Give Full Play to the Leading and Guiding Role of Higher Education

Building a strong educational system is a long-cherished aspiration of the Chinese nation in modern times, and it is the pioneering task, solid foundation, and strategic support for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the National Education Conference systematically laid out the strategic tasks and major measures for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong educational system. In building a strong educational system, the leading role belongs to higher education. In the New Era and on the new journey, we must fully implement the Party’s educational policy, take root in China’s soil to run universities, deepen comprehensive reform of higher education, strengthen higher education as the leading force, accelerate the building of world-class universities and advantageous disciplines with Chinese characteristics, and promote the formation of a strong ideological and political guiding force, talent competitiveness, scientific and technological support, livelihood security capability, social synergy, and international influence in China’s higher education, so as to provide strong support for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.

建成教育强国是近代以来中华民族梦寐以求的美好愿望，是实现以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业的先导任务、坚实基础、战略支撑。习近平总书记在全国教育大会上的重要讲话，系统部署了全面推进教育强国建设的战略任务和重大举措。建设教育强国，龙头是高等教育。新时代新征程，要全面贯彻党的教育方针，扎根中国大地办大学，深入推进高等教育综合改革，做强高等教育这个龙头，加快建设中国特色、世界一流的大学和优势学科，推动我国高等教育形成强大的思政引领力、人才竞争力、科技支撑力、民生保障力、社会协同力、国际影响力，为以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业提供有力支撑。

Implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing people, and cultivate new generations capable of shouldering the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation

落实立德树人根本任务，培养担当民族复兴大任的时代新人

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “The strong educational system we aim to build is a socialist strong educational system with Chinese characteristics.” We must adhere to the socialist direction of running schools, closely focus on the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing people, aim to cultivate socialist builders and successors who are well-developed morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and labor-wise, and answer the fundamental question of education: “What kind of people to cultivate, how to cultivate them, and for whom to cultivate them.”

习近平总书记强调：“我们要建成的教育强国，是中国特色社会主义教育强国”。要坚持社会主义办学方向，紧紧围绕立德树人这个根本任务，着眼于培养德智体美劳全面发展的社会主义建设者和接班人，回答好“培养什么人、怎样培养人、为谁培养人”这个教育的根本问题。

Strengthen and improve ideological and political education in schools in the New Era. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Strengthening the ideological and political work system is an important part of forming a high-level talent cultivation system.” Higher education institutions must unswervingly use Xi

加强和改进新时代学校思想政治教育。习近平总书记强调：“加强思想政治工作体系建设，是形成高水平人才培养体系的重要内容。”高校要坚持不懈用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想铸魂育人，深化思政课改革创新，锻造好落实立德树人根本任务的关键课程。充分发挥学科优势、学术优势，促进思政教育与专业教育紧密结合，深入挖掘各类课程育人功能，拓展“大思政课”全面育人新格局，实现各类课程与思政课紧密结合、同向同行的协同育人效应。增强实践育人广度深度，在社会生活中讲好“大思政课”，教育引导学生在社会大课堂坚定马克思主义信仰、中国特色社会主义信念、中华民族伟大复兴信心，立报国强国大志向、做挺膺担当奋斗者，在祖国最需要的地方绽放青春之花。

Improve the disciplinary setup adjustment mechanism and talent cultivation model. Developing new quality productive forces is the intrinsic requirement and key focus for promoting high-quality development, imposing new tasks and demands on the talent cultivation structure and educational teaching standards of higher education institutions. Higher education institutions must be guided by technological development and national strategic needs, perfecting the disciplinary setup adjustment mechanism and talent cultivation model, making extraordinary arrangements for urgently needed disciplines and specialties, and strengthening the construction of basic disciplines, emerging disciplines, and interdisciplinary disciplines, as well as the cultivation of top-tier talent. Closely aligned with the requirements of new quality productive forces, they should optimize training plans, prioritize enhancing innovation capacity and practical ability, advance the integration of industry and education, deepen the convergence of science and education, strengthen collaborative cultivation, build new educational carriers for the deep integration of government, industry, academia, and research, accelerate the training of high-level urgently needed talents in fields such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, new energy, and new materials, and better align the talent cultivation structure with the urgent needs of industrial development. Attention must be paid to groups such as strategic scientists, first-class scientific and technological leading talents and innovation teams, and young innovative talents. The institutional mechanisms for talent development should be deepened and reformed, sparing no effort and without rigid constraints to introduce and cultivate top-tier talents, optimize the talent service guarantee system, comprehensively stimulate the innovation vitality of talents, and continuously build a new highland where first-class talents gather.

