Ministry of Education: "Double first-class" construction of universities significantly serving national major strategies.

This morning, the State Council Information Office held a series of theme press conferences on the high-quality completion of the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan". Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng introduced that the construction of "Double First-Class" universities has achieved significant results in serving the national major strategies. These universities have trained over 50% of the country's master's degree holders and 80% of the country's doctoral degree holders, and have undertaken more than 90% of the national special tasks for training high-level talents. They have also produced a number of outstanding talents. In particular, focusing on training strategic talents such as outstanding engineers, aiming at the new demand for engineering and technical talents in the new productive forces, and implementing industry-education integration training from platforms, systems, and mechanisms. It is worth mentioning that after the implementation of the new degree law this year, it has become an important sign of breaking the traditional academic evaluation standards and aligning with the actual needs of the industry to cultivate talents, and it is also an effective breakthrough in education evaluation reform. Focusing on improving the efficiency of the innovation system, "Double First-Class" universities have achieved a number of innovative results in many fields such as quantum technology, life science, artificial intelligence, material science, and space science. A large number of key technologies have served the country's engineering, major equipment, and the strategic position of basic research, the main force of science, and the sources of major scientific and technological breakthroughs have become more prominent. Under the demonstration and leadership of the construction of "Double First-Class" universities, combined with the urgent needs of regional development and resource endowment, various regions have also focused on supporting more than 400 local high-level universities and more than 1,300 advantageous characteristic disciplines, showing a vigorous situation of striving for excellence and creating first-class achievements. 96 "Double First-Class" universities support 116 universities in central and western China, effectively improving the level of education in the central and western regions. Fully utilizing the new platform of higher research institutes, precisely focusing on regional leading industries, gathering "Double First-Class" disciplines nationwide, deepening the synergy of industry, education, research, and application, forming a new pattern of joint construction of disciplines, mutual cultivation of talents, research cooperation, resource sharing, and coordinated development. This creates a new atmosphere of top-notch disciplines and high-level talents gathering in the central and western regions and supporting the central and western regions.