Give Full Play to the Leading Role of Higher Education to Support High-Level Scientific and Technological Self-Reliance and Self-Strengthening

The *Education Strengthening Nation Construction Plan Outline (2024–2035)* (hereinafter referred to as the *Outline*) clarifies the specific timetable and roadmap for deeply advancing the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent as a "three-in-one" whole, providing a strategic blueprint and action guide for comprehensively building a modern socialist education powerhouse and using education powerhouse construction to lead and support Chinese-path modernization.

《教育强国建设规划纲要（2024—2035年）》（以下简称《纲要》）明确了深入推进教育、科技、人才“三位一体”统筹发展的具体时间表和路线图，为全面建设社会主义现代化教育强国、以教育强国建设支撑引领中国式现代化提供了战略蓝图和行动指南。

Scientific and technological support capacity is an important characteristic of a socialist education powerhouse with Chinese characteristics. The *Outline* points out that it is necessary to comprehensively build an innovation-driven science and technology support system, and by 2035, cultivate and strengthen the national strategic scientific and technological forces to strongly support high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening. Scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening are the foundation of a nation's strength and the key to its security, and are the strategic support for the innovative development of a major country. As an important component of the national strategic scientific and technological forces, high-level research universities must give full play to their leading role, adhere to the integrated advancement of education, science and technology, and talent, keep in mind the "greatest concerns of the nation" [1]1 The "greatest concerns of the nation" (国之大者) is a phrase used, revolve around the "four orientations" [2], proactively align with national strategies, serve scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, and act as the vanguard and spearhead in resolutely winning the battle for core technologies in key fields.

科技支撑力是中国特色社会主义教育强国的重要特质。《纲要》指出，要全面构建创新牵引的科技支撑体系，到2035年，培育壮大国家战略科技力量，有力支撑高水平科技自立自强。科技自立自强是国家强盛之基、安全之要，是大国创新发展的战略支撑。作为国家战略科技力量的重要组成部分，高水平研究型大学要发挥好龙头作用，坚持教育、科技、人才一体推进，心怀“国之大者”，围绕“四个面向”，主动对接国家战略，服务科技自立自强，在坚决打赢关键核心技术攻坚战中当好尖刀连、排头兵。

Guided by the needs of scientific and technological development and national strategy, continuously optimize and adjust disciplinary offerings

以科技发展、国家战略需求为牵引，持续优化调整学科设置

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "It is necessary to optimize the layout of basic discipline construction, support the development of key disciplines, emerging disciplines, niche disciplines and weak disciplines, promote interdisciplinary integration and cross-disciplinary research, and build a high-quality discipline system with comprehensive and balanced development." Currently, the world has entered an era of big science. The scientific problems to be solved are highly complex, research activities are large in scale and involve a wide range of disciplines, the degree of organization of basic research is increasingly high, and interdisciplinary integration has become a new fulcrum for scientific and technological innovation.

习近平总书记指出：“要优化基础学科建设布局，支持重点学科、新兴学科、冷门学科和薄弱学科发展，推动学科交叉融合和跨学科研究，构筑全面均衡发展的高质量学科体系。”当前，世界进入大科学时代，要解决的科学问题高度复杂，研究活动规模大、涉及学科范围广，基础研究的组织化程度越来越高，学科交叉融合成为科技创新的新支点。

As the vanguard of China's higher education, high-level research universities must adhere to the orientation of scientific and technological development goals and urgent national strategic needs, focus on the commanding heights of scientific and technological competition, enhance the rapid response capability of disciplines and specialties, make extraordinary arrangements for urgently needed disciplines and specialties, accelerate the cultivation of high-level scientific and technological talents in urgently needed fields by optimizing disciplinary settings, and further promote the resonance of the discipline system with the national strategy. They must adhere to unconventional methods for selecting outstanding students in basic disciplines, improve the integrated cultivation of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs, run national high-level talent cultivation centers in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology well, promote the deep integration of scientific research and high-level talent cultivation, and continuously enhance the independent cultivation capacity of top-notch innovative talents.

