Nanjing University thoroughly implements the spirit of the National Education Conference and the important reply from General Secretary Xi Jinping to the young scholars returning from studying abroad. The university remains committed to its original mission of educating people for the Party and cultivating talents for the nation, focusing on the fundamental task of moral education. It fulfills the requirements of the "Forging Ahead Initiative", deeply implementing the undergraduate top innovative talent cultivation action plan, highlighting "alignment with national needs, alignment with the characteristics of the times, and alignment with student development." It advances the reform of undergraduate talent cultivation, successfully becoming one of the Ministry of Education's "Pilot Universities for Comprehensive Higher Education Reform."
Vigorous Promotion of AI-Powered Education and Teaching Reform
Fully unleashing the potential of AI to transform education, integrating AI into all elements and processes of education and teaching, and accelerating the exploration of a human-centered, human-machine collaborative digital education ecosystem. A deep integration case of AI and education successfully entered the Ministry of Education's "AI+ Higher Education" application scenario typical cases.
1. Establishment of the "1+X+Y" AI General Core Curriculum System for Undergraduates
Tan Tieniu delivering the first lecture of the AI General Core Course
Offering an AI course to all freshmen, exploring a teaching model of "collective lectures + small group discussions + internships + AI teaching assistants + innovation and entrepreneurship", promoting a new style of human-machine interactive classrooms. A total of 224 X-level AI literacy courses and Y-level AI frontier expansion courses have been developed, achieving full coverage of "AI+" courses across undergraduate majors. Actively breaking the boundaries between innovation competitions, scientific research training, and industrial applications, building a diverse, multi-level, full-chain AI practice teaching field, and organizing events like "Freshman Creativity Competition" "Easy Learning Programming Contest" "Large Model Competition" and "University Debate Competition". An "AI Young Lecturer Group" was formed, and "AI Practice and Application" workshops were offered. The "Guiding Opinions on the Normative Use of Generative AI Tools by Undergraduates (Trial)" was issued. A progressive, AI literacy education and teaching system covering the entire student development cycle was constructed.
NJU AI General Core Curriculum System
2. Actively Planning and Promoting the "New Three-Three System" Reform
In 2024, the university successfully completed the Ministry of Education's new round of undergraduate education and teaching assessment, receiving high praise from the expert group for its educational achievements and being rated as a "Model Case of Undergraduate Education and Teaching in Ordinary Higher Education Institutions." In 2025, the university held a conference on advancing undergraduate education and teaching reform, focusing on the theme "How We Cultivate Top Innovative Talents for the Future in the AI Era," and conducted a "Comprehensive Discussion on Educational and Teaching Ideas" across the university. The advantages and characteristics of the "Three-Three System" talent cultivation model were continuously amplified, and the "Three-Dimensional Four-Dimensional" systematic education effectiveness was continuously enhanced. The "Opinions on Formulating the 2025 Version of Undergraduate Talent Cultivation Plan and Guiding Educational and Teaching Plans" was developed and released, with 17 colleges and 58 majors reducing the total credits required, expanding students' autonomous learning time and space, and promoting the transformation of the talent cultivation model from framework-based cultivation to student-driven development.
Planning and promoting the "New Three-Three System" reform
Comprehensive Improvement of Core Elements in Undergraduate Talent Cultivation
1. Deepening the synergy between science education and humanities Education
The launch ceremony of the "Great Beauty of Chinese Characters" general course
NJU has innovatively constructed the "Great Beauty of Chinese Characters" university Chinese series general courses, establishing a chief professor group of nearly 20 led by Professor Sun Xiaoyun, Researcher of the China Institute for Culture and History and Chairman of the China Calligraphers Association, integrating renowned teachers from literature, history, philosophy, and arts, exploring the construction of characteristic general education projects. "Integrating Language and Culture Heritage into 'Five Educations'—Making the Beauty of Chinese Characters Respectable and Accessible" was selected in the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission's "2025 Excellent Case Collection of Chinese Excellent Language and Culture Heritage Education" and in the Ministry of Education's "Language and Text Comprehensive Reform Pilot."
NJU has initiated the "Light of Science" general education project, based on important research projects or frontier research results recently hosted or participated in by teachers, led by senior professors with high-level teachers participating, while encouraging outstanding young teachers, mainly those returning from studying abroad, to engage in undergraduate education, guiding undergraduates to approach the research front line and cultivate scientific spirit. The university has integrated top enterprise resources, constructing a multi-level university-enterprise collaboration mechanism, and created the "Intelligent Creation without Limits" series of new engineering general courses.
