On December 10, Henan University (HENU) held a Launch Meeting for Emerging Engineering Education Development at Longzihu Campus in Zhengzhou. The meeting was attended by all university leaders, representatives of high-level talents, heads of relevant functional departments, heads of related schools, and representatives of academic backbone members.

At the meeting, XUE Bo, Vice President of HENU, communicated the overall plan for HENU’s Emerging Engineering Education Development and deployed the schedule and task division for the preparation and establishment of relevant schools. Presentations were delivered by representatives of nine proposed schools, including New Energy and Intelligent Manufacturing, Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Smart Chemical Engineering and Carbon Neutrality, and Intelligent Construction and Smart Transportation. Expert and functional department representatives held discussions on HENU’s strategic development goals, taking into account practical operational needs.

ZHANG Suojiang pointed out that advancing Emerging Engineering Education is an essential choice to serve national strategies and accelerate transformation and breakthrough development. Using “three avoidances”, “six aspects of innovation”, and “three substantive principles” as key points, he encouraged all units to fully implement knowledge and technology innovation projects, strive for progress, follow the general principle of “launching one when conditions are favorable”, and achieve goals step by step.

ZHANG Suojiang emphasized the need to avoid three misconceptions in HENU’s Emerging Engineering Education Development. He pointed out that it is necessary to avoid overemphasizing basic aspects, guard against an over-reliance on introduced talent, and ensure that new initiatives are substantive rather than merely novel in name. The ultimate goal of Emerging Engineering Education lies in practical application; disconnection from industries, failure to develop real technologies, and inability to solve real problems must be avoided.

ZHANG Suojiang stressed the need to accurately grasp the profound implications of what makes the Emerging Engineering Education new. “Newness” represents comprehensive renewal in philosophy, direction, talent, R&D models, and outcomes. It is necessary to anchor efforts in cutting-edge areas, break conventional patterns, and reshape research paradigms and governance systems with forward-thinking. Key national strategies and technological frontiers must be closely aligned, with proactive planning for emerging, interdisciplinary, and integrated strategic directions. New talents with interdisciplinary backgrounds should be introduced, and a positive talent ecosystem should be built to foster collaboration among international experts, top domestic scholars, and HENU’s own academic backbone. A new problem-driven research and development model deeply integrated with industries should be established to promote the deep involvement of research in enterprise and local development. Landmark outcomes with significant application value or academic influence must be created to achieve a substantial leap in key indicators such as research funding and output.

ZHANG Suojiang noted that “substantive action” is the core essence of advancing Emerging Engineering Education in HENU with high quality. Development plans must be practical, and their integration with industries must be pragmatic. “Integration” is an important means to build a new framework for Emerging Engineering Education Development. Internally, interdisciplinary collaboration and school-level coordination should be deepened. Externally, a new trilateral model linking schools, research institutes, and bases should be advanced to integrate into broader innovation networks. Strategically, integration into national strategies should ensure that innovation outcomes benefit people’s livelihoods, while practically, efforts must be rooted in industries to promote substantive industry-education integration.

Finally, ZHANG Suojiang called on all faculty, staff, and students to unite with a strong sense of historical responsibility and commitment, combine knowledge with action, and strive to create a new phase of high-quality development for HENU.

Regarding the comprehensive advancement of Emerging Engineering Education, JI Bo, Party Secretary of HENU, put forward four requirements. First, it is essential to strengthen top-level design. This involves properly managing the relationship between existing staff and personnel in Emerging Engineering Education schools, adopting targeted measures, and fully mobilizing internal motivation. Second, a scientific approach to talent development must be upheld. The focus should be on identifying and nurturing young talents within the school in Emerging Engineering Education Development, thereby constructing a new, holistic talent ecosystem centered on attraction, cultivation, utilization, and retention. Third, university-school coordination must be emphasized. Functional departments are required to deliver concrete support services. School Party committees must assume responsibility for building consensus and integrating resources. Deans, serving as key leaders, must demonstrate professional vision, managerial competence, and resource integration skills to ensure the effective implementation of reform measures. Fourth, proactive self-transformation should be embraced. Efforts must align with major national needs and the technological frontier. This entails strategically planning new interdisciplinary directions, such as in intelligent manufacturing and quantum information, to systematically advance Emerging Engineering Education Development. He emphasized that all members of HENU must, with a strong sense of political responsibility and historical urgency, create a favorable environment and atmosphere for Emerging Engineering Education Development and jointly write a new chapter in HENU’s development in the new era.