Summary of Key Points
Ni Jun, the Dean of the Puyuan Future Technology College at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (and also the Chief Manufacturing Officer at CATL), pointed out in his speech that the core of technological innovation lies in talent. However, current higher education systems face issues such as rigid disciplinary boundaries and a single evaluation framework. The college addresses these challenges by breaking down professional barriers through interdisciplinary collaboration, reforming the GPA evaluation system, and promoting deep integration of industry, academia, and research with the “Six Ps” approach. It aims to cultivate leading talents who can solve real-world problems, focusing on future industries such as global health and human well-being. Ni Jun also used the cooperation with CATL as an example to demonstrate the complete process from concept to implementation.
1. The Persistent Problem of Talent Development: Overly Rigid Disciplines
Traditional universities divide subjects by major, limiting students to the knowledge of a single field. However, rapid technological advancements in areas like AI, batteries, and photovoltaics require interdisciplinary skills (for example, understanding materials, chemistry, and engineering to work on batteries). Ni Jun emphasizes that in the AI era, rote memorization is less important than critical thinking, systematic reasoning, and problem-solving abilities, which are skills that AI cannot replace. The college targets two areas with significant interdisciplinary potential: global health (e.g., zero carbon) and human well-being, as both require collaboration from experts in various fields.
2. Moving Away from GPA: Cultivating Future Leaders with a “Knowledge Buffet”
Traditional universities evaluate students based on GPA, but Ni Jun believes that high GPAs do not necessarily equate to significant societal contributions. The college adopts a modular and personalized approach to education, similar to a buffet, where students must meet three requirements: basic knowledge (core courses), interdisciplinary skills (interdisciplinary courses), and humanistic innovation (humanities courses). Students can choose courses based on their interests; for instance, those interested in batteries might study materials, chemistry, and engineering. The evaluation system now focuses on comprehensive abilities, such as creativity, practical application, leadership, and cultural awareness. Even first-year students are trained in a manner suitable for doctoral candidates, with the goal of producing future leaders in technology, not just ordinary engineers.
3. The Challenge of Integrating Industry, Academia, and Research
Ni Jun acknowledges that integrating these three sectors is difficult and proposes the “Six Ps” framework to facilitate this process:
- People: College teachers work as technical experts in companies, and corporate experts serve as mentors at the college (mutual employment).
- Problem: Companies identify practical problems (e.g., short battery life), and together with the college, they find solutions.
- Project: They collaborate on research projects.
- Platform: Physical proximity is essential; for example, CATL’s Shanghai Research Institute and the college are located in adjacent buildings, facilitating easy collaboration.
- Paper: They jointly publish research findings.
- Patent: They apply for patents together. For instance, the Future Battery Center, a collaboration between the college and CATL, focuses on developing next-generation battery technology. Once the technology is ready for commercialization (TRL 3-4), companies take over production, accelerating the transformation of research into market-ready products.
4. Focusing on Future Industries: Solving Critical Issues
The college does not engage in theoretical discussions without practical relevance. It focuses on real problems in industries such as:
- Batteries: Researching next-generation and even future technologies, with companies often raising challenges that the academic community has not yet considered.
- Photovoltaics: The high efficiency of perovskite solar cells is compromised when scaled up for commercial use; this engineering issue can only be solved through industry-academia collaboration.
- Zero Carbon: A topic that affects all industries, with the college having specialized research centers focused on zero-carbon solutions.
- Intelligent Connectivity: Expanding from electrification and autonomous driving to areas like “bodied intelligence” (robots) and low-altitude economics (e.g., drone delivery).
These fields represent emerging opportunities in future industries, and the college’s collaboration with companies aims to turn laboratory technologies into profitable products that can solve real-world problems.
In summary, Ni Jun’s speech provides a practical template for integrating industry, academia, and research: first, reform the talent development system to emphasize interdisciplinary skills and abilities; then, use a clear framework (the “Six Ps”) to connect schools with companies; finally, focus on valuable future industries to transform innovative ideas into tangible results.