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 the 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 forge ahead in a new journey and a new era of achievements.
NENU won the second prize of National Natural Science Award for four times. In recent years, NENU has made fruitful achievements in basic research and applied research, and made remarkable achievements in science and technology awards. Professor Bai Zhidong led the project “Large-dimensional random matrix theory and its application”, Professor Wang Enbo led the project “Function-oriented polyacid design and synthesis”, and Professor Liu Yichun led the research team to complete the project “Research on carrier control and functionalization of low-dimensional zinc oxide materials” and “Basic research on the construction and application of low-dimensional oxide semiconductor homogeneous or heterogeneous interfaces” in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2015 respectively. These awards are the new achievements of NENU in actively exploring and promoting the management mechanism and operation system of scientific and technological innovation, highlighting the improvement of our independent innovation ability, and will play an important role in enhancing the comprehensive strength of our school and promoting the discipline construction.
NENU explores the formation of the ideological and political education pattern of “integrated leadership, professional operation and collaborative education”. In recent years, NENU strengthened the top-level design and promoted the integrated leadership, and enhanced team building to ensure professional operation, and grasped the key elements, promoted coordinated education, and solidly advanced the ideological and political work of NENU to achieve practical results. In 2017, the Faculty of Marxism of NENU was selected as the National Key Faculty of Marxism. In the same year, the Institute of Ideological and Political Education was established, and the cultivation plan of “ideological and political education in disciplines” was launched. In August, 2019, the typical case of “Building a ‘Great Ideological and Political’ Pattern to Promote All-round Education of NENUers -Exploration and Practice of Northeast Normal University to Build a New Highland of Ideological and Political Education” in our school was selected in the “Cultural Construction” part of the series of Cases of Implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Overcoming Difficulties in Reform, Development and Stability compiled by the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, and NENE was one of the five selected universities.
Zheng Derong, a “red theorist”, became a model for the whole Party and society to learn from. In 2018, Comrade Zheng Derong, a “red theorist” with deep faith, learning and cultivation, was selected as a national model. He has been awarded the honorary titles of “National Excellent Teacher”, “National Excellent Communist Party member”, one of the hundred of “Reform Pioneers” in the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up, and the “Most Beautiful Striver” in the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China. In 2019, the General Secretary Xi Jinping evaluated him as “an outstanding representative who keeps up with the times and contributes to the times” when Xi Jinping participated in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Joint Group. The central-level media reported more than 100 articles on Comrade Zheng Derong’s advanced deeds. Comrade Zheng Derong who sticks to the original aspiration and keeps his mission in mind, has a firm belief and endeavors to do his best for the Party, the country and the people, which has won the general admiration of teachers, students and educational circles. Following Professor Zheng Derong, Professor Gao Hang of the School of Mathematics and Statistics, the first “Zheng Derong-Style Good Teacher” of NENU won the title of national model of teaching and educating people in 2020. This is the first time that a teacher of NENUhas won this honor since the award was established.
In the fourth round of discipline evaluation by the Ministry of Education, six disciplines of NENU were rated as Class A. In December 2017, the Center for Degree and Postgraduate Education Development of the Ministry of Education unveiled the results of the fourth round of national subject evaluation. Six disciplines of NENU were rated as Class A, ranking the 33rd among universities in China, among which Marxist theory was rated as Class A+, education, ecology and statistics were rated as Class A, and world history and biology were rated as Class A-. Another 15 disciplines have been rated as Class B, and a total of 21 disciplines have been rated as the top 40% of similar participating disciplines, accounting for 81% of the total number of participating disciplines of NENU, which has laid a solid discipline foundation for NENU to take root in China and build a world-class normal university.
The ability of think tank construction and advisory services is fully demonstrated. Ideological and Political Education Research Center, East Asia Research Institute, and China Rural Education Development Research Institute were selected into the list of talent inviting bases and think tanks of the Ministry of Education in 2016 and 2017 respectively. A number of policy consultation reports were approved by the leaders of the Party and the state, and relevant policy suggestions on rural education were written into more than 10 national documents, such as Document No.1 of the Central Committee and Rural Teacher Support Plan (2015-2020).
The 70th anniversary of NENU. In 2016, NENU celebrated the 70th anniversary of its founding, with the theme of “Inheriting the Classic, Shaping the New, Practicing diligently for the Great Goal. This school celebration reviews the development process, displays the development achievements, summarizes the development experience, and adheres to and inherits the 70-year glorious tradition of running a school and the spirit of NENU, and conscientiously implement the spirit of the 14th Party Congress and the 13th Five-Year Development Plan, reflect on the development status, innovate development ideas, serve the national strategic needs, and encourage and unite the teachers and students of the whole school to gather together, cheer up and continue to struggle for the glory of NENU.
NENU has put forward the concept of “respectful education, creative education”. In 2016, based on the concept of “respectful education”, NENU firmly grasped the pulse of the times and put forward the concept of “creative education”. By exploring how teachers teach, how students learn and how the environment is created, NENU interpreted the basic law of talent cultivation, aiming at cultivating and shaping future teachers’ creative consciousness, ability and habit.
NENU takes the lead in implementing the Principal Investigator system (PI system) in China. In 2015, NENU took the lead in implementing the principalinvestigator system (PI system) of “talent training, scientific research and team building” in the whole country. The discipline leader is fully responsible for the development planning of the discipline direction and the discipline construction responsibility of “personnel training, scientific research and team building” who leads the discipline team to form discipline characteristics, improve discipline level, promote discipline crossing, expand discipline influence, push a number of disciplines into the ranks of national first-class discipline construction, and enhance the discipline competitiveness and comprehensive strength of NENU.
“Exploration of the New Model of U-G-S Teacher Education” won the first prize of National Teaching Achievement in Higher Education. In 2014, the “Exploration of the New Model of U-G-S Teacher Education” declared by NENUwon the first prize of National Teaching Achievement in Higher Education, and the relevant experience was promoted throughout the country. This model has been upgraded from solving the “three difficulties” of the internship of the normal students, the training of the basic education school teachers and the development of university teachers to realizing “three highs”, that is, normal students get high-quality internship, basic education teachers receive high-quality training and disciplinary teachers achieve high-quality development.
NENU has forged ahead all out for ten years. In the past ten years, all the NENUers have made concerted efforts for development, concentrated their efforts and compiled new chapters. Numerous landmark achievements have been made in the Party building, teaching and scientific research, personnel training and social services.The core competitiveness and social influence of NENU have been significantly enhanced. In the new era and new journey, Northeast Normal University will continue to build a world-class normal university in the spirit of seizing every minute to make the best, strive to cultivate talents of the times who are responsible for national rejuvenation, and greet the 20th National Congress of the CPC with practical actions!
(From News Center, translated by Wei Jia, revised by Liu Lixin)