高水平研究型大学作为我国高等教育的排头兵，要坚持以科技发展目标和国家战略急需为导向，聚焦科技竞争制高点，提升学科专业快速响应能力，超常布局急需学科专业，通过优化学科设置加快急需领域高层次科技人才培养，进一步推动学科体系与国家战略同频共振。要坚持不拘一格探索超常规选拔基础学科优秀生源，完善本硕博一体化贯通培养，办好数理化生国家高层次人才培养中心，促进科学研究与高层次人才培养深度融合，不断提升拔尖创新人才自主培养能力。

Aiming to gather strategic talent forces, accelerate the construction of a high-level scientific and technological innovation talent team

以汇聚战略人才力量为目标，加快建设高水平科技创新人才队伍

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that accelerating the construction of national strategic talent forces must be made a top priority. National strategic talent forces are high-quality, specialized talent groups that can lead major national scientific and technological tasks in key scientific and technological fields, organize the resolution of core technological problems, guide the direction of scientific and technological development, and provide strong intellectual support for national development and security. They are the leading geese driving the leapfrog development of scientific and technological innovation and high-tech industries.

习近平总书记指出，要把加快建设国家战略人才力量作为重中之重。国家战略人才力量是在关键科学技术领域中，能够领军国家重大科技任务，组织解决关键核心技术问题，引领科学和技术发展方向，为国家发展和安全提供强大智力支持的高素质、专业化人才群体，是推动科技创新与高技术产业跨越发展的领头雁。

High-level research universities must focus on "high-precision, advanced, and urgently needed" areas [3], recruit and gather talents for the nation, make great efforts to attract outstanding talents from around the world, strive to build a "reservoir" of strategic talent reserves, open "green channels" for the introduction of top talents, and improve the flexibility and rapid response capability of talent introduction. They must create powerful platforms and conditions, discover, cultivate, and foster a group of strategic scientists in the practical combat of major research tasks, train and cultivate a group of leading scientific and technological talents, form a scientific and technological research pattern with leading talents as the driving force and high-level teams as support, and enable top scholars to better play a strategic leading role in the layout of scientific research tasks, the refinement of major scientific research directions, and the formation of large scientific research teams. They must actively cultivate strategic scientist growth echelons, continuously introduce and carefully cultivate a group of young talents with solid foundations and outstanding potential, support them in taking on major roles and playing leading parts, and allow more young talents to stand out. They must establish a talent use 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 talents in basic disciplines.

高水平研究型大学要聚焦“高精尖缺”，为国引才、为国聚才，下大力气从全球范围延揽优秀人才，着力打造战略人才储备的“蓄水池”，为顶尖人才引进开辟“绿色通道”，提高引才灵活性和快速响应能力。要创造有力平台和条件，在重大攻关任务实战中发现、培养和造就一批战略科学家，锻炼培育一批科技领军人才，形成以领军人才为龙头、高水平团队为支撑的科技攻关格局，让顶尖学者在科研攻关布局、凝练重大科研方向、组建大科研团队等工作中更好发挥战略引领作用。要积极培育战略科学家成长梯队，持续引进和悉心培养一批基础扎实、潜质突出的青年人才，支持他们挑大梁、当主角，让更多青年人才脱颖而出。要建立以信任为基础的人才使用机制，尊重不同领域人才发展规律，科学合理设置灵活的评估周期，对基础学科人才给予长期稳定支持。

With the mission of serving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, create cutting-edge science and technology that leads the progress of the times

以服务高水平科技自立自强为使命，创造引领时代进步的前沿科技

Currently, scientific and technological innovation has become the main battlefield of international strategic games. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Major scientific and technological innovation achievements are the great instruments and sharp tools of the nation, and must be firmly grasped in our own hands, relying on self-reliance and independent innovation." As the main force of basic research and the new force for major scientific and technological breakthroughs, high-level research universities have unique advantages and prominent roles in the national scientific and technological innovation system. Since the New Era, Chinese universities, as the first completing unit, have won more than half of the National Science and Technology Awards, and a large number of landmark major scientific and technological achievements have come from universities.

当前，科技创新已成为国际战略博弈的主战场。习近平总书记强调：“重大科技创新成果是国之重器、国之利器，必须牢牢掌握在自己手上，必须依靠自力更生、自主创新。”作为基础研究主力军和重大科技突破生力军，高水平研究型大学在国家科技创新体系中具有独特优势与突出作用。新时代以来，我国高校作为第一完成单位获得一半以上的国家科学技术奖，大量具有标志性意义的重大科技成果来自高校。

Currently, changes unseen in a century are accelerating, and a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is deepening. High-level research universities must actively adapt to the laws of scientific and technological innovation in the era of big science, aim at the world's scientific and technological frontiers and major national strategic needs, adhere to "walking on two legs" with both goal orientation and free exploration, continuously enhance original innovation and independent innovation capabilities, strive to break through the basic theories and underlying principles behind core technologies in key fields, and provide innovation sources for future industrial development and economic growth. They must proactively align with national strategic goals and strategic tasks, strengthen organized research, lay out a number of key areas and major projects, strengthen research and innovation in key common technologies, frontier leading technologies, modern engineering technologies, and disruptive technologies, and enhance the ability to "take on challenges and lead projects" [4].

