Beijing, March 8 (Xinhua) - During the National People's Congress, Chen Yeguang, a delegate and the President of Nanchang University, suggested further stimulating the innovative drive and vitality of researchers, emphasizing the importance of consolidating the strategic position of basic research and increasing investment in this area to achieve a balanced development between basic and applied research.
Chen Yeguang noted that in this year's government work report, scientific and technological innovation was a key focus. The report stressed the importance of innovation in driving industrial transformation, accelerating the pace of new industrialization, enhancing total factor productivity, and fostering new drivers and advantages for development.
How to continuously optimize the ecosystem for research innovation? And how to inspire the development momentum of innovation? Chen Yeguang proposed his thoughts on these questions.
"To enhance the mechanism for nurturing young talent and leverage the mentoring role of senior scientific and technological personnel. Furthermore, we should further tap into the research innovation vitality of senior researchers," Chen Yeguang stated, highlighting the pivotal role of talent development in scientific and technological innovation.
Chen Yeguang pointed out that in recent years, relevant national departments have taken various measures to stimulate the innovation vitality of scientific and technological talents, such as deepening the reform of the talent development system, advancing the reform of the talent evaluation mechanism, piloting reforms in the evaluation of scientific and technological talents, optimizing the talent support system, and supporting the development of young talents. As a result, the structure of scientific and technological talents has been optimized, their innovation capabilities have been continuously enhanced, and the quality and quantity of innovation output have increased significantly.
Citing statistics, Chen Yeguang mentioned that China's global innovation index ranking has risen from 34th in 2012 to 12th in 2023, indicating the gathering effect of scientific and technological talents.
Using Nanchang University as an example, Chen Yeguang explained that the university has continuously improved its research evaluation, discipline development, and talent evaluation systems by implementing reforms such as the performance evaluation of scientific and technological innovation and industry-education integration, discipline classification, and resource allocation, as well as the tenure-track system for teachers. The university also supports the development of young talents and stimulates innovation vitality and energy through programs like the mentorship system for young teachers and cross-disciplinary funding.
Regarding the improvement of the research evaluation system, Chen Yeguang suggested leveraging the role of the academic community and relying on peer experts to evaluate research results. It is also essential to refine the classification evaluation system by setting corresponding evaluation indicators and requirements based on different fields and specific needs.
