On April 19, a realxed yet inspiring student-faculty seminar was held at the Datong Student Activity Center on the Jinnan Campus of Nankai University. Seated in a courtyard setting, five student representatives of Tianjin high school, 10 student representatives from Nankai University engaged in an open dialogue with NKU President Chen Yulu, discussing the cultivation of top talents with innovation spirit and capabilities.

The continuous emergence of top innovative talents is one of the main goals to be achieved by 2027 as outlined in the 2024-2035 Master Plan on Building China into a Leading Country in Education.

“Combine AI with the fine traditional Chinese culture”, “Create a platform for the integration and innovation of ‘medicine, science and engineering’”, and “Bring computer science to various industries and sectors as a basic discipline”… Students from the School of Literature, School of Medicine and the School of Computer Science shared their perspectives on personal growth through the lens of cultivation of innovative talents in the “new liberal arts” “new medicinal science” and “new engineering”. .

Students from the School of Life Sciences, School of Mathematical Sciences, and the School of Chemistry talked about their training in scientific research in the laboratory during their undergraduate studies. They highlithed the benefits of “An early start in research projects, team participation, and laboratory research lays a solid foundation for the future academic and scientific pursuit”.

A student from the School of Foreign Studies shared her experience as an exchange student at the University of Munich in Germany. A student from the School of Economics said that participating in multiple academic exchange activities had broadened their academic horizons. “The practical integration of in-class and out-of-class learning offers an innovative platform for us to apply the knowledge learned to real-world social contexts.”

“This machine uses technologies such as autonomous driving and multi-sensor fusion. It is primarily used for intelligent operation and maintenance and patrol inspection of photovoltaic power plants.” A student from the School of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering presented the intelligent robot for operation and maintenance of photovoltaic power stations which he helped develop. In his view, the integration of industry and education is like “real-world training exercise”, and having the courage to embrace trial and error is the essence of the innovation spirit.

A student from the School of Finance mentioned that peers are enthusiastic about participating in the Nankai University “Huoshan Cup” AI Application Innovation Competition: “Developing and training intelligent agents on a zero-code platform allows us to learn to use AI tools with zero barriers and explore more fields.”

High school student representatives from Tianjin No.1 High School, Nankai High School, Yaohua High School, Xinhua High School, and the High School Affiliated to Nankai University shared their vision: a more distinctive curriculum system, more immersive experience in scientific research, and expanded practice-based teaching activities connecting universities and high schools. The “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” pre-college course was particularly highlighted by the students: “This course was taught by a professor from Nankai University. I have learned a lot of knowledge that I may not otherwise learn through books or campus visits.”

After attentively listening to the students’ views, Chen Yulu spoke positively of their ideas and suggestions. He said that cultivating top innovative talents is no easy task and Nankai University is continuously deepening the reform of its education model, and creating a through talent training model centered on student growth and development.

Chen Yulu said that top innovative talents must, first and foremost, have a high sense of national mission and social responsibility. Secondly, talents must have a strong physique and develop good sports habits. “Former president Zhang Boling consistently upheld the educational concept of ‘educating people through sports’. For over a century, Nankai University has always had a fine sports tradition, with outstanding results in talent development. A Strong physique and mental perseverance are indispensable for the cultivation of innovative talents.”

“If a university is likened to a ship fostering the innovation ecosystem, then the cultivation of top innovative talents is its sail. When the sail is hoisted high, the ship moves faster.” Chen Yulu pointed out that innovation is the principal element that a first-class university should possess. Nankai University promotes education in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics and labor with the idea of patriotic education for a new era. The integration of ancient and modern learning, Chinese and foreign fusion, and interdisciplinary combination of arts and science run throughout talent training. Nankai University focuses on improving the quality of independent cultivation of talents.

“Interdisciplinary perspective is a vital ingredient of innovative thinking. Integration of the aforesaid three areas is equivalent to providing an innovative thinking framework for students, who can learn to solve problems and innovate more efficiently.” Chen Yulu expressed his hope that students could grow and become pillars for national rejuvenation in the ecosystem of innovation and growth.

（Edited and translated by Nankai News Team.)