ICS Translations

In early September, I had the privilege of attending a two-week seminar themed on revitalising science and technology (S&T) education. Most of the participants were scholars hailing from engineering backgrounds, with very few scholars coming from the humanities and social sciences. Notwithstanding the wide spectrum of academic backgrounds, one common theme that piqued everyone’s interest was how to turn China into an S&T education powerhouse (in the near term). This undoubtedly drew every scholar with a sense of social responsibility and national pride to the seminar. Some of the invited scholars shared fascinating insights based on their research and educational experiences, as well as detailed observations of outstanding teams around them. The discussions covered a wide range of elites from the S&T world, including the late Deng Jiaxian and Yu Min – the distinguished scientists behind China’s “Two Bombs, One Satellite” programme – Wang Xuan, the inventor of the Chinese character input method and the founder of Peking University Founder Group, and Zhou Guangzhao, who passed away recently. The discussions also featured the academicians currently active in frontier research, as well as young scientists involved in major national S&T projects. Notably, the way that eminent scientists such as Deng Jiaxian and Yu Min created technological brilliance under such difficult circumstances during their time through tenacity in their research and collaborative teamwork, left a profound impression on all participants.