完善学科设置调整机制和人才培养模式。发展新质生产力是推动高质量发展的内在要求和重要着力点，对高校的人才培养结构和教育教学水平提出了新任务新要求。高校要以科技发展、国家战略需求为牵引，对学科设置调整机制和人才培养模式进行完善，超常布局急需学科专业，加强基础学科、新兴学科、交叉学科建设和拔尖人才培养。紧扣新质生产力要求优化培养方案，把提高创新能力、实践能力作为重点，推进产教融合、深化科教融汇、加强协同培养，构建政产学研深度融合的育人新载体，加快培养集成电路、人工智能、新能源、新材料等领域高层次紧缺人才，促进人才培养结构与产业发展迫切需要更加契合。要关注战略科学家、一流科技领军人才和创新团队、青年创新人才等群体，深化人才发展体制机制改革，千方百计、不拘一格引进和培育顶尖人才，优化人才服务保障体系，全面激发人才创新活力，不断构筑一流人才荟萃的新高地。

Build a high-level digital and intelligent education system. Currently, new technologies such as artificial intelligence are developing rapidly, and the learning environment and teaching forms of higher education are undergoing systemic transformations. Higher education institutions must firmly seize the era opportunity of the systematic integration of technology and education, empowering education with digital and intelligent technologies. Efforts should be focused on building a digital and intelligent teaching system to support the cultivation of outstanding talents, deeply advancing the application of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and big data in teaching, optimizing the smart teaching environment, constructing a digital resource system, strengthening teachers' ability to use cutting-edge technologies for individualized instruction, promoting students' deep learning through new technologies, and continuously enhancing students' competence in the intelligent era.

构建高水平数智化教育体系。当前，人工智能等新技术迅猛发展，高等教育的学习环境、教学形态等正在经历系统性变革。高校要紧紧抓住科技与教育系统性融合的时代机遇，以数智技术为教育赋能。着力建设数智化教学体系，支撑卓越人才培养，深入推进人工智能、虚拟现实、大数据等新技术在教学中的应用，优化智慧教学环境，建设数字化资源体系，强化教师运用前沿科技进行因材施教的能力，促进学生利用新技术进行深度学习，不断提升学生在智能时代的胜任力。

Strengthen the construction of a high-quality and professional teaching force. To make a country strong, education must first be strengthened; to strengthen education, teachers must first be strengthened. Teachers bear the solemn and sacred mission of educating people. Higher education institutions must adhere to taking teacher ethics and conduct as the first criterion for evaluating the quality of the teaching force, deeply implement the action of casting the soul and strengthening the teaching force with the spirit of educators, promote the development of teacher capabilities guided by fostering virtue and nurturing talent, create a strong atmosphere of respecting teachers and valuing education, give full play to the exemplary role of great masters who establish themselves through virtue, establish their scholarship through virtue, and teach through virtue, guide teachers to consciously become "Four-Hao" teachers [1]1 "Four-Hao" teachers refer to teachers with ideals and convictions, moral sentiments, solid knowledge, and a benevolent heart, a standard proposed by Xi Jinping., deeply practice the original aspiration and founding mission of educating people for the Party and cultivating talent for the country, and pass on the torch of education from generation to generation.

加强高素质专业化教师队伍建设。强国必先强教，强教必先强师。教师承担着庄严神圣的育人使命，高校要坚持把师德师风作为评价教师队伍素质的第一标准，深入实施教育家精神铸魂强师行动，促进以立德树人为导向的教师能力发展，营造尊师重教的浓厚氛围，发挥以德立身、以德立学、以德施教的大先生楷模作用，引领教师自觉成为“四有”好老师，深入践行为党育人、为国育才的初心使命，将育人薪火代代相传。

Strive to enhance innovation capacity to better serve national strategy and economic and social development

着力提高创新能力，更好服务国家战略和经济社会发展

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must coordinate the implementation of the strategy of invigorating China through science and education, the strategy of strengthening the nation through talent, and the innovation-driven development strategy, and advance education development, scientific and technological innovation, and talent cultivation as an integrated whole." [2]2 This quotation is from Xi Jinping's speech at a national conference on education. The world today is undergoing changes unseen in a century. Global scientific and technological innovation is unprecedentedly intensive and active, and a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is reshaping the global innovation landscape and restructuring the global economic structure. As an important junction of science and technology as the primary productive force, talent as the primary resource, and innovation as the primary driving force, higher education institutions must play a more prominent role in the national innovation system, persistently orienting themselves towards the world's scientific and technological frontiers, the main economic battlefield, the nation's major needs, and the people's life and health, continuously advancing into the breadth and depth of science and technology. At the same time, they should implement the innovation project for philosophy and social sciences to build an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences.

习近平总书记指出：“要统筹实施科教兴国战略、人才强国战略、创新驱动发展战略，一体推进教育发展、科技创新、人才培养。”当今世界正处于百年未有之大变局，全球科技创新空前密集活跃，新一轮科技革命和产业变革正在重构全球创新版图、重塑全球经济结构。高校作为科技第一生产力、人才第一资源、创新第一动力的重要结合点，要在国家创新体系中发挥更加突出的作用，坚持面向世界科技前沿、面向经济主战场、面向国家重大需求、面向人民生命健康，不断向科学技术广度和深度进军。同时，要实施哲学社会科学创新工程，构建中国哲学社会科学自主知识体系。

Integrate into the new nationwide system for mobilizing resources. Currently, the competition among countries worldwide to seize the commanding heights of scientific and technological innovation is increasingly fierce. It is necessary to fully leverage the advantages of the new nationwide system for mobilizing resources, concentrate innovation resources, and launch a "major campaign" for scientific and technological breakthroughs. As an important component of the national strategic scientific and technological forces, higher education institutions must actively adapt to the laws of scientific and technological innovation in the era of big science, transform research paradigms and organizational models, promote the integrated allocation of resources and elements, build large platforms, form large teams, undertake large projects, and continuously enhance the ability to "take on challenges and lead projects." [3]3 "Take on challenges and lead projects" (揭榜挂帅) is a mechanism where tasks are openly announced and individuals or teams compete to take them on. They should help improve the overall efficiency of the national innovation system, further strengthen collaborative linkages with national laboratories, national research institutions, and leading scientific and technological enterprises, intensify the tackling and innovation of key common technologies, cutting-edge leading technologies, modern engineering technologies, and disruptive technologies, and effectively serve high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.

融入新型举国体制。当前，世界各国争夺科技创新制高点的竞争愈发激烈，必须充分发挥新型举国体制优势，集中创新资源，开展科技攻关“大会战”。作为国家战略科技力量的重要组成部分，高校要主动适应大科学时代科技创新规律，变革科研范式和组织模式，推进资源和要素一体化配置，构筑大平台、组建大团队、承担大项目，不断增强“揭榜挂帅”能力。要助力提升国家创新体系整体效能，进一步密切与国家实验室、国家科研机构、科技领军企业的协同联动，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，有效服务高水平科技自立自强。

Promote the organic unity of the innovation chain and the industrial chain. As the main force in basic research and the fresh force in major scientific and technological breakthroughs, high-level research universities should focus on national strategies, adhere to the "two-legged approach" of goal orientation and free exploration, play a role in basic research in major fields, encourage high-risk, high-value basic research, strive to solve the source and underlying problems of key core technologies, achieve more "from 0 to 1" original innovations, and take the "first kilometer" of scientific and technological innovation well. [4]4 "From 0 to 1" refers to original, foundational innovations that create something entirely new, as opposed to incremental improvements. They should identify scenarios for the integrated development of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, strengthen school-enterprise cooperation and school-local cooperation, effectively open up the communication channels between the supply side and the demand side of scientific and technological achievements, promote the rapid transformation of more scientific and technological achievements into actual productive forces, and assist in the "last kilometer" of industrial innovation.

促进创新链与产业链有机统一。作为基础研究主力军和重大科技突破生力军，高水平研究型大学要聚焦国家战略，坚持目标导向和自由探索“两条腿走路”，在重大领域基础研究中发挥作用，鼓励开展高风险、高价值基础研究，着力解决关键核心技术的源头和底层问题，实现更多“从0到1”的原始创新，走好科技创新“最先一公里”。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，有效打通科技成果供给侧与需求侧之间的联通渠道，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”。

Construct an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences. Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which material civilization and cultural-ethical progress are coordinated. As an important force among the "five armies" of China's philosophy and social sciences, [5]5 The "five armies" (五路大军) refers to the five main sectors engaged in philosophy and social science research in China: institutions of higher learning, Party schools (academies of governance), military academies, research institutes under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and local academies, and Party and government research departments. institutions of higher learning must strengthen the systematic and theoretical research, interpretation, and application of the Party's innovative theories, promote the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, and form a disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese manner. Under the profound influence of the new round of technological revolution, the research objects and methods of philosophy and social sciences exhibit many new features and trends. Institutions of higher learning must closely integrate the origins of disciplines with the characteristics of the times, break away from traditional models, innovate research paradigms, build emerging disciplines such as "digital humanities" and "digital economy," accelerate the construction of digital-intelligent platforms and philosophy and social science laboratories, generate more new ideas, new theories, and new solutions that lead the progress of the times, and promote the accelerated construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences.

构建中国哲学社会科学自主知识体系。中国式现代化是物质文明和精神文明相协调的现代化。作为我国哲学社会科学“五路大军”中的重要力量，高校要加强党的创新理论体系化学理化研究阐释和成果应用，推动中华优秀传统文化创造性转化、创新性发展，形成具有中国特色、中国风格、中国气派的学科体系、学术体系、话语体系。在新一轮科技革命深刻影响下，哲学社会科学的研究对象、研究方法呈现许多新特点新趋势。高校要将学科源流与时代特征紧密结合起来，跳出传统模式，创新研究范式，建设好“数字人文”“数字经济”等新兴学科，加快推动数智化平台和哲学社会科学实验室建设，产生更多引领时代进步的新思想、新理论、新方案，推动加快构建中国哲学社会科学自主知识体系。

Deepen comprehensive reform of higher education and blaze a new path for building world-class universities with Chinese characteristics.

深化高等教育综合改革，走出一条建设中国特色、世界一流大学的新路

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The transition from a large country in education to a powerful country in education is a systemic leap and qualitative change, which must be driven by reform and innovation." [6]6 This quotation is from Xi Jinping's speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC (2024), as part of discussions on educational reform. Institutions of higher learning must stay at the forefront of educational reform, systematically deepen reforms in educational methods, school-running models, management systems, and guarantee mechanisms, accelerate the construction of a system and mechanism that is full of vitality, efficient, more open, and conducive to high-quality development, effectively empower high-quality economic and social development with new achievements in reform, and run higher education to the satisfaction of the people.

习近平总书记指出：“从教育大国到教育强国是一个系统性跃升和质变，必须以改革创新为动力。”高校要走在教育改革前列，系统深化育人方式、办学模式、管理体制、保障机制改革，加快构建充满活力、富有效率、更加开放、有利于高质量发展的体制机制，切实以改革新成效赋能经济社会高质量发展，办好人民满意的高等教育。

Uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership over institutions of higher learning. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Upholding and strengthening the Party's overall leadership concerns the future and destiny of the Party and the country; all our undertakings are built on this foundation and are rooted in this most essential feature and greatest strength." [7]7 This quotation is from Xi Jinping's speech at the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC (2021). The Party committees of institutions of higher learning must fully implement the general requirements for Party building in the New Era, adhere to taking the Party's political construction as the guide, model the implementation of the president responsibility system under the leadership of the Party committee, [8]8 The president responsibility system under the leadership of the Party committee (党委领导下的校长负责制) is the fundamental leadership system for institutions of higher learning in China, where the Party committee is the supreme decision-making body and the president is responsible for administrative execution. deeply implement the "first agenda" system, [9]9 The "first agenda" system (第一议题制度) is a mechanism in Party organizations where the first item on the agenda of any meeting is the study and implementation of Xi Jinping's latest important speeches and instructions. and effectively ensure the Party manages the direction of school running, Party manages cadres and talents, Party manages ideology, and leads reform and development. Closely focusing on the responsibilities of setting the direction, managing the overall situation, making decisions, leading the team, building the team, and ensuring implementation, improve the modern university system, and effectively assume the main responsibility for governing the Party and running the school. Promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of Party discipline learning and education, [10]10 Party discipline learning and education (党纪学习教育) refers to a campaign launched in 2024 across the CPC to strengthen understanding and compliance with intra-Party regulations, particularly the Party Discipline Regulations. ensuring that the Party is always the strong leadership core and the most reliable backbone of all work in institutions of higher learning.

