China Education Daily-China Education News Network News (Reporter Ren Zhaoxia) The National Natural Science ** is the main channel for state-funded basic research, and has made significant contributions to the achievements and talents in the field of scientific research in China for decades. In recent years, the number of applications has increased significantly every year, but the overall funding rate has shown a downward trend year by year, and the competition has become more and more fierce. To this end, Wang Xiaofan, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of Shanghai Institute of Technology, suggested that the National Natural Science University should increase its support for young teachers in colleges and universities.
Wang Xiaofan suggested that the first is to effectively ensure the support of general projects and young people. In recent years, the quantity and quality of teachers in colleges and universities have continued to improve on the whole, and colleges and universities have also put the introduction and cultivation of outstanding young teachers in a more prominent position. The amount of funding for "Outstanding Youth" and "Excellent Youth" is very limited, and it is necessary to provide better guarantees for general projects and youth ** in terms of funding amount and funding rate. It is recommended that young teachers be given more trust and opportunities, stronger support and incentives. An increase in the funding rate by one percentage point will benefit a group of young teachers.
The second is to optimize the funding method of the first project. It is recommended to significantly increase the number of funding for short-term incubation projects on the basis of the existing support period and funding intensity of general projects and youth**. At present, the general projects funded are mainly four-year projects, and the youth** projects are mainly three-year projects. For example, among the 20,321 general projects funded in 2023, only 9 will be for a three-year period and only 1 will be a two-year project. Of the 22,879 youth** granted, only 485 were two-year projects and 74 were one-year projects. It is suggested that consideration be given to increasing the proportion of funding for three-year and biennial projects for general projects and for biennial and one-year projects for youth projects. This will not only help to improve the overall funding rate, but also help more teachers to have a sense of gain on the basis of not reducing academic standards, and can play a better role in cultivating through relatively short-term funding, motivating teachers to further condense scientific problems and innovation points under the first funding, so as to propose and carry out higher-quality innovative research. For the assessment of short-term cultivation projects, more attention should be paid to whether more innovative ideas and research ideas can be put forward, and young teachers should be guided to devote themselves to research.
The third is to actively strive for the state and social forces to provide greater support for the total amount of the first and expand funding channels. Recently, the National Natural Science Association has done active and effective work in seeking social donations. It is recommended to strive for social forces and add a special project for young teachers in colleges and universities who have just joined the company.
Fourth, we should further guide colleges and universities to treat first-class projects reasonably and optimize teacher evaluation standards. Encourage and support the development of teachers by category, and do not take obtaining the best project as a necessary condition for the promotion and evaluation of teachers' titles.
Author: Ren Zhaoxia.