当前,世界百年未有之大变局加速演进，新一轮科技革命和产业变革深入发展。高水平研究型大学要主动适应大科学时代科技创新规律，瞄准世界科技前沿和国家重大战略需求，坚持目标导向和自由探索“两条腿走路”，不断提升原始创新、自主创新能力，力争突破关键核心技术背后的基础理论和底层原理，为未来产业发展和经济增长提供创新策源。要主动对接国家战略目标和战略任务，强化有组织科研，布局一批重点领域和重大项目，加强对关键共性技术、前沿引领技术、现代工程技术、颠覆性技术的攻关创新，增强“揭榜挂帅”能力。

With the responsibility of assisting the leapfrog development of national scientific and technological innovation, coordinate and link with other strategic scientific and technological forces to "jointly answer the questions"

以助力国家科技创新跨越式发展为己任，协同联动其他战略科技力量“共同答题”

From the perspective of global scientific and technological development trends, research problems are changing from simple and individual to complex and common, the scope of research is extending from local static to systemic dynamic, and major scientific and technological research topics require the gathering of the best resources and the strongest joint forces to promote the "accelerated run" of China's science and technology. In recent years, China's high-level research universities have actively opened up the chain from basic research, technology development to industrial transformation, using large scientific facilities as a link, jointly building research and development platforms with national laboratories, high-tech enterprises, etc., closely cooperating with other national strategic scientific and technological forces to form a strong joint force for advanced scientific and technological innovation; revolving around the transformation and upgrading of local economies and the needs of social and people's livelihoods, they have jointly established off-site research institutions with local governments to enhance local scientific and technological innovation capabilities and industrial development levels.

从全球科技发展态势看，科研问题正在从简单个性向复杂共性变化发展，科研范畴正在从局部静态向系统动态延伸拓展，重大科技攻关课题需要集聚最优资源、最强合力，推动实现我国科技“加速跑”。近年来，我国高水平研究型大学积极打通从基础研究、技术研发到产业转化的链条，以大科学设施为纽带，与国家实验室、高科技企业等共建联合研发平台，与其他国家战略科技力量紧密合作，形成先进科技创新的强大合力；围绕地方经济转型升级及社会民生需求，与地方政府共建异地科研机构，提升地方科技创新能力与产业发展水平。

Currently, high-level research universities must focus on transforming scientific research paradigms and organizational models. On the one hand, facing major national strategic directions and key technology fields, they should promote the systematic layout of university scientific and technological innovation organizations, closely coordinate with national laboratories, national research institutions, and leading scientific and technological enterprises, promote the integrated allocation of resources and elements, give full play to the advantages of the nationwide system for mobilizing resources to accomplish major tasks [5], and build a high-level innovation collaboration network; on the other hand, they must identify the "scenarios" for the integrated development of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, strengthen school-enterprise cooperation and school-local cooperation, establish transformation funds for scientific and technological achievements, build an ecosystem for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, open up the full-chain design and joint research from basic research, key technologies, equipment development, achievement transformation to industrialization and promotion, promote the rapid transformation of more scientific and technological achievements into real productive forces, assist in the "last mile" of industrial innovation, and act as the vanguard in developing new quality productive forces.

当前，高水平研究型大学要着力在变革科研范式和组织模式上下功夫。一方面，要面向国家重大战略方向和关键技术领域，推进高校科技创新组织体系化布局，与国家实验室、国家科研机构、科技领军企业密切联动，推进资源和要素一体化配置，充分发挥集中力量办大事的举国体制优势，打造高水平创新协作网络；另一方面，要找准科技创新和产业创新融合发展的“场景”，强化校企合作、校地合作，组建科技成果转化基金，建设科技成果转化生态体系，打通从基础研究、关键技术、装备研制、成果转化到产业化推广的全链条设计和联合攻关，推动更多科技成果尽快转化为现实生产力，助力产业创新“最后一公里”，当好发展新质生产力的先锋队。

(Author: Gong Qihuang, President of Peking University)

（作者：龚旗煌，系北京大学校长）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