To help build an education power, in 2024, Renmin University of China(RUC) established the "Qiushi Academy" talent cultivation project (hereinafter referred to as the "Qiushi Academy" project).
The "Qiushi Academy" project is an integrated upgrade of the university's original "Undergraduate Innovation Experiment Program," undergraduate research funds, and graduate research funds, and it includes four sub-projects, providing more complete full-process research training for student research teams.
Since the project's initiation in February 2024, a total of 1,949 undergraduate students have participated in the application, with 300 undergraduate-led projects yielding results, and 1,341 undergraduate students successfully obtaining funding; it has collected 106 guideline topics and 194 self-proposed topics; six academies, 29 colleges, 45 research institutions, and 288 guiding teachers have been involved, with the scale of funded projects expanding compared to previous years and the number of participants reaching an all-time high.
With guidance and support from think-tank platforms and innovation highlands and other diverse entities in topic selection, the "Qiushi Academy" project's funded topics in 2024 have responded to national strategies, with research issues including artificial intelligence, population aging, high-quality development, rural revitalization, and other hot topics of the times. By transforming the overall structure into an integrated undergraduate and graduate system, graduate students have fully played a leading and guiding role in undergraduate academic training, and undergraduates joining graduate teams can more completely, deeply, and comprehensively experience graduate academic activities.
Under the support of this project, RUC has also established a related student organization, student forums, and funding support plans.
Firstly, the RUC "Qiushi Academy" Innovation and Growth Association was spontaneously established by a group of students who are enthusiastic about helping improve student research quality and providing strategies for academic talent cultivation. The association aims to promote the integration of various academic resources, sharing of academic information, and joint construction of academic platforms, exploring paths for student academic growth, supporting the undergraduate academic training system, and promoting the enhancement of student innovation capabilities.
"Qiushi Academy" Innovation and Growth Association's Academic Experience Sharing Session
Secondly, the "Qiushi Academy" Student Forum is also a practical innovation and interdisciplinary integration academic exchange platform built for all students across the university, positioned as the highest level of student academic event at RUC. The "Qiushi Academy" Student Forum is held regularly, encouraging undergraduate and graduate collaboration, and providing a channel for students aspiring to further academic studies to truly achieve long-term cultivation.
"Previously, there were few opportunities for undergraduates to present papers on campus. The 'Qiushi Academy' Student Forum provided me with the opportunity to directly participate in academic activities. The process of preparing papers and presenting them has honed my academic expression and communication skills, allowing me to quickly adapt to the academic state," said Wu Runhao, a 2024 master's student in the School of Philosophy, about his experience participating in the forum as an undergraduate.
"Qiushi Academy" Academy Forum
Thirdly, in addition to academic forums, the "Qiushi Academy" project has also established a "Going Global" support plan, providing support for students to participate in international high-level academic and research activities, and encouraging students to tell Chinese stories and spread Chinese voices.
As the only undergraduate among more than 1,300 attendees to give two oral presentations, Chen Kelin, a 2021 undergraduate student from the School of Agriculture Economics and Rural Development, traveled to the United States on July 28, 2024, to attend the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA, one of the most authoritative conferences in the fields of agricultural economics, development economics, and resource economics), and presented two papers titled "How Does Energy Transition Affect Energy Expenditure and Inequality? Evidence from Clean Heating Program in China" and "The impact of temperature shocks on energy poverty: Findings from rural China," showcasing the academic foundation of RUC students and the profound strength of RUC.
Chen Kelin at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association
Furthermore, an increasing number of research teams are applying their research to practice. For example, the OpenHarmony Technology Club from the Innovation Laboratory of Mingli Academy, led by Professor Chai Yunpeng and Lecturer Huang Jianjun from the School of Information, is based on the university's own corpora and databases, exploring the application scenarios of HarmonyOS technology, PanGu large models, Huawei Cloud, and other related technical solutions on campus. Currently, the club has established cooperative relationships with Huawei Cloud, Huawei Developer Alliance, Huawei HarmonyOS Terminal, and the OpenHarmony community, promoting related research topics in cooperation.
In summary, the "Qiushi Academy" project encourages academies, schools, think-tank platforms, and teachers and students to carry out organized student research and training activities, including research interest groups, academic clubs, research-oriented reading, discussion and exchange meetings, research workshops, special training, and students joining research groups, helping students understand academia, choose research topics, match guiding teachers, and assist in incubating brand research projects and results, providing financial support according to the situation of student academic cultivation.
