Party and cultivating personnel for the country" is the unswerving original aspiration, mission, and value pursuit of universities, and it is the inherent requirement for the development of higher education itself. Throughout a long process of construction and development, Chinese universities have accumulated unique and rich educational resources in areas such as faculty, cross-disciplinary integration, research platforms, and personnel cultivation systems. They possess prominent advantages and an inescapable responsibility for the self-cultivation of foundational research personnel.
The self-cultivation of foundational research personnel is the mission of the era for universities. As an important part of the national strategic scientific and technological force and the main force in personnel cultivation, universities must both output high-level scientific and technological achievements to the state and society, and continuously create high-quality personnel. Since the New Era, China has built the world's largest higher education system, and the role of education in supporting and leading scientific, technological, economic, and social development has become increasingly prominent. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that our country "is fully capable of continuously cultivating and creating a large number of outstanding personnel and is fully capable of producing masters. We must have such determination and such confidence!" Universities must adhere to the path of socialist educational development with Chinese characteristics, give full play to their advantages in faculty, disciplines, and platforms to strengthen self-cultivation of personnel, and especially to independently cultivate first-class foundational research personnel with innovative consciousness and innovative ability, so as to gather large numbers of personnel for high-level science and technology self-reliance, national innovative development strategies, and modernization.
A high-quality faculty is the fundamental force for the self-cultivation of foundational research personnel in universities. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Good schools differ in their characteristics, but they have one common feature: they all have an excellent team of teachers.” Since the 18th Party Congress, the construction of the faculty in Chinese universities has achieved remarkable success. While the scale has expanded rapidly, the quality has also continuously improved, and the comparative advantage of personnel in some disciplines has steadily strengthened. High-level personnel in universities are not only huge in volume but also cover a wide range of professional fields. They possess strong scientific research capabilities and deep academic cultivation, and they are well-versed in the laws of education and teaching and the laws of personnel growth. They are the backbone of education and teaching and can provide sustained, stable, and strong guarantees for the high-quality cultivation of foundational research personnel.
Cross-disciplinary integration is a significant advantage for the self-cultivation of foundational research personnel in universities. Cross-disciplinary integration is an important method for scientific research innovation. The discovery of many major scientific research directions, major breakthroughs in research results, and even the birth of new disciplines are both rooted in deep foundational research and are often the result of cross-disciplinary integration. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “High-level research universities should give play to their advantages in deep foundational research and cross-disciplinary integration to become the main force of foundational research and the crack force [4] for major scientific and technological breakthroughs.” Universities have a complete range of disciplines, rich disciplinary structures, numerous foundational disciplines, and deep research heritage. They possess natural advantages in conducting foundational research, nurturing cross-disciplinary subjects, and independently cultivating foundational research personnel. Conducting multi-disciplinary intersection, cross-disciplinary cultivation, and organized scientific research can provide students with a more diverse knowledge structure, a broader research horizon, and innovative abilities. It is conducive to accumulating the thick foundation needed for foundational research personnel to conduct joint assaults [5] and comprehensive foundational research.
High-level research platforms are a broad stage for the self-cultivation of foundational research personnel in universities. Research platforms are important bases for universities to gather personnel, cultivate personnel, and conduct scientific research; they are the "cradles" for cultivating foundational research personnel. Since the New Era, universities have taken the lead in building a batch of major national science and technology infrastructure projects, high-level biosafety laboratories, and national field scientific observation stations. They have built a large number of research platforms at all levels with regional characteristics and university-specific strengths, initially forming a research platform system with clear levels, a reasonable layout, and effective support. It is precisely based on these multi-level, multi-disciplinary, and multi-type research platforms that universities have won numerous national science and technology awards and undertaken a series of foundational research and National Natural Science Foundation projects. These high-level research platforms and activities also continuously "feed back" [6] into personnel cultivation, meeting the needs of personnel training in different disciplines, majors, and levels, becoming important platforms for cultivating foundational research personnel.
A high-level personnel cultivation system is the basic guarantee for the self-cultivation of foundational research personnel in universities. After long-term exploration, accumulation, and refinement, Chinese universities have formed a specialized personnel cultivation system and produced a large number of high-quality specialized personnel, playing an important role in economic construction, social development, and scientific and technological progress. Since the 18th Party Congress, centered on the cultivation of top-notch personnel in foundational disciplines, the "Mount Everest Plan" and the "Strengthening the Base Plan" [7] have been implemented successively. Innovation bases for top-notch students in foundational sciences, foundational medicine, and foundational humanities have been laid out and constructed in universities, attracting many excellent students to commit themselves to foundational disciplines. Chinese higher education moves in tandem with the times; the personnel cultivation paradigm has undergone all-around reform, and the university degree-granting system, professional catalog system, and management system with Chinese characteristics have been continuously improved, sounding "China's voice" and providing "China's experience" and "China's wisdom" to the field of global higher education.
