On January 16, the first meeting of the eighth Faculty Congress and the nineteenth Trade Union Congress of Nanjing University officially commenced. The meeting was attended by Tan Tieniu, Chair of NJU CPC Council and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Tan Zhemin, President and Academician of the CAS.
Before the meeting, all representatives listened to the report on the preparation of the meeting, reviewed and approved the report on the examination of representatives' qualifications, the list of the presidium, the agenda for the opening ceremony and the first plenary session, and the agenda for the second plenary session and the closing ceremony. The presidium reviewed and approved the preliminary candidate lists for the Executive Committee of the Faculty Congress, the Trade Union Committee, and the Trade Union Fund Review Committee, as well as the preliminary candidate lists for the School Affairs Democratic Management and Supervision Committee, the Proposal Work Committee, and the Faculty Mediation Committee.
In his speech, Tan Tieniu pointed out that the past five years have been a period of NJU's strategic advancement, focusing on building a world-class university with Chinese characteristics and shouldering national strategic missions. It was also a period of rapid development driven by the collective efforts of the entire university. Faculty and staff actively participated in the "Forging Ahead Initiative", promoting achievements in party building, talent cultivation, scientific research, social service, cultural heritage innovation, international exchange and cooperation, and multi-campus collaborative development. The construction of a world-class university with Chinese characteristics has made new strides and breakthroughs. During this process, the Faculty Congress and the Trade Union deeply integrated into the university's development, faithfully fulfilling their duties and providing precise services, delivering a warm, powerful, and profound answer.
Tan Tieniu emphasized that this year marks the start of the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan" and is a crucial year for NJU's progress as a world-class university with Chinese characteristics. Standing at this new historical starting point, the work of the Faculty Congress and the Trade Union has become richer in content and more glorious in mission. He proposed specific requirements and expressed hope that this meeting would further gather the wisdom and strength of all faculty and staff, unite the power of solidarity, shine the light of democracy, ignite the fire of motivation, and harvest fruitful results. He urged everyone to deepen reform and innovation with greater enthusiasm, more vigorous spirit, and a more pragmatic style, striving to write a new chapter in building a world-class NJU with Chinese characteristics.
Tan Zhemin delivered a work report titled "Unite Hearts and Efforts for Development, Advance Together to Write a New Chapter", reviewing NJU's achievements over the past five years in ten areas: a clearer blueprint for progress, significant results in moral education, new developments in team building, continuous enhancement of disciplinary strength, accelerated technological innovation, fruitful achievements in humanities and social sciences, advancing open education, comprehensive optimization of multi-campus education, a more complete governance system, and continuous strengthening of livelihood guarantees.
Tan Zhemin pointed out that the next five years are a critical period for laying the foundation for achieving socialist modernization and a strategic period for overcoming challenges and advancing in building a world-class NJU with Chinese characteristics. We must adhere to problem-oriented and goal-oriented approaches, fully understand the new requirements of the Party and the country for education, science, and technology talent, deeply grasp the new trends of competition among domestic and international universities, bravely face the new challenges of building the "unique Nanjing University," actively respond to the new expectations of all NJUers for the university's development, deepen reform and innovation, strengthen practical efforts, and focus on achieving breakthroughs in structure, capacity, resources, and contributions. This will promote more effective moral education, a stronger talent team, more prominent disciplinary peaks aligned with national needs, significantly improved organized research capabilities, a significant increase in the construction of independent knowledge systems in philosophy and social sciences and advisory service capabilities, a substantial improvement in internationalization levels, a significant enhancement in the ability to serve national and local economic and social development, a more perfect new pattern of multi-campus collaborative education, in-depth modernization of governance systems and capabilities, a steady improvement in the sense of gain, happiness, and security of faculty and staff, and a continuous rise in the university's influence and reputation. This will lay a good foundation for the comprehensive construction of a world-class NJU with Chinese characteristics through the "three-step" strategy and make new and greater contributions to the comprehensive advancement of building a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.
Liu Yueke, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the Jiangsu Federation of Trade Unions, congratulated the congress and pointed out that NJU, with its long history and outstanding reputation, has achieved fruitful results and remarkable achievements in talent cultivation, technological innovation, cultural heritage, and social service, playing a pivotal role in promoting the economic and social development of Jiangsu. He highly affirmed the work achievements of the NJU Trade Union in strengthening the ideological guidance of faculty and staff, promoting democratic management of the university, safeguarding rights and services, and promoting the construction of a harmonious campus. Liu Yueke expressed hope that the NJU Trade Union would unite and lead the faculty and staff to actively participate in the construction of a world-class university with Chinese characteristics, making new and greater contributions to promoting high-quality education development and high-standard construction of a leading province in eduation.
Xu Feng, Deputy Secretary of the Education Working Committee of Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, pointed out that NJU has always adhered to rooting in Jiangsu, serving the whole country, and facing the world, making significant contributions to the economic and social development of Jiangsu, the construction of a strong country, and the great cause of national rejuvenation. The Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Government have always attached great importance to and fully supported the construction and development of NJU, regarding it as the vanguard of higher education in Jiangsu and the source of technological innovation. Over the past five years, all members of NJU have adhered to the original mission of educating people for the Party and cultivating talents for the country, focusing on the fundamental task of moral education, boldly innovating and reforming, striving to overcome difficulties, and promoting all undertakings to a new level, achieving new leaps. Xu Feng expressed hope that NJU would reach new heights in building a solid foundation for education, achieve new breakthroughs in integrated development and service, and stimulate new vitality in improving the governance system. The Jiangsu Education Department will continue to fully support policy guidance, resource docking, and environment creation, actively promoting deeper and more practical joint construction by the Ministry and the Province, creating the most favorable conditions for the university to focus on climbing peaks and contributing to Jiangsu.
Vice President Lu Yanqing delivered a report on the preparation of the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan" and the university's financial work, providing a comprehensive analysis of the situation and requirements, advantages and challenges, goals and tasks of the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan", as well as the financial data during the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan", the financial management situation in 2025, and the financial work outlook for 2026. He stated that the next five years are a crucial period for striving to achieve the "three-step" strategy and a critical period for the comprehensive construction of a world-class NJU with Chinese characteristics. The university will further improve the planning work of the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan," plan future development, and provide solid support for the implementation of core tasks.
Chen Yunsong, Vice Chair of NJU CPC Council and Director of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Congress, presided over the meeting and delivered the work report of the Executive Committee. He pointed out that over the past five years, the work of the Faculty Congress has achieved tangible results and accumulated invaluable experience. Standing at a new historical starting point, the eighth Faculty Congress will continue to strengthen political guidance, accurately grasp the direction in serving the strategic overall situation, deepen governance integration, demonstrate value in enhancing institutional effectiveness, optimize proposal work, create an engine in gathering wisdom and strength, and build a strong representative team to stimulate vitality in consolidating the talent foundation, continuously opening up new prospects for the work of the Faculty Congress and injecting strong democratic momentum into the university's high-quality development.
Ding Aijun, Assistant President and Director of the Proposal Work Committee of the Faculty Congress, delivered a report on the proposal work, introducing the proposal work situation and implementation results of the seventh Faculty Congress over the past five years and the proposal solicitation work situation for the first meeting of the eighth Faculty Congress. He hoped that the eighth Faculty Congress would continue to strengthen proposal work and effectively transform proposals into concrete measures to promote the university's development.
Tang Shaoqiu, Chair of the NJU Trade Union, delivered a work report of the Trade Union Committee and the Trade Union Financial Work Report. She stated that the Trade Union would always adhere to the strong leadership of the university's Party Committee, closely revolve around the fundamental task of moral education and the overall development of the university, unite and lead the faculty and staff to gather strength, and demonstrate the responsibility and role of the Trade Union organization in promoting the university's high-quality development. Hu Zheng, Director of the Trade Union Fund Review Committee and Professor of the School of Chemistry, delivered a work report of the Trade Union Fund Review Committee. He stated that over the past five years, the execution of the Trade Union budget has been generally good, financial management has become increasingly standardized, and the internal control mechanism has been continuously improved. He hoped to further strengthen budget management, improve the efficiency of fund use, and strengthen guidance and supervision of sub-trade unions.
The representatives at the meeting reviewed various work reports in groups and put forward opinions and suggestions on important matters concerning the overall development of the university and the general concerns of faculty and staff.
Zhang Suogeng, Party Secretary of the Institute for International Students; Liu Ying, Party Secretary of the School of History; Liu Gongxiang, Party Secretary of the School of Mathematics; Dong Ting, Party Secretary of the School of Earth Sciences and Engineering; Lin Shiyao, Party Secretary of the School of Atmospheric Sciences; Wang Xixi, Deputy Party Secretary of the Medical School; Ju Yan, Party Secretary of the School of Physics; Li Yuehua, Party Secretary of the School of International Studies; Gao Yang, Party Secretary of the School of Intelligence Science and Technology; and Li Hao, Director of the Student Affairs Department, as representatives of each group, reported the review and discussion situation in turn, putting forward a series of opinions and suggestions on topics such as discipline construction, research innovation team building, talent cultivation, teaching reform and innovation, information construction, multi-campus collaborative education, campus environment optimization, and welfare of faculty and staff.
Members of the university leadership team, representatives of academicians, university distinguished professors in humanities and social sciences, model workers, and democratic party leaders, former trade union chairpersons, as well as members of the seventh Faculty Congress Executive Committee, members of the eighteenth Trade Union Committee, members of the eighteenth Trade Union Fund Review Committee, and representatives of sub-trade union chairpersons attended the meeting.
