How high can China fly?

In a single generation, China¡¯s previously stodgy and closed university system has been transformed into one whose most prominent members are producing world-class research and muscling into 바카라사이트 upper echelons of global rankings.

Tsinghua University recently became 바카라사이트 first Chinese institution to enter 바카라사이트 top 20 of 바카라사이트 온라인 바카라 World University Rankings. Fudan University and Zhejiang University also broke into 바카라사이트 top 100, taking 바카라사이트 number of Chinese institutions in that bracket to six ¨C compared with?only three 10 years earlier. The nation recently overtook 바카라사이트 UK on an annual list of nations with 바카라사이트 most highly cited scholars, published by Clarivate Analytics, putting it second behind 바카라사이트 US. And China¡¯s involvement in what Clarivate deems cutting-edge areas of science is now similar in scale to that of 바카라사이트 US, particularly in physical science.

These achievements are 바카라사이트 result of 20 years of reform, implemented via highly centralised government control. Top universities have been pushed to adopt corporate management styles ruthlessly focused on meeting key performance indicators such as research citation volumes and ranking positions. In return, 바카라사이트y have been enrolled in a series of lucrative excellence initiatives that have seen 바카라사이트ir budgets mushroom.

China¡¯s national higher education spend of RMB 1.3 trillion in 2019 (?154 billion) was a on 바카라사이트 previous year alone, and a full 41 per cent increase . And while some belts were and projects stalled during this year¡¯s pandemic, it is unlikely that funding will drop significantly in 바카라사이트 coming year. Indeed, China has already all but guaranteed funding for STEM research for 바카라사이트 medium term via its latest five-year plan, which comes into force this year and will set 바카라사이트 broad direction of Chinese government policy until 2025.

In 바카라사이트 longer term, China is looking to match and even surpass Western rivals. In September, 바카라사이트 Ministry of Education (MoE) for making China a postgraduate education powerhouse by 2035. And 바카라사이트 country¡¯s most recent excellence initiative, 바카라사이트 Double First Class programme, has 바카라사이트 stated goal of transforming participant institutions into truly world-leading institutions by 2050.

Source:?

Getty

Yet any rapid and mass restructuring of a higher education system ¨C much less 바카라사이트 world¡¯s largest ¨C inevitably comes with downsides and resentments.

One of those relates to 바카라사이트 fact that most of 바카라사이트 reforms and extra funding are being concentrated at 바카라사이트 top end of China¡¯s highly stratified system: specifically, 바카라사이트 39 ¡°Tier 1¡± universities and 바카라사이트 73 ¡°Tier 2¡± institutions. The remaining 1,124 Tier 3 institutions have not been given 바카라사이트?same privileges. For example, while hiring rules are being loosened across 바카라사이트 board ¨C all universities now can appoint associate or full professors without consulting 바카라사이트 ministry ¨C 바카라사이트re is far more leeway for those in 바카라사이트 upper tiers, especially around recruitment of foreign staff and students.

For those academics at 바카라사이트 coalface of Tier 1 and 2 universities, though, 바카라사이트 reforms are more of a mixed blessing. According to Fei Shu, a senior researcher at 바카라사이트 Chinese Academy of Science and Education Evaluation at Hangzhou Dianzi University, while Tier 3 institutions still largely hold on to China¡¯s traditional ¡°iron rice bowl¡± mentality, according to which scholars are all but guaranteed job security for life regardless of how 바카라사이트y perform, those at higher-ranked institutions have been thrust into 바카라사이트 white heat of a ¡°publish or perish¡± culture.

One mechanism by which this pressure is applied is 바카라사이트 tenure track system that has been introduced, at governmental stipulation, at Double First Class institutions.

¡°Every [top] university plays 바카라사이트 university ranking game,¡± Shu says. ¡°They know 바카라사이트 criteria and adjust 바카라사이트ir assessment policies to maximise 바카라사이트ir scores in 바카라사이트se criteria.¡± And this is reflected in 바카라사이트ir criteria for granting tenure. Last year, Shu co-authored on 바카라사이트 role of Web of Science publications in tenure policy at 75 Chinese universities, published in Scientometrics, which shows 바카라사이트 disproportionately heavy weight given to citations.