III. Continuously and independently cultivate a massive force of high-level foundational research personnel
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must make great efforts to create systemic, high-level foundational research personnel cultivation platforms to let more foundational research personnel emerge in competition.” Universities should closely revolve around national strategic needs, follow the laws of growth for foundational research personnel, optimize the personnel cultivation system, and continuously improve the capacity and quality of the self-cultivation of foundational research personnel, striving to empower, store energy for, and improve the capabilities of high-level science and technology self-reliance and Chinese-path modernization.
Maintain the correct political direction in school management and cultivate deep feelings of "home and country" [8] among foundational research personnel. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "doing personnel work well must persist in the correct political direction," and "encourage personnel to harbor a deep heart of patriotism, sharpen their ambition to serve the country, and actively shoulder the missions and responsibilities bestowed by the times." We must firmly grasp the socialist direction of school management, persist in the original aspiration and mission of educating people for the Party and cultivating personnel for the country, and focusing on the "Four Services" [9], coordinate the promotion of ideological and political courses, "curriculum-based ideological and political education" [10], practical education, and research-based education. We must effectively integrate education on ideals and beliefs and the socialist core values throughout the entire process of cultivating foundational research personnel, educating and guiding teachers and students to sharpen their ambition to strengthen the country and practice the act of serving the country. Pay attention to using the "scientist spirit" to nurture, influence, and educate people, deeply mining and reporting on the advanced models and deeds that have emerged in the field of foundational research to inspire teachers and students to pursue truth and scale the heights. Strengthen the construction of research style and conduct, establish and improve standardized, normalized, and long-term mechanisms for the construction of research style and conduct, and reinforce education on style and conduct, research integrity, and science and technology ethics for researchers, teachers, and students, comprehensively creating a favorable culture for scientific research and innovation.
We must construct a high-quality disciplinary system to strengthen the carriers for cultivating talent in foundational research. Disciplines constitute the basic units of talent cultivation. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC pointed out that we must "strengthen the development of foundational, emerging, and interdisciplinary subjects, and speed up the development of world-class universities and strong disciplines with Chinese characteristics." We should focus closely on the frontiers of world science and technology, major national strategic needs, and economic and social development goals. Centering on traditional foundational disciplines such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth sciences, biology, literature, history, philosophy, and basic medicine, we must coordinate the development of foundational, key, niche [11], and weak disciplines. We need to further optimize disciplinary layouts, refine disciplinary directions, and precisely introduce a group of disciplinary leaders to comprehensively deepen the substance and shape the advantages of our disciplines. Leveraging the advantages of our socialist system in mobilizing resources to accomplish major undertakings [12], we should proactively plan the layout of emerging and interdisciplinary subjects in fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum communication, new energy, and advanced manufacturing. We must promote the interdisciplinary integration and cross-disciplinary research in an organized manner, striving to enhance the foundational research capabilities of our disciplines. We should further optimize the evaluation and management methods for foundational subjects and foundational research directions in other disciplines, explore long-cycle disciplinary evaluations, and establish and improve investment mechanisms that combine stable support (such as faculty teams, enrollment plans, and funding) with competitive projects or indicators, thereby creating a relaxed and inclusive environment for foundational and forward-looking research. We must focus on building a backbone network for foundational research, scientifically deploying forward-looking, lead-type, strategically-oriented, and application-supporting major scientific and technological infrastructures based on disciplinary layouts and development plans, while improving full-lifecycle management, utilization, sharing, and evaluation mechanisms to maximize innovation efficiency.
We must innovate the education system for foundational disciplines to solidify the knowledge foundation of foundational research talent. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must "plan the cultivation of talent in foundational disciplines from all directions" and "vigorously cultivate a large number of foundational research talents urgently needed for the country's innovative development." A high-quality, integrated cultivation system for foundational discipline talent is a necessary condition for accumulating momentum and empowering foundational research talent. We should actively explore the laws governing the growth of talent in foundational disciplines, systematically design the links of selection, cultivation, evaluation, and security in a chain-like fashion, and construct systems for majors, courses, textbooks, and scientific research training in a modular and progressive manner to accelerate the improvement of a high-quality cultivation system. We must innovatively explore mechanisms for the early discovery and cultivation of top-tier students in foundational disciplines. Relying on the "Top-Notch High School Student Training Program" [13], the "Strong Base Plan" [14], and the "Top-Notch Student Training Program in Foundational Disciplines," we should explore the implementation of unconventional selection mechanisms for gifted students, clearing the development channels and articulation chains for their growth. This will allow more talented individuals with aspiration, interest, and gift to be discovered in a timely manner, cultivated scientifically, and enabled to grow continuously and stand out. We should deeply implement integrated bachelor-master-doctorate cultivation programs in foundational disciplines, constructing talent cultivation schemes that are organically linked, progressively advanced, and mutually permeating. We must also improve the mechanisms for dynamic diversion and exit across all educational stages, providing a broad stage for students committed to foundational research. Taking the education evaluation reforms of the New Era as an opportunity, we should further optimize the evaluation system for foundational discipline talent, exploring evaluation indicators that align with the characteristics of these students. Focus should be placed on students' grasp of foundational theories, basic knowledge, and basic methods, as well as their ability to discover, analyze, and solve problems, thereby driving the improvement of cultivation quality and solidifying the foundation for students' future engagement in foundational research.
