How to make young scientists have the courage and perseverance to "dare to sit on the bench"? This was a hot topic when secretaries and presidents of many universities sat around at the second "502 Forum for Young Scientists".
"We need to use a good evaluation system and strong resource support to allow young people to sit on the bench not in winter—but in summer. It is impossible to sit on the bench in winter, but in summer, everyone is willing to sit on the bench." Bench. Our basic research has been carried out only after summer and winter.” Xue Qikun, president of Southern University of Science and Technology and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said with emotion, “Basic research is the cornerstone of building a world scientific and technological power.”
Not long ago, Southern University of Science and Technology and Tencent jointly hosted the "Young Scientists 502 Forum". Han Jiecai, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Li Ruxin, secretary of the Party Committee of ShanghaiTech University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tian Gang, head of the Greater Bay Area University (preparation) and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Zhang Zongyi, president of Xiamen University, together focused on how to "guide and support young teachers engaged in basic research" , willing to sit on the cold bench, and explore major long-term scientific issues" and other topics were discussed.
The day before, the 2021-2022 "Scientific Exploration Award" award ceremony was held online. The "Young Scientist 502 Forum" is a high-level, interdisciplinary academic exchange platform for the winners of the "Scientific Exploration Award". The theme of this forum is "Focus on Originality, Break Through Boundaries", aiming at the original innovation "from 0 to 1" by building a communication platform between generations and fields of scientists, and encouraging cross-field and interdisciplinary crossover Research collaborations to support the growth and development of young scientists.
As Xue Qikun mentioned in his opening speech, the "502" in the name of the forum not only points to the number of winners of "50 people", but also points to the expectation of "50 years", which is "a great contribution to future technology". have a significant impact and provide answers for the progress of mankind".
As a place that gathers outstanding scientists and cultivates outstanding talents, how to meet new challenges in the new era is something that every secretary and principal is thinking about. Han Jiecai lamented that many young people in colleges and universities tend to study hot issues as basic issues, pursuing "fast writing" or "high number of citations". This cognition needs to be changed.
What makes Tian Gang even more worried is that many colleges and universities currently have a single talent training mechanism, and talent training should focus on the integrity of the knowledge system. In addition, the evaluation system for students should also be innovative. For example, it can be comprehensively evaluated in terms of interest, dedication to research, mastery of the entire knowledge, and innovative ideas, to further help cultivate innovative talents.
"You can't be in a hurry to train young people. You need to lay a good foundation, at least in several disciplines, so that you can adapt to the new environment faster and carry out scientific and technological innovation in the future development. A good foundation , A complete knowledge system is very important to the cultivation of students." Tian Gang said.
In terms of cultivating young talents, Zhang Zongyi believes that it is necessary to create a good atmosphere for young talents, create suitable opportunities, and provide sufficient incentives to encourage young people to sprint forward at a speed of 100 meters.
He said that young scientists, especially foreign young talents, should be given equal academic discourse rights and a democratic and equal atmosphere should be created. It is necessary to promote cooperation from local governments, leading enterprises, and corresponding scientific research institutes, pool resources from all parties, and lead young scientific and technological workers to explore bravely and tolerate failure.
Han Jiecai agreed, and called for more investment in platforms, funds, policies and other resources, so that young scientists have more courage and perseverance to "dare to sit on the bench".
"I appeal to every entrepreneur, university president, and government leader who has resources to devote more resources to supporting basic research. If we go out this step, our basic research and original breakthroughs will become more and more powerful." Many." Han Jie said.
Chen Shiyi mentioned that in recent years, new research universities such as Southern University of Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, and West Lake University have developed rapidly. For a long time to come, China's higher education will focus on the three important aspects of "science and education, talents, and innovation".
Li Ruxin introduced that ShanghaiTech University is a new type of research university jointly organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shanghai Municipal Government. High-level academic papers and scientific research results.
"In terms of student training, we focus on a wide-caliber and solid-foundation training method. For example, there are no departments under the college. In terms of curriculum design, basic disciplines and courses are comprehensively arranged to give full play to the characteristics of interdisciplinary integration." Li Ruxin said. .
He also mentioned that many colleges and universities undertake the important responsibility of building and operating large scientific installations, which provides opportunities for cultivating interdisciplinary talents. "We train multidisciplinary talents, which can provide intellectual support for the construction of large scientific installations. At the same time, after the completion of large scientific installations, the users are diversified, including overseas users. Training has been a huge help.”
For a long time, it has been an important mission of the university to answer "Qian Xuesen's question", but how to break through the dilemma of cultivating outstanding innovative talents? Talking about this issue, Xue Qikun thought for a long time.
"In terms of personnel training, whether it is to solve the 'Question of Qian Xuesen' or to cultivate outstanding talents, we must first base ourselves on the times, on the frontiers of scientific research in the world, and on the major needs of the country, and deploy our courses, disciplines, and scientific research in this direction. This is something the school needs to seriously consider." Xue Qikun said.
At the forum, the 2022 "Top Ten Basic Research Keywords" proposed and voted by the winners of the "Scientific Exploration Award" were released, reflecting the forward-looking research and judgment of the future scientific and technological development of the group of outstanding young Chinese scientists represented by the winners, and Continuous exploration of original innovation "from 0 to 1".
"The spirit of the Scientific Exploration Award is to emphasize basic research." Chen Shiyi said that China's education should not only be big, but also insist on innovation and individualized research. How to balance both large contributions and new individual ones? Research is a very important issue in the future development of Chinese institutions of higher learning.