坚持和加强党对高校的全面领导。习近平总书记强调：“坚持和加强党的全面领导，关系党和国家前途命运，我们的全部事业都建立在这个基础之上，都根植于这个最本质特征和最大优势。”高校党委要全面贯彻落实新时代党的建设总要求，坚持以党的政治建设为统领，模范执行党委领导下的校长负责制，深入实施“第一议题”制度，切实做到党管办学方向、党管干部人才、党管意识形态和领导改革发展。紧紧围绕把方向、管大局、作决策、抓班子、带队伍、保落实职责，健全现代大学制度体系，有力承担起管党治党、办学治校主体责任。推进党纪学习教育常态化长效化，确保党始终是高校各项工作的坚强领导核心和最可靠的主心骨。

Deepen reform of educational evaluation. Educational evaluation concerns the direction of educational development; whatever evaluation baton is used determines the orientation of school running. We must adhere to taking the effectiveness of fostering virtue through education as the fundamental standard, improve the comprehensive quality evaluation system for students, strengthen the assessment of ideals and beliefs, perfect the academic evaluation mechanism, deeply promote the reform of physical education teaching, optimize aesthetic education, strengthen labor education, promote the comprehensive development of moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education, and guide students to consciously become new-era individuals with ideals, skills, and responsibility. Improve the teacher evaluation mechanism, strengthen the assessment of ideological and political quality and teacher ethics in talent recruitment, professional title promotion, job appointment, and evaluation for awards, highlight the weight of teaching quality in teacher evaluation and appointment, vigorously reduce the burden on teachers, and ensure that teachers can fully devote themselves to teaching and research. Optimize the academic evaluation ecology oriented towards serving national strategies, grasp the laws of academic development and talent growth, highlight quality, contribution, and characteristics, reverse erroneous tendencies such as "valuing international standards over Chinese characteristics, valuing explicit indicators over service and contribution," resolutely eliminate the "five onlys," [11]11 The "five onlys" (五唯) refers to five problematic evaluation criteria in academia: only papers, only diplomas, only professional titles, only awards, and only projects. The term is used in the context of reforming the academic evaluation system to prioritize quality and contribution over quantitative indicators. highlight medium- and long-term orientation in setting evaluation cycles, and encourage sustained research and long-term accumulation.

深化教育评价改革。教育评价事关教育发展方向，有什么样的评价指挥棒，就有什么样的办学导向。要坚持把立德树人成效作为根本标准，健全学生综合素质评价体系，加强对理想信念的考评，完善学业评价机制，深入推进体育教学改革，优化美育教育，加强劳动教育，促进德智体美劳全面发展，引导学生自觉成为有理想、有本领、有担当的时代新人。完善教师评价机制，在人才引进、职称晋升、岗位聘用、评优奖励等方面加强思想政治和师德师风考察评估，突出教学质量在教师评聘中的权重，大力减轻教师负担，确保教师能够全身心投入教学科研。优化以服务国家战略为导向的学术评价生态，把握学术发展规律与人才成长规律，突出质量、贡献和特色，扭转“重国际标准、轻中国特色，重显性指标、轻服务贡献”等错误倾向，坚决破除“五唯”，突出中长期导向设置评价周期，鼓励持续研究和长期积累。

Promote high-level open school running. Openness is a distinctive symbol of contemporary China, and the opening up of education is a distinctive feature and important driving force of educational modernization. Institutions of higher learning must coordinate "bringing in" and "going global," actively participate in international multilateral exchanges, expand international academic exchanges and educational research cooperation, explore new models of cooperative school running, effectively utilize world-class educational resources and innovation elements, and accelerate the construction of a world-class education center with strong influence. They must actively participate in global education governance, integrate into the global innovation network, continuously enhance the international influence, competitiveness, and discourse power of China's education, and contribute more Chinese strength to promoting the development of global education.

推进高水平开放办学。开放是当代中国的鲜明标识，教育对外开放是教育现代化的鲜明特征和重要推动力。高校要统筹“引进来”和“走出去”，主动参与国际多边交流，扩大国际学术交流和教育科研合作，探索合作办学新模式，有效利用世界一流教育资源和创新要素，加快建设具有强大影响力的世界重要教育中心。要积极参与全球教育治理，融入全球创新网络，不断提升我国教育的国际影响力、竞争力和话语权，为推动全球教育事业发展贡献更多中国力量。

[The author is Secretary of the Party Committee of Peking University]

【作者为北京大学党委书记】

Online editor: Ma Jingren

网络编辑：马京仁