We must improve the mechanisms that allow talent to emerge in abundance, stimulating the innovative vitality of foundational research talent. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized "remaining committed to deepening the reform of the systems and mechanisms for talent development," noting that "special policies should be applied to urgently needed and scarce special talents," and that we must "speed up the formation of cultivation mechanisms conducive to talent growth, utilization mechanisms conducive to making the best use of talent, incentive mechanisms conducive to talent displaying their skills, and competitive mechanisms conducive to talent standing out." Foundational research is characterized by long cycles, latency, and uncertainty. Constructing and improving a scientific, fair, and diverse evaluation and incentive mechanism is conducive to stimulating the innovative vitality and enhancing the innovation efficiency of foundational research talent. We should further build and improve a "stable cultivation, introduction, and utilization" mechanism for foundational research talent that combines "rigidity and flexibility" [15]. We must continuously increase the tilt of various resources toward foundational research talent, improve differentiated evaluation and long-cycle support mechanisms, and grant leading scientific and technological talent greater power to determine technical routes, greater authority over fund allocation, and greater power in resource scheduling. By optimizing the quality of full-process service guarantees, we can ensure that more high-level foundational research talents are willing to come, stay, work well, and produce results. We must further deepen the reform of the scientific research evaluation system. Strategically-oriented foundational research should focus on evaluating its effectiveness in solving major scientific problems in key national core areas; free-exploration foundational research should focus on originality and academic contribution; and applied foundational research should focus on its contribution to industrial transformation, upgrading, and high-quality development, effectively allowing the vitality of all types of foundational research talent to burst forth. We should optimize the capacity-building system for foundational research talent, formulate and implement special programs for them, improve the full-chain cultivation system for outstanding young foundational research talent, and establish a "mentorship" mechanism [16] between academicians/leading scientific figures and young talents in foundational research fields. We should take multiple measures to encourage young talent to devote themselves more to foundational research, participate in major scientific tasks, and lead key research missions, focusing on building a structural echelon of strategic scientists in foundational research.
We must shape a new pattern of open education to broaden the global perspective of foundational research talent. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "emphasizing the independent cultivation of talent by no means means self-isolation," and we must "embrace development opportunities with greater openness and seek mutual benefit and win-win results through better cooperation." A global vision and world-class outlook are essential qualities for high-level foundational research talent. Adhering to open education oriented toward both domestic and international spheres is an important path for universities to independently cultivate high-level foundational research talent. We should persist in planning and promoting talent cultivation with a global perspective, actively exploring the construction of a new pattern of open education. We should strengthen deep cooperation with world-class universities, high-level scientific research institutions, and "high-end, precision, sophisticated, and scarce" [17] enterprises and industries. Through forms such as joint cultivation, academic visits, cooperative education, and the introduction of intellectual resources, we can achieve win-win sharing and mutual promotion of superior resources for global foundational research talent cultivation. We should encourage faculty and students to actively participate in global scientific hotspots and key programs, build international platforms for foundational research cooperation, and work together to construct an international scientific community, form global academic exchange mechanisms, and conduct joint research on scientific projects. We strive to make greater contributions to the progress of human civilization through more major original innovations and breakthroughs in key core technologies. We should strengthen cooperation with leading scientific and technological enterprises, jointly build joint laboratories and collaborative innovation centers, and organize faculty and students to conduct applied foundational research around key core technologies in the actual production of enterprise industries, effectively promoting the reciprocal circulation of the innovation chain, talent chain, and industrial chain.
We must promote a healthy culture for the innovation ecosystem and establish a social trend of loving and revering science. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The 'Two Bombs, One Satellite' spirit [18], the Westward Relocation spirit [19], the Manned Spaceflight spirit, the Scientist spirit, the Lunar Exploration spirit, and the New Era Beidou spirit, forged by generations of scientific and technological workers through continuous struggle, have collectively shaped an innovation ecosystem with Chinese characteristics and become an inexhaustible driving force supporting the development of foundational research." We should vigorously foster an innovative culture on campus, adhering to the combination of "inviting in" and "going out." We should invite well-known domestic and international academicians, leading scientific talent, and corporate innovators to campus for face-to-face exchanges with students, enhancing the scientific literacy and innovation awareness of all students, especially those in the humanities. We should organize influential campus scientists to proactively enter enterprises, industries, primary and secondary schools, and the fields to disseminate scientific knowledge through multiple channels, display scientific achievements, and proactively publicize and promote the culture of the innovation ecosystem with Chinese characteristics in society, helping to improve the scientific literacy of the entire nation. Leveraging our advantages in rich scientific resources and gathered talent, we should serve the construction of an integrated and progressive scientific literacy education system for all educational stages from primary to higher education. We must actively provide necessary intellectual, technical, and equipment support for all stages of primary and secondary schools, striving to create a healthy atmosphere of loving and revering science.