2023 High Recruitment Season - A Special Program for Professional Academicians to Talk to Young Students | Professional | Youth

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Editor's note:

It's another high recruitment season. Candidates and parents who are struggling with filling out their college entrance examination preferences are eager to learn about the latest developments in their majors and employment prospects. China Youth Daily, China Engineering Education Professional Certification Association, Ministry of Education Education Quality Evaluation Center and other units jointly launched the "Desired Professions - Academician Dialogue with Young Students" series of programs, inviting 12 academicians to interpret 11 major categories, providing authoritative, comprehensive, and practical professional guidance for candidates and parents.

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Academician Tao Wenquan: What is the "energy" of energy and power majors

Yang Jie, intern journalist of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network

Energy and power related majors are closely related to the national energy strategy.

At the critical moment of filling in college entrance examination volunteers, Tao Wenquan, an academician of the CAS Member and a professor of the School of Energy and Power Engineering of Xi'an Jiaotong University, talked with young students about energy and power majors in the special program "Yearning Major · Academicians Dialogue with Young Students" in the 2023 college entrance season.

The energy and power major is divided into three directions: energy and power engineering, energy and environmental systems engineering, and new energy science and engineering. The most important foundational courses include fluid mechanