Editor’s note: In order to greet the successful convention of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, the Publicity Department of the Party Committee of NENU launched the special topic of “Great Development Achievements of Northeast Normal University”, focusing on the features and highlights of the reform and innovation of our school since the 18th Party Congress, showing the new breakthroughs and achievements in school construction and development in the past decade, reflecting the responsibility of NENUers in pursuing excellence and forging ahead in the new era, and inspiring all NENUers to embark on a new journey and a new era of achievements.
Forge ahead all out for ten years, and move forward to make progress!
Great NENU, whose origin is traced back to Yan’an, has been passed down from generation to generation with red genes blended into its blood. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Northeast Normal University has adhered to the Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era as the guideline, insisted on moral education as the fundamental task, adhered to the spirit of “strengthening teachers to serve the country, seeking truth from facts and creating”, took root in China to build a world-class normal university, and strived to write a new chapter of educational development in the new era.
Let’s review the extraordinary ten years of NENU in chronological order, from near to far.
Six disciplines of NENU were selected as national “double-first-class” construction disciplines. In September 2017, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission issued the Notice on Unveiling the List of World-class Universities and First-class Discipline Construction Universities and Construction Discipline, and unveiled the list of world-class universities and first-class discipline construction universities and construction disciplines. Six disciplines of NENU, including Marxist theory, world history, mathematics, chemistry, statistics, materials science and engineering, were selected as “double first-class” construction disciplines. In February, 2022, in the second round of national “double-first-class” selection of universities and construction disciplines, Northeast Normal University was re-selected into six disciplines: Marxist theory, education, world history, chemistry, statistics, materials science and engineering. The number of selected disciplines is tied for the 19th place in national universities. Through the construction of first-class disciplines, Northeast Normal University has built a discipline highland, leading and driving the coordinated development of related supporting disciplines and improving the overall level of disciplines, thus promoting the high-quality and connotative development of NENU’s education and teaching.
Professor Liu Yichun of NENU was elected as an academician of China Academy of Sciences. In November, 2021, China Academy of Sciences issued the Announcement on Unveiling the List of Academicians Co-opted and Elected by China Academy of Sciences in 2021. Liu Yichun, a professor at the School of Physics of NENU, was elected as an academician of China Academy of Sciences. In 2021, China Academy of Sciences selected 65 academicians of China Academy of Sciences and 25 foreign academicians of China Academy of Sciences.
NENU has exclusively hosted the “National College Graduates Education Talent Recruitment Fair” for seven consecutive years. Since 2015, NENU has exclusively hosted the “National College Graduates Education Talent Recruitment Fair” for seven consecutive years, and has become the only educational employment market construction unit in China. In 2021, it was elected as the chairman unit of the National College Graduates Education Industry Employment and Entrepreneurship Steering Committee. CCTV’s “News Broadcast” column reported the grand occasion of the school employment fair for sixteen consecutive years. In 2004 and 2012, NENU was awarded the “National Advanced Employment Unit” by the State Council, and it was one of the two universities that had received the award twice at the same time.
NENU has trained a group of outstanding students such as the “Most Beautiful College Students” Liu Qiang and Ablajan. In the selection of the “Most Beautiful College Students” carried out by the Central Publicity Department and the Ministry of Education, our students Liu Qiang and Ablajan won the “Most Beautiful College Students” in China in 2019 and 2021 respectively. There were two national “Most Beautiful College Students” selected from NENU within three years, and there are 10 students on the list every year. They made unremitting efforts in their beautiful youth, wrote brilliant chapters, and demonstrated the “Four Characters” of NENUerswith firm faith, solid knowledge, down-to-earth attitude and simple style with outstanding deeds.
Understanding Xi Jinping’s Educational Philosophy was Published. The Chinese version of the key textbook Understanding Xi Jinping’s Educational Philosophy of Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project, compiled by theMinistry of Education and edited by Professor Yang Xiaohui of NENU, was published in July 2020. It consists of an introduction and nine chapters, and comprehensively and systematically expounds General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important exposition on education. In order to better introduce and translate the important expositions on education of the General Secretary Xi Jinping, and to spread the new thinking, new idea and new viewpoint of China’s educational development in the international community, the Ministry of Education organized the translation of the Understanding Xi Jinping’s Educational Philosophy by Beijing Foreign Studies University, which was published in October 2022.
NENU was approved as a national science and technology innovation base.In December, 2020, the Ministry of Science and Technology released the list of preferred construction of National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station, and NENU’s Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem Field Scientific Observation and Research Station was successfully selected. This is the second time that this station has been upgraded to a higher level after it was successfully recognized as the field scientific observation and research station of the Ministry of Education in 2019. This station has become an important carrier and research platform for the construction and development of ecology, grass science, environmental science and engineering, biology and other disciplines of NENU, and will provide science and technology for the construction of national ecological civilization and regional ecological security. In the past ten years, NENU has been approved as 14 scientific research bases at or above the ministerial level in the field of natural science, which has greatly improved the ability of NENU to undertake major national scientific and technological tasks and break through the core key technologies, and provided strong support for the high-quality development of NENU’s scientific research.
Four achievements won the first prize of the National Outstanding Achievement Award for Scientific Research (Humanities and Social Sciences) in colleges and universities. In recent years, NENU has accelerated the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, and made remarkable achievements in social science awards. Professor Han Dongyu’s book The ImplicitLogic of Japan’s Overseas War (1592-1945), From “Petition” to “Self-Confinement”: The Action Process of “Self-Centralization” of Japan Since the Middle Ages, Collected Works of Japanese Knowledge (Five Volumes) by Mr. Lin Zhichun, and General Theory of “Broad-spectrum” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education by Professor Wang Zhanren won the first prizes in the 7th and 8th National Outstanding Achievement Award for Scientific Research (Humanities and Social Sciences) in colleges and universities respectively. In addition, nine works were selected into the National Social Science Fund Achievement Library.
NENU held a party congress to plan a blueprint for the development of the school. The 14th and 15th congresses of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Northeast Normal University were successfully held in 2014 and 2019. The 14th Party Congress of NENU further defined the development goal of “one characteristic, three leaps” in the next ten years and the work policy of “persistence, reform and breakthrough” in the next five years, and established the future development strategic goal of “building a world-class normal university”. The 15th Party Congress of NENU comprehensively summed up the outstanding achievements in the reform and development of our school since the 14th Party Congress, put forward the working principle of “consolidating the foundation, improving the quality and innovating”, and further defined the long-term plan for building a world-class normal university and the strategic tasks for the next five years.
Refine the spirit of “strengthening teachers to serve the country, seeking truth from facts and creating”. In 2019, under the guidance of Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, NENU summed up the history of running schools for more than 70 years, based on the spirit of the times and the reality of NENU, refined the spirit of “strengthening teachers to serve the country, seeking truth from facts and creating”, and integrated it into strengthening moral education and cultivating people and running the school, striving to make new achievements in promoting the “double-first-class” construction and training innovative outstanding teachers, and speeding up the construction process of world-class normal universities. The words “Strengthening teachers to serve the country, seeking truth from facts and creating” are concise and condensed, which not only highly summarizes NENU’s historical heritage and school-running characteristics, but also bases on the spirit of the times and the reality of NENU, covering red genes, school motto spirit, school-running characteristics, educational philosophy, school-running strategy, development goals, talent training goals and so on. (to be continued)
(From News Center, translated by Wei Jia, revised by Liu Lixin)