The MOE held a press conference on July 19 to review progress made in scientific and technological innovation by higher education institutions (HEIs) over the last decade. Xu Mei, director-general of the Information Office and spokesperson for MOE, moderated the event. Lei Chaozi, director-general of the MOE Science and Technology Department, attended the conference along with several experts from academia.
According to Lei, HEIs have made outstanding contributions to basic research over the past 10 years. They have received six out of 10 first-class prizes of China’s State Natural Science Award and 67% of all natural science awards. They also garnered 10 out of 11 first-class prizes of China’s State Technological Invention Awards and 72% of all technological invention awards. In addition, they received two special prizes as part of the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award competition. As cradles for major scientific and technological breakthroughs in China, HEIs took the lead in founding over 60% of all state-level key laboratories in various disciplines and 30% of national engineering (technology) research centers.
Lei added that, in line with essential national needs, MOE has established 25 cutting-edge science centers, 14 integrated platforms for technology breakthroughs, 38 state-level innovation centers, and more than 1,500 key laboratories, engineering research centers, and provincial-level innovations centers. By enhancing systemic development of innovation platforms, cultivation of innovative talent, and international sci-tech cooperation and exchange, HEIs have made a leap forward in their general capacity for sci-tech innovation.
Vice President of Tsinghua University Zeng Rong said that Tsinghua, among all HEIs, has won the most prizes in the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award competition since 2012, including the most first-class prizes. Besides 38 innovations listed in the Exhibition of Sci-Tech Innovation Accomplishments During the 13th Five-Year Plan Period, the university has also achieved a number of important original research results, such as experimental observation of the quantum anomalous Hall effect and communication technology in space networks.
The Vice President of Peking University Sun Qingwei said that his university has increased support for basic disciplines, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology over the past decade. It has also expanded support for major interdisciplinary studies, such as clinical medicine plus X and carbon neutrality plus X programs, in order to promote new scientific research paradigms.
Lei also said that the number of strategic scientists and leading researchers affiliated with HEIs is steadily growing. They now represent over 40% of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering academicians as well as nearly 70% of National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars support recipients. For three consecutive years, HEI researchers have been awarded first-class prizes of the State Natural Science Award. The research team led by Prof. Xue Qikun of Tsinghua University was the first to achieve the quantum anomalous Hall effect in the laboratory and thus was awarded the only first-class prize of the State Natural Science Award in 2018. Likewise, the research team led by Prof. Zhou Qilin of Nankai University has developed a novel chiral spirocyclic ligand and synthesized chiral catalysts with high efficiency, winning the only first-class prize of the State Natural Science Award in 2019. More examples of sci-tech innovation by HEI research teams include the light-based quantum computer Jiuzhang, which was developed at the University of Science and Technology of China, and the unprecedentedly precise measurement of the gravitational constant G, which was accomplished at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), among others.
HEIs have stepped up efforts on a range of core technologies to meet immediate and long-term national needs. Several hundred HEIs have greatly contributed to research on basic theories and core technologies to break “bottlenecks” in many national projects, such as flights of Shenzhou spacecraft, the BeiDou navigation satellite system, the launch of the XiHe solar exploration satellite, the expansion of the high-speed rail network, the development of China’s self-designed C919 aircraft, and the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Additionally, a few HEIs have achieved groundbreaking results in international frontier sci-tech fields. For instance, Shanghai Jiao Tong University co-designed China’s first large cutter-suction dredging vessel, Tian Kun Hao, with independent intellectual property rights; Tsinghua University co-designed a high-temperature, gas-cooled modular pebble bed (HTR-PM) nuclear reactor system that marks a major milestone in fourth-generation, advanced nuclear technology; Peking University developed a new ultra-high-definition (UHD) video decoding technology that promises to boost domestic industry; HUST developed a world-leading digital control system that has been applied in aerospace engineering and other areas; and Hunan University of Science and Technology co-designed the deep water drilling rig system Hainiu Ⅱ that has set a world record for deep water drilling.
“HEIs’ sci-tech innovations have been growing by leaps and bounds in the past 10 years,” said Qu Zhenyuan, previous president of the China Association of Higher Education. “I’m certainly looking forward to seeing more progress in cutting-edge science and technology achieved by HEIs.”
