Entering Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (referred to as Nanhang), the first thing you see is a spacious square, surrounded by several buildings connected to form a "回" shape, which serves as the main learning and living place for students at Changkong College.
At first glance, the architecture may not seem "open" and even somewhat enclosed. However, this layout aligns well with the college's positioning as an "experimental field" for talent cultivation reform at Nanhang and a base for cultivating outstanding students into "elites." In the eyes of many, shouldn't cultivating top talents at universities be done in a "small-scale" manner?
Nevertheless, Changkong College thinks differently. As its founding dean and vice president of Nanhang, Shi Daning, stated, "Cultivating top talents at universities must not be confined to a 'small pond' or behind 'high walls,' but should find ways to 'connect everything.'"
What has Changkong College "connected" for students' growth within the "回" buildings, and what are the effects of this approach?
Connecting "Academy" with "College"
Established in 2011, Nanhang Changkong College integrated 12 "elite classes" established by different colleges on campus to form the "virtual entity" Changkong College.
"The so-called 'elite classes' were almost equivalent to 'elite classes' established by various colleges. At that time, Changkong College was more like a coordinating body among these 'elite classes,' rather than a physical college," recalled Shi Daning.
In 2018, to better concentrate internal resources for cultivating top talents, Nanhang decided to "materialize" Changkong College.
"We now have physical teaching buildings and facilities, dedicated teachers, and enrolled the first batch of students," said Jiang Yanlong, the dean of Changkong College. "But more importantly, we have a new proposition—how should top talents be cultivated in a new environment?"
In addressing this question, their first thought was to create a new space for students.
Walking through the "回" buildings of Changkong College, the most striking feature is the various classrooms—smart classrooms, youth faith home, art education studio, intelligent aircraft workshop, self-study space, and more.
"All these are part of the 'smart education space,'" Jiang Yanlong told the China Science News. A great educational mechanism should first create a nurturing ecosystem where students can immerse themselves, even "enjoy it." In this regard, Changkong College is dedicated to reshaping an integrated service community that aligns with the concept of nurturing students in a collegiate manner.
"This is somewhat a combination of 'academy' and 'college,'" Jiang Yanlong said. In traditional education models, the academy is mainly responsible for student life, while the college focuses on student learning, often lacking integration. Changkong College hopes to achieve seamless integration of online and offline learning, research, teaching, and living functions in the same physical space.
For example, Changkong College currently has 20 smart classrooms, 7 themed innovation studios, and the "Runzhi" classroom intelligent management platform, which includes over 20 themed activities like "A Cup of Coffee Story," "Three Self-Actions," and "Art and Sports World."
Taking the "A Cup of Coffee Story" activity as an example, Jiang Yanlong explained that the activity is held 2-3 times a week, with each session focusing on a topic, inviting experts from inside and outside the university to engage in discussions with around 30 students. Through coffee tasting and casual conversations, students gain warmth, wisdom, and strength from these exchanges.
"This activity breaks the boundaries of teacher-student communication, effectively addressing issues like lack of warmth and monotonous forms in teacher-student interactions," Jiang Yanlong said.
Connecting "Commonality" with "Individuality"
If a good ecosystem can serve as the foundation for student growth, a tailored training program for cultivating top talents is the key factor in student development.
Currently, Changkong College's talent cultivation is mainly divided into two categories: integrating six major professional directions such as aircraft design and engineering, aircraft systems and life support engineering previously under Nanhang's School of Aeronautics, School of Energy and Power, School of Mechanical Engineering, and School of Astronautics into the aerospace category and conducting large-scale enrollment of around 850 students per year, as well as creating a more "elite" Changkong Innovation Class, selecting around 80 students from the entire university.
"We call it 'dual-track parallel, moving in sync,'" Jiang Yanlong said. They hope to use this as a "stronghold" to explore a path for coordinated cultivation of major advantages and top talents.
In response, Shi Daning stated that innovative talents have commonalities but should emphasize personalized training for students. Under different training goals, there are certain differences between the two.
