Peking University holds a conference on postgraduate education
Nov 05, 2020
Peking University, November 5, 2020: On November 2, Peking University held a conference on postgraduate education at Yingjie Overseas Exchange Center. Qiu Shuiping, chair of Peking University Council, Hao Ping, president of Peking University, Hong Dayong, director-general of the Department of Degree Management and Postgraduate Education of Ministry of Education, attended the meeting along with other professors and postgraduate students. The meeting was presided over by Zhan Qimin, executive vice president of Peking University and president of Peking University Health Science Center. The meeting was held both online and offline. In addition to the main venue, there were totally 56 sub-venues in various Schools and Departments of Peking University. A number of teachers and students also attended the conference online.
At the conference
Qiu put forward the plans for the key work of postgraduate education in the next stage. First, in light of the glorious tradition of PKU, we should fully understand the strategic significance of postgraduate education and shoulder the mission in the new era. PKU will further build a postgraduate education system with distinctive Chinese characteristics and PKU style, and continue to play an important role in upgrading innovation and serving national strategies. Second, it is necessary to improve education quality, deepen connotative development, and cultivate high-level innovative talents. Besides, PKU is dedicated to building a team of postgraduate supervisors with “political awareness, high moral integrity, profound learning, and the spirit of innovation”. In addition, we should strengthen organization and leadership, and institutional mechanisms should be innovated to better serve the need of postgraduate education. Centering on the general plan of the 14th Five-Year Plan of China, PKU will improve the top-level design to create a better environment for postgraduate education.
Qiu Shuiping
The fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee made a systematic and scientific plan and preparation for the reform and development of the country from the 14th Five-Year Plan period to the year 2035. Hao said that listening to the speech of President Xi Jinping at the scene was inspiring. Hao reviewed PKU’s achievements of postgraduate education during the 13th Five-Year Plan period from the aspects of training of students, faculty development, disciplinary construction, scientific research and international cooperation and exchanges. Hao also pointed out new situation and new tasks faced by postgraduate education, reform and development. At present, the new technological revolution, together with the COVID-19 pandemic, has brought unprecedented challenges to universities, and thus accelerated the reform and innovation of universities in education, teaching and scientific research. Major research projects will focus on crucial problems, which will give birth to a new form of cooperation among international universities. By fully understanding the new situation and challenges and developing new pattern of education and scientific research, Peking University can cope with the crisis, adapt to the changing situation, and accelerate the high-quality development of postgraduate education at a new starting point. Hao added Peking University will always adhere to the fundamental task of cultivating talents able to shoulder the responsibility of national rejuvenation.
Hao Ping
In the opinion of Hong, postgraduate education in China is in the process of transformation from quantity to quality. Universities should promote postgraduate education based on the principles of the National Conference on Postgraduate Education and principles of "fostering character and civic virtue of students", "serving the need of the nation", "improving quality" and "pursuing excellence". He hopes that PKU can move faster to develop into a “double first-class” university, promote high-quality development of postgraduate education in the new era, and continue to play an exemplary and leading role in national postgraduate education.
Hong Dayong
Zhan Qimin presides over the conference
Gong Qihuang
In the afternoon, leaders of different Schools and Departments held a discussion on postgraduate education and talent cultivation. The participants exchanged ideas and best practices in terms of training process management, internationalization of postgraduate education, education of medical postgraduates, and interdisciplinary and new engineering talent training. They summarized the experience of the previous stage of postgraduate education and reform, and put forward suggestions on future development during the 14th Five-Year Plan.
Written by: Yu Cong
Edited by: Hu Rong
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