2. Continuously optimizing the course quality improvement mechanism
A total of 112 courses were selected as national first-class undergraduate courses, actively participating in the construction of original Chinese philosophy and social sciences textbooks, with 2 textbooks selected for the "China Series," 5 textbooks for the "New Era Series," and 4 undergraduate textbooks for the "Original Textbook Construction Cultivation Project." Six teachers served as general editors, editors, or deputy editors of the "Understanding Contemporary China" multilingual series textbooks. The construction of high-level teaching master teams was continuously promoted, with 3 new national teaching masters and 1 Baogang Excellent Teacher Special Award added in the past three years. In 2023, NJU, as the first completion unit, won 3 first prizes and 8 second prizes in the National Teaching Achievement Awards (Undergraduate), ranking among the top universities nationwide in the total number of awards.
Accelerated Transformation of the Top Innovative Talent Cultivation System
1. Focusing on urgent national strategic needs, enhancing talent cultivation adaptability
NJU has been focusing on the frontier of science and technology and national strategic needs, closely integrating with the actual development of disciplines, dynamically adjusting the structure of majors and admissions, and continuously improving the adaptability of talent cultivation to social needs. Focusing on strategic emerging industries, the university ahs made arrangements for urgently needed majors such as "Carbon Neutral Science and Engineering" and "International Organizations and Global Governance." A total of 11 projects were selected for the Ministry of Education's Basic Discipline Enrollment Reform Pilot, deeply advancing the dual high collaborative cultivation of top innovative talents, actively promoting the construction of "0-year courses" connecting high school and university, and implementing "1-credit mutual recognition." It has actively promoted new engineering construction, establishing the NJU Future Technology Institute, and releasing the "NJU New Engineering Undergraduate Talent Cultivation Reform Implementation Plan"; holding a conference on digital intelligence empowering new liberal arts talent cultivation, exploring new liberal arts talent cultivation reform; implementing the "Future Technology Leading Talent" and "Future Creators" excellent talent cultivation plans. A total of 64 national first-class undergraduate professional construction points were selected, and 18 Ministry of Education new engineering and new liberal arts research and practice projects were approved.
2. Exploring new mechanisms for talent cultivation, enhancing autonomous cultivation capacity
14 bases were selected for the Ministry of Education's "Basic Discipline Top Students Training Plan 2.0" bases, ranking second among universities nationwide. NJU has led the "101 Plan" in the field of atmospheric science and participating in multiple undergraduate education reform pilot plans. It has been selected as the leading university in the "Basic Discipline Top Students Training Plan 2.0" in the field of geoscience. It has promoted long-cycle cultivation of integrated bachelor's, master's, and doctoral courses in disciplines such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, computer science and technology, and software engineering. "Exploring Long-Term and Stable Support Mechanisms for Basic Discipline Majors" was selected as a pilot for the Ministry of Education's "Discipline and Major Setting Adjustment Optimization Mechanism."
Xu Zihao from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering speaking as a representative of "Top Plan" graduates at the National Basic Discipline Top Talent Cultivation Strategic Action Promotion Conference and the 15th Anniversary Work Exchange Meeting of the "Basic Discipline Top Students Training Plan"
The university has been actively exploring cross-disciplinary cultivation paths, issuing "Opinions on Further Strengthening Undergraduate Cross-Disciplinary Talent Cultivation at NJU." Facing the major national development strategies and future economic and social development needs, a total of 7 Jiangsu Province dual bachelor's degree composite talent cultivation projects and 7 university-level cross-disciplinary experimental classes were created. It has initiated the construction of urgently needed "micro-majors," creating 16 small-credit theme-based cross-disciplinary research projects, and initiating 62 "Teacher Cross-Disciplinary Teaching Research and Practice Projects."
NJU has actively explored collaborative education paths, issuing "Opinions on Further Strengthening Science-Education Integration Collaborative Education at Nanjing University." It has implemented the "Benfu Plan" for undergraduates to practice and study at major institutes. 44 undergraduates were approved for the National Natural Science Foundation Young Student Basic Research Projects (Undergraduate), and 2 undergraduates were funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China "Sino-German Science Center Lindau Project" to attend the "Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting" in Germany. In the China International College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, the university has won a total of 13 gold, 8 silver, and 8 bronze awards, becoming one of only four universities nationwide to win gold in every competition, with its innovation and entrepreneurship education brand becoming increasingly prominent.
NJU will fully implement the "Outline of the Plan for Building China into a Leading Country in Education (2024–2035)" and the three-year action plan, always adhering to the tradition of education as the foundation, strengthening the positive interaction between independent scientific and technological innovation and talent autonomous cultivation, continuously building the best undergraduate education in China, and accelerating the implementation of the "Forging Ahead Initiative" undergraduate top innovative talent cultivation action plan with a sense of urgency, focusing on cultivating new generations capable of shouldering the great task of national rejuvenation.