For instance, for general top innovative talents, a solid foundation is essential. Therefore, Changkong College provides general education and basic knowledge and skills training in the first two years for students enrolled in the major, while in the third and fourth years, students are transferred to other colleges for specialized training. For students in the "Changkong Innovation Class," as their training goal is to become "chief engineers," personalized training is emphasized. Therefore, the college tailors a training plan suitable for each individual based on their unique characteristics.
"We have a lot of autonomy in our studies." Recalling his 4 years in the "Changkong Innovation Class," Zhang Benteng, who is about to graduate with a bachelor's degree this year, told the China Science News that under the guidance of mentors, he chose many interdisciplinary courses during his undergraduate studies, especially in computer-related knowledge. These courses, learned based on his own interests, have played a significant role in his learning and scientific research experiences. Zhang Benteng also told reporters that one of his roommates had studied a lot of knowledge related to machine learning during his undergraduate studies. Now, he has combined this knowledge with his own major in mechanics, dedicating himself to researching materials mechanics through machine learning.
In fact, even for students in the general admissions category, Changkong College provides them with enough freedom. "I often say that we aim to allow students to not be restricted by majors in their first year, choose a major in the second year, switch majors in the third year, and develop their own specialties in the fourth year. Every year, we provide students with opportunities to choose their own paths of growth," said Shi Daning.
Connecting "In-College" and "Out-of-College"
In 2023, the first batch of undergraduate students graduated from Changkong College after its institutionalization, a situation that brought joy to everyone.
Taking the "Changkong Innovation Class" as an example, all students in this class have been admitted to domestic and foreign high-level universities. Among them, 26 students were admitted to high-level research teams within the university, 26 were admitted to well-known domestic universities, and 5 went on to further their studies at top universities worldwide. Over the course of four years, this class has collectively won over 236 national and provincial-level competition awards, with an average of more than 4 awards per person.
However, in the eyes of Jiang Yanlong, such achievements should not be exclusive to Changkong College.
"On one hand, students from Changkong College are encouraged to transfer to other colleges for specialized studies in their third and fourth years; on the other hand, even in the first and second years, Changkong College collaborates closely with other colleges within the university," he said.
For instance, the class teachers in each class at Changkong College are not solely from the college itself but also include teachers from other specialized colleges. Additionally, the college organizes professional cultural festivals each year, where deans of various specialized colleges and key academic leaders introduce and guide students in their respective fields.
"We also organize the 'A Cup of Coffee Stories' event, where renowned scholars from various colleges are invited to share with students. Each time, the coffee prepared for the students is funded jointly by the colleges," Jiang Yanlong said with a smile.
In response, Shi Daning emphasized that cultivating top innovative talents must not be isolated but must establish close connections with various colleges, institutions, both within and outside the university.
"This involves two issues," Shi Daning said. One is whether the institutions cultivating top talents have the willingness to break out of isolation, and the other is how to truly implement these ideas in practice. "In these two aspects, some domestic universities have taken detours."
How has Changkong College managed to avoid these detours? Shi Daning attributes it primarily to the college's control over its disciplinary layout.
"Changkong College's admissions do not cover all disciplines of the university but are limited to several top colleges and disciplines in the field of aviation and aerospace. This simplifies the process for students in course selection and major choices," he explained. Because these colleges are the university's flagship colleges and their disciplinary fields are relatively close, some foundational knowledge in certain disciplines even overlaps, which significantly reduces obstacles to cooperation between colleges.
Furthermore, as students are distributed to various departments in their senior years, and Changkong College students generally have higher qualifications, this creates competition among colleges for excellent students.
"Many teachers from other colleges are willing to participate in the cultivation of Changkong College students, forming a 'community' of mutual learning and growth between teachers and students," said Zhang Lu, Director of the Teaching Office at Changkong College. This model has evidently established a cooperative channel for talent development between Changkong College and various specialized colleges, fostering a positive and orderly competitive relationship.
"The core of a market economy is competition, and the core of cultivating innovative talents should also be competition. We need to create a fair and reasonable environment for this competition through a series of explorations. In this regard, Changkong College has embarked on its own path, which is effective and distinctive," Shi Daning concluded.
