Credit: Central South University
Tian Hongqi, President, Central South University Credit: Central South University
What is unique about CSU?
We have taken a unique development route, with outstanding scientific discoveries and technological innovations at the core, and talent cultivation and social services as auxiliary paths. Our research taps directly into the need for innovation and solutions in industry at regional and national levels. Following the university spirit of ‘creating knowledge and serving society’, we also develop talented people to address these demands. With research strengths in nonferrous metals, rail transit, and biomedicine, we have maintained close ties with industries, seamlessly linking research and applications. This has won acclaim and great recognition from peers, as well as many awards and funding support. It is what drives our growth.
How do you describe CSU’s development model?
Our development model, divided into five big goals, emphasizes meeting important needs, building big platforms and big teams, undertaking big projects, and making big contributions. The development of ‘big science’ often needs international collaboration, requiring advanced research platforms with state-of-the-art infrastructure. Good platforms help attract talented researchers and we are keen to cultivate capable team leaders to organize large teams on major projects to make important breakthroughs. By translating research results into technologies that serve societal needs, we can contribute to national economic growth and societal development. We also contribute to society by cultivating talented, innovative, and responsible citizens.
How are research and education integrated at CSU?
Research and education are our main driving forces, and they promote each other. Talent training requires good teachers with rich research backgrounds. They can provide students with hands-on training in necessary research skills, and by directly involving them in projects. This enhances their capacity for innovation. In turn, talent training also supports research. Our students have played important roles in generating research results and patentable inventions. One of our undergraduates solved the Seetapun Enigma, a classical mathematical logic puzzle proposed by English logician David Seetapun, gaining recognition throughout the global research community in the field. The integration of research and education is implemented in our natural science, as well as engineering programmes. We are reforming our management systems, researcher evaluation and reward mechanisms to enhance this integration, promoting the quality of student training.
What are the societal impacts of CSU research?
We have three major academic clusters, whose developments are all deeply rooted in industry. In nonferrous metals, our technologies are applied in the mining, steel, manufacturing, and energy industries, helping to save costs, increase efficiency, and reduce environmental damage, bringing in substantial economic benefits. Our research also supports strategic development of the rail industry. We set the standards for high-speed train testing and are behind the construction of most of the major train lines, providing technical support in railway bridge design, railway sub-ground material development, to crash testing, ensuring the safety of high-speed networks. In biomedicine, we lead in clinical research on metabolic diseases, psychiatric disorders and geriatric diseases, and our affiliated hospitals provide medical services to people in the region and beyond, playing important roles in disaster relief and international assistance activities.
What do you want to achieve during your tenure at CSU?
Becoming a world-renowned university with unique characteristics is our goal. We expect to be ranked among the world’s prestigious universities by the middle of the century. To achieve this, I hope to be able to promote our academic impact, and to attract the world’s brightest students and most talented researchers to CSU. By boosting our capacities for basic and applied research, we are striving to become a major base that leads research innovation and talent training in nonferrous metals, rail transit and biomedicine. We also want to be a hub for cultural preservation and innovation.