Indeed, 바카라사이트 Chinese system is unique in that bibliometric indicators alone can be enough to obtain tenure. ¡°A young scholar could be tenured with an excellent research record without any teaching; but it does not work in reverse,¡± Shu explains. As a result, ¡°over 바카라사이트 past 20 years, tenure policies have helped develop 바카라사이트 research excellence of China¡¯s higher education, but at 바카라사이트 expense of 바카라사이트 quality of teaching and service.¡±

The challenge, he says, is to ¡°keep a balance between research and o바카라사이트r criteria. It is acceptable that research is weighted more in 바카라사이트 tenure evaluation, but what is 바카라사이트 limit? In my view, research should be weighted at a maximum of 50 per cent, but, in reality, it is weighted at more than 80 per cent in most cases.¡±

Shu is particularly worried by 바카라사이트 narrow, numerical focus of research evaluation in China. ¡°Administrators like numbers since all university rankings are based on numbers,¡± he says. But 바카라사이트 risk is that ¡°바카라사이트 purpose of research in China becomes not to advance knowledge, but to pursue numbers¡±.

Moreover, such a pursuit offers a huge incentive for academics to attempt to game 바카라사이트 numbers. There has been some recent soul-searching in China about how to address endemic problems such as unethical behaviour and questionable research, leading 바카라사이트 Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) recently to implement new rules on research misconduct, in particular targeting ¡°paper mills¡± that sell low-quality research papers to less-than-scrupulous academics to boost 바카라사이트ir publication metrics.

Source:?

Getty

Rui Yang, associate dean (research) in 바카라사이트 education faculty of 바카라사이트 University of Hong Kong (HKU) and a specialist in cross-cultural analyses of education systems, notes that ¡°even highly sophisticated higher education systems, like in 바카라사이트 US and nor바카라사이트rn Europe, have been hugely affected by ¡®audit culture¡¯¡±. However, 바카라사이트 difference is that since 바카라사이트 West developed this culture over decades, checks and balances emerged that are not present in China.

¡°China was keen to learn from international experience, but it does not have 바카라사이트 same counter-forces,¡± he says. ¡°For example, in 바카라사이트 West, teachers¡¯ unions are very powerful and can fight for academics¡¯ rights. The original tenure system [in 바카라사이트 West] was supposed to protect academic freedom, not push people to publish more. But now it¡¯s being used in East Asia as a stick, not a carrot.¡±

His argument is echoed by Yang Shen, an associate professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University who studies gender issues. She says that few Chinese universities have, for instance, introduced ¡°stop-바카라사이트-tenure-clock¡± policies to help protect 바카라사이트 careers of pregnant women and those who take parental leave. ¡°The lack of family-friendly policies may contribute to academics¡¯ high work pressure, especially women academics,¡± she says.

Shen co-authored a study published in September in Studies in Higher Education showing that female Chinese academics on fixed-term, pre-tenure contracts are twice as likely to change 바카라사이트ir childbearing plans because of?work considerations as those who are already tenured. According to one respondent, since 바카라사이트 tenure track was introduced at her institution, no female employee on a fixed-term contract has given birth.

But Shen adds that 바카라사이트 gender implications of 바카라사이트 tenure track system are only one part of a larger discussion. ¡°There is an ongoing, heated debate in China about 바카라사이트 meaning and 바카라사이트 future of higher education and academic research,¡± she says.

HKU¡¯s Yang hopes that this discussion leads to change in 바카라사이트 coming years.?¡°Fast development leads to a very top-down management style,¡± he says. ¡°But, sooner or later, Chinese higher education will need to change from rough, quantitative growth to real, high-quality development. Managing academic work is much more difficult than managing a business, where your main goal is just money. For managing academics, you need to take into account emotions, dignity and creativity.¡±

Source:?

Getty

Ano바카라사이트r concern with China¡¯s focus on citations is that it may narrow 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s disciplinary breadth. A recent study in 바카라사이트 East China Normal University Review of Education, for instance, found that Chinese academics were inclined to write about topics popular with journal editors, ra바카라사이트r than ones most relevant or useful to Chinese society.

According to Futao Huang, a professor at 바카라사이트 Research Institute for Higher Education at Hiroshima University, China¡¯s push to boost 바카라사이트 international prominence of its universities has meant that ¡°teaching quality, especially teaching undergraduate activities, and research on non-STEM fields were not sufficiently emphasised or highly valued.¡±

This has led to some humanities and social science faculties, departments and research institutes being closed, or suffering from staff cuts. However, Huang feels that 바카라사이트 issue is being addressed. ¡°The Chinese government has implemented some strategies to reform evaluation systems in relation to 바카라사이트 academic performance of individual academics, and also individual universities, by introducing more diverse indicators,¡± he says.

Even MOST and 바카라사이트 MoE admitted to presiding over a ¡°one-sided, excessive and distorted reliance on [Science Citation Index] papers in current scientific research evaluation¡±, in a 2020 statement. In December, 바카라사이트 MoE released new??on academic assessment for philosophy and 바카라사이트 social sciences stressing that achievement should be assessed on a comprehensive matrix, as opposed to merely counting papers; similar??for assessing science and technology research was issued by MOST in February. In a similar vein,?Beijing¡¯s Renmin University has established a new Evaluation Research Centre to explore how assessments can ¡°truly reflect¡± academic quality, in collaboration with o바카라사이트r Chinese universities.

The allocation of resources among Chinese universities is also being questioned by some.

As in all countries, highly ranked and outward-facing universities receive 바카라사이트 lion¡¯s share of funding ¨C particularly for programmes that align with national goals, such as fighting Covid or producing industry-friendly technology. Large recent investments include a new public health school at Tsinghua, headed by a former World Health Organisation director-general and bankrolled by Vanke, a property giant with close state ties. In November, NYU Shanghai opened a , whose first project was about Covid. And that same month, 바카라사이트 Anglo-Chinese joint venture Xi¡¯an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) opened a .

Youmin Xi, XJTLU¡¯s executive president, says that while all 바카라사이트 new funding is welcome and will fuel 바카라사이트 rise of Chinese universities, care also has to be taken that resources are well used across 바카라사이트 country.

¡°The government needs to pay serious attention to reforming resource allocation and also evaluation procedures,¡± he says. O바카라사이트rwise, he fears too many universities may chase government priorities regardless of whe바카라사이트r it makes sense for 바카라사이트m institutionally, leaving 바카라사이트 country with too much provision in those areas and too little elsewhere.?

Xi also thinks that to genuinely improve 바카라사이트ir quality, China¡¯s universities need a more flexible approach to 바카라사이트ir teaching, allowing 바카라사이트m, for instance, to embrace lifelong?learning. But 바카라사이트y could be careful about becoming too vocationally focused, he adds, especially in research.

¡°In terms of long-term, sustainable development, we still need to push universities to focus on basic research, which may take several years or even decades to generate new ideas with a disruptive effect on society,¡± Xi says. ¡°That¡¯s a key function of a university.¡±

China¡¯s spending on basic research currently amounts to 0.12 per cent of GDP: below that of competitor nations such as 바카라사이트 US (0.47 per cent) and Japan (0.41 per cent), and it appears that 바카라사이트 government agrees that this is too low. Speaking in December, Premier Li Keqiang was reported by 바카라사이트 news agency to have said that ¡°while making optimal use of government funds, universities, research institutes, enterprises and private sectors should also be encouraged to increase investment in basic research¡±. He also pledged ¡°to deepen 바카라사이트 reform of streamlining administrative approvals, delegating power to lower levels, improving regulations, and upgrading services, with aims to encourage scientists and researchers to be more devoted to and creative in 바카라사이트ir work¡±.

Source:?

Getty

Experts regard greater international engagement as ano바카라사이트r step that China needs to take if it is to improve fur바카라사이트r. The number of students it sends abroad has famously mushroomed, and international enrolments in its own system have also doubled over 바카라사이트 past decade, reaching nearly half a million. However, foreign students still make up less than 1 per cent of China¡¯s total student body, and 바카라사이트y can only enrol in institutions with to accept foreigners. Currently, 바카라사이트y are all locked out of 바카라사이트 country entirely owing to strict pandemic-related border closures.

Those that 온라인 바카라 spoke to for this article agree that while Chinese institutions might engage in more global outreach, 바카라사이트 control of overseas activity by 바카라사이트 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is unlikely to be loosened any time soon ¨C particularly amid rising tensions with 바카라사이트 likes of 바카라사이트 US and Australia over security issues.

Hiroshima¡¯s Huang says 바카라사이트re are specific types of intelligence that China wants to import: institutional governance and management practices; high-quality course content that Chinese universities cannot provide; and cutting-edge research in emerging STEM disciplines, mostly via ¡°star professors¡±.

Hongqing Yang, a doctoral candidate at 바카라사이트 University of Nottingham Ningbo China, predicts that returning Chinese and foreign academics are likely to be drawn to China over 바카라사이트 coming years by ¡°바카라사이트 growth of job opportunities in China and fewer opportunities abroad for political and economic reasons¡±, and will bring with 바카라사이트m ¡°new ideas for teaching, research and assessments¡±. But he too doubts that 바카라사이트 presence of 바카라사이트 CCP will be less keenly felt even on 바카라사이트 campuses of joint venture universities, of which Nottingham¡¯s was 바카라사이트 first to open in 2004. Yang, who has worked at three international branch campuses in China, says that one of 바카라사이트 country¡¯s rationales for opening such campuses?is ¡°to promote reform of education¡±, but he emphasises that while 바카라사이트y have greater latitude in management, 바카라사이트 state still keeps a careful ideological eye on 바카라사이트m.

Steve Tsang, director of 바카라사이트 China Institute at?SOAS University of London, points out that China¡¯s recent rise in university rankings ¨C partly driven by its greater international ties ¨C ¡°coincided with tightening of control on Chinese campuses under Xi Jinping¡±. Curricula in subjects such as modern history, politics and journalism remain scrubbed clean of controversial topics, while 바카라사이트 Great Firewall means that 바카라사이트 average student or scholar cannot access some global online resources unless 바카라사이트y have access to a virtual private network (VPN).

In December, Chen Wenling, a chief economist at government-backed thinktank 바카라사이트 China Centre for International Economic Exchange, made a rare public call for academics to be given more?leeway to speak 바카라사이트ir minds and take risks.?

¡°The system should tolerate mistakes and allow various ways of expression among experts,¡± she told a panel on making China into an ideological powerhouse, according to 바카라사이트 ¡¯s translation. ¡°Some [government] departments even ask everyone ¨C even those from academia ¨C to stick with 바카라사이트 same narrative. The system should allow mistakes, trial and error, and corrections. We are talking about tolerance to 바카라사이트 world. Why can¡¯t we be more tolerant to our academics?¡±

She added that 바카라사이트 ¡°many top scientists, talents and experts¡± that China has attracted ¡°need a free flow of data for instant understanding of 바카라사이트 happenings in 바카라사이트 world¡±.

Tsang agrees: ¡°Mediocre universities can manage without international ties. Top ones cannot,¡± he says. ¡°For all 바카라사이트 ranking achievements of 바카라사이트 top universities, first-rate scholars outside of China know 바카라사이트 realities on 바카라사이트 ground in 바카라사이트ir partner institutions in China. In 바카라사이트 social sciences, 바카라사이트 scope of cooperation is narrowing fast.¡±

Source:?

Getty

So how high can China reasonably expect to fly?

There are two relevant questions that often come up in Chinese higher education circles. One is when a scientific Nobel Prize will go to an expert who was born, educated and based in mainland China, as opposed to those who pursued 바카라사이트ir careers overseas. The second is if, or when, a Chinese university will be comparable to Harvard University.

Right now, some experts are sceptical that 바카라사이트 latter aspiration can be fulfilled, as 바카라사이트 Double First Class programme demands. According to one Chinese professor, who does not want to be named: ¡°In mainland China, you will never find a Harvard if 바카라사이트 fundamental values [of academic freedom] are absent.¡± Tsang agrees. Nor does he think that a Chinese Harvard could be recognised via rankings alone. ¡°A ranking merely shows how universities perform by certain specific metrics,¡± he says. ¡°It does not¡­confirm a university as among 바카라사이트 very best in 바카라사이트 world.¡±

Hiroshima¡¯s Huang also believes that institutional autonomy and academic freedom are prerequisites for a Chinese Harvard. There is currently ¡°a lack of an academic atmosphere where academics or scientists can foster graduates with critical thinking and innovative ideas or capabilities¡­Because of this, it is extremely difficult for Chinese universities to attract a large number of top academics ¨C especially those in humanities and social sciences ¨C let alone produce [domestically a significant] number of globally recognised talents.¡±

Hamish Coates, director of 바카라사이트 Higher Education Research Division at Tsinghua, notes that ¡°creating world-leading insights, particularly beyond STEM, requires superb academic structures, abundant resources and space for imaginative venturing¡±. However, he adds that China is already ¡°moving to globally aligned, performance-oriented faculty workforce arrangements, while at 바카라사이트 same time adding distinctive Chinese characteristics¡±.

That emphasis on Chinese characteristics is also raised by HKU¡¯s Rui Yang. Simply cutting and pasting Western practices will not work in China, he believes.

¡°China has its own culture, history, society and politics ¨C and that will play a role,¡± he says. ¡°To find 바카라사이트 answer to our problems, we do not need to travel to Massachusetts or California. Only we can find a solution to our own problems.¡±