80% of academicians’ academic growth path may not be the same.
September is the annual "research-preserving season", and summer camps closely related to "research-preserving" have blossomed all over the country as early as the summer vacation in July has just arrived. To this end, many junior students made preparations early, from drawing up the research direction to preparing materials, from understanding the situation of tutors to "ensnaring" possible tutors on the Internet, and some students have already started planning since March of that year or even earlier.
There is always a question that haunts the students’ minds: after obtaining the qualification of recommended graduate students, should they be "guaranteed inside" or "guaranteed outside"? Do you want to stay in your alma mater, with the familiar departments and teachers, and continue to study deeply on the solid foundation of undergraduate course? Or do you choose to go to another university to show academic vitality in generate from a different perspective in a brand-new academic atmosphere and environment?
Choice is very important for the development of a person’s life. If a student has the ambition to grow into a top innovative talent in the future, what choice should he make at the key node of "insurance research" in the long run?
As a representative of top-notch innovative talent groups — — The growth experience of academicians is undoubtedly very representative. The author is interested in all academicians — — A total of 2,495 people (referring to academicians of China Academy of Engineering, China Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Sciences who received undergraduate education in China — — The author’s note) has been sorted out, and the academicians who have been repeatedly counted, the academicians who graduated before 1949, and the academicians who have no postgraduate education have been removed, and 1068 valid samples have been obtained. The author analyzes the growth process of 1068 academicians and tries to explore the educational growth path of top-notch innovative talents.
Eighty percent of academicians have experienced cross-institutional study.
The author calls the experience of academicians studying in different colleges and universities in the three stages of undergraduate, master and doctoral education as having academic heterogeneity. In a more popular language, it means that academicians study in different schools at different stages of education, and they are not single-minded on the road of academic growth.
After dividing the educational experience of academicians, the author found that only 204 academicians received a complete academic education from undergraduate to master’s or even doctoral level in the same school, accounting for nearly 20% of all valid samples; However, eight adults, that is, 864 academicians, have experienced at least one environmental change in the three stages of undergraduate, master and doctor, and many people have experienced two changes.
In addition to the relevant data of academicians’ resumes, many academicians’ memories of their early study career also confirm the close relationship between study experience and innovation in different schools at different stages. Zhai Zhong, an academician of China Academy of Sciences, recalled his study career in the Soviet Union in his later years. At that time, the genetics of the Soviet Union was divided into two opposing factions. The director of the teaching and research section he studied and his tutor belonged to different factions, and he learned nutrients from the two factions respectively. Academician Zhai said frankly, "This is very helpful for my later study, and I support it very much ‘ A hundred schools of thought contend and a hundred flowers blossom ’ 。” Fu Yibei, an academician of China Academy of Engineering, studied successively in Sichuan Institute of Chemical Technology, the Department of Chemistry of Leningrad University and the nuclear chemical engineering major (nuclear fuel processing technology major) of Leningrad Soviet Institute of Technology, and obtained an associate doctor’s degree in May 1960 before finally transferring to his successful research field.
There are also many academicians who believe that the key to their success lies in following many different excellent tutors during their studies in different schools. Liang Jingkui, an academician of China Academy of Sciences, said in his memoirs, "At the beginning of my different studies and work, my knowledgeable and tireless teachers laid a solid foundation for me to engage in research work in interdisciplinary fields and successfully complete scientific research." Li Hongzhong, an academician of China Academy of Sciences, also believes that he studied in Taiyuan Institute of Technology, China University of Science and Technology, Institute of Chemical Metallurgy of China Academy of Sciences, and University of British Columbia, and met three outstanding scientist mentors, namely Yang Guilin, Guo Musun and J.R. Grace, which made his research vision always at the forefront of science. Liu Zhongfan, an academician of China Academy of Sciences, studied in Jilin Institute of Technology, Yokohama National University of Japan and Tokyo University of Japan, and successively obtained bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Molecular Science of Tokyo University. Fujishima Akira, a doctoral supervisor, benefited him a lot and became a turning point in his research. Mr. Inokuchi Hiroo, the tutor of postdoctoral roving station, once again refreshed his understanding of science.
The above empirical data show that, as a top-notch innovative talent group in China, most academicians have experienced cross-institutional study and have broad academic vision and research experience gained from many institutions. Memoirs of academicians also explain the relationship between academic mobility and academic achievements to some extent.
The more frequent academic mobility, the higher academic productivity.
Another study takes 229 young Yangtze scholars in China as the research object, and it is also found that most scholars have frequent academic mobility during their undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral education, and scholars studying in three colleges and universities have the shortest time to carry out independent scientific research during their academic career development; The mobility between different schools and the experience of studying abroad are beneficial for scholars to learn new ways of thinking and knowledge structure in their growth stage through diverse educational models and learning atmosphere.
In 2013, Horton, a scholar at the University of Hong Kong, conducted a study on the relationship between academic mobility and academic productivity, and found that the mobility experience in the early stage of an individual’s academic career is closely related to his lifelong academic behavior and academic output. Lack of mobility will lead to low academic productivity. At the same time, he also found that the difference of academic productivity between those who only "flow" once and those who don’t "flow" is not obvious, and education policy should focus on "shortening" the time of academic inbreeding and other possibilities.
It can be seen that many top-notch innovative talents have experienced at least one academic flow in their growth. What are the reasons behind it?
The author analyzes: first, the restriction of paradigm trap. Studying in different regions and colleges is helpful for students to acquire various and diverse knowledge and ideas; Learning with tutors in different directions and ideas makes individuals avoid the cover of academic views formed by long-term follow-up with fixed teachers or teacher groups, and avoid falling into the "paradigm trap" formed by long-term repeated training. Especially at present, the demand for compound talents is getting stronger and stronger, and the limited academic vision and relatively single knowledge structure can no longer meet the rapid development of science and technology. If students’ academic education is completed in the same school, to some extent, the probability of growing into top-notch innovative talents will be greatly reduced.
Second, the cognitive logic of cognitive psychology. Human memory is organized and connected according to meaning. Every time an individual accepts a new kind of knowledge, a new neuron will be activated in his mind, forming a radially connected node around its core concept. When individuals accept the same (or similar) domain knowledge in the future, they will extend out near the original activated neurons, activate more neurons and establish connection paths to expand that node. When two activated neurons are very close, it is possible for an individual to spontaneously establish a connection pathway between these two neurons. Innovation often occurs in the process of knowledge reconstruction in unknown fields and the establishment of connection paths between nodes that are not related to each other. The author believes that the significance of inter-school mobility is helpful for individuals to establish more nerve connection channels. In-depth study in the same school and the same field will certainly help the brain to continuously activate more neurons, so that the neurons connected to this node will increase on the original basis and its radius will continue to expand; However, the mobility between schools and disciplines can make individuals look at the same phenomenon from different perspectives and get rid of the original knowledge structure.
Third, increase opportunities and moments related to academic creativity. The idea of the education system of "integration of undergraduate and research" in talent training is linear, that is, students are expected to find their own "interests" from the beginning of undergraduate courses, and then become the kind of people we want them to become smoothly along their own ideals. But in fact, people’s interests, ideals and even people themselves are changing and developing all their lives, and they will face different opportunities and challenges in different periods. Only the changing environment will increase such opportunities.
Some students may think that China’s academic circles have a "circle" culture. If they study in other universities, they will not be able to establish a deeper relationship with their original teachers and enter the "circle" of scholars at their alma mater. But in fact, only when Baoyan chooses other universities will it know more other scholars, which will change its growth environment and bring different information, knowledge and multiple perspectives, which will help to develop its thinking and academic ability, avoid the cover of a single academic perspective, and also help to broaden its academic contacts.
In many colleges and universities, the atmosphere of "protecting the interior" is prevalent.
At present, the current situation of exemption in Chinese universities is not optimistic. Many colleges and universities tend to recruit students from their own schools because of the consideration of students source and enrollment cost. In addition, in recent years, the task of scientific research in colleges and universities has become heavier and heavier, and the pressure of "double-first-class" evaluation has increased, and the demand for "graduate labor" in colleges and universities has increased day by day. Students in our school can take part in the work as research assistants if they are arrogant, and our school has prevented students from "using" and "getting started", which has led to the growing atmosphere of "protecting the interior" in many colleges and universities.
Judging from the composition of the inflow of colleges and universities (the proportion of the source schools that colleges and universities receive students), relevant data show that a university in Beijing plans to accept a total of 3,120 recommended graduate students in 2018, including 2,195 master students and 925 doctoral students from 162 universities across the country, including 795 master students and 242 doctoral students from the university, accounting for 33.24% of the total places.
Judging from the composition of the outflow from colleges and universities (the proportion of students going to other colleges and universities), the employment quality report released by various schools shows that among the 2018 undergraduate and master graduates of a university in Shanghai, 1961 people chose to study in China, of which 1743 people chose to study in our school, accounting for 88.88%; Among the 2018 graduates of a university in East China, 2,162 undergraduates were admitted as graduate students of domestic universities or research institutions, of which 1,757 stayed in our school, accounting for 81.27%; Among the 2018 undergraduate graduates of a university in central China, 832 chose to study in China, of which 557 chose our school, accounting for 66.95%.
The danger of "integration of research and study" to students and universities or not yet perceived.
In recent years, some scholars once again put forward the "integration of undergraduate and postgraduate" training mode, in order to shorten the educational system and improve the efficiency of personnel training. Some colleges and universities have also put forward "integration of undergraduate and research" as a strategy in their first-class undergraduate education action plans.
The author believes that the training mode of "integration of undergraduate and research" shortens the academic system, allows students to get in touch with scientific research earlier, and avoids the "empty window period" of the last year of undergraduate course, which improves the efficiency of talent training to some extent. However, the "integration of undergraduate and graduate studies" has restricted the inter-school mobility of students, enabling them to receive undergraduate and graduate education in the same institution in the early stage of their academic career. The author thinks that for the growth of top-notch innovative talents, the "integration of research and study" model is a danger to students and universities or has not yet been perceived.
Postgraduate education is different from undergraduate education. Each college has its own characteristic disciplines and research directions, and there are scholars with personality. The differences in disciplines are more significant than those in colleges. Therefore, for students who have the ambition to grow into top-notch innovative talents, no matter whether they choose "postgraduate study" or apply for postgraduate study, the vision of their target universities cannot be limited to their own schools. Among them, during the postgraduate period, the academic level is more important for students’ future innovation, and students can give more consideration to disciplines and universities with the same academic level or even better level as their alma mater.
The national macro-education policy gives students the right to choose freely. In 2013 and 2014, the Ministry of Education issued a series of documents emphasizing that "the promotion of exemption promotes the exchange and integration of students from different colleges and universities, stimulates students’ innovative vitality, encourages interdisciplinary studies, and promotes the cultivation of compound talents", pointing out that "it is not allowed to restrict the students who are excluded from our school to apply for other graduate enrollment units in any form". "The right of candidates to choose their own volunteers should be fully respected and safeguarded, and the application for our school should not be used as a condition for selecting excluded students, nor should it be restricted in any other form. It is unreasonable and illegal for some colleges and universities to require students to be "guaranteed" in order to obtain the recommendation qualification.
By the end of 2014, the total number of scientific and technological human resources in China was about 81.14 million, which still maintained the position of the world’s largest country in scientific and technological human resources. However, in sharp contrast to the total number, there was a serious shortage of top scientific and technological talents, which directly led to China’s relatively weak scientific and technological innovation ability, making it difficult to truly compete and cooperate in the world. Responding to "Qian Xuesen’s question" is particularly urgent under the background of trade war and after the chip "throat" is stuck, and it shows new significance of the times. The author makes an in-depth study on the academic relationship of academicians, expecting to find a key aspect of the growth law of top-notch innovative talents, and expecting to give new inspiration to college teachers and administrators.
(Lu Xiaodong is a researcher at Peking University Institute of Education, and Zhang Xufei is a master student at Peking University Institute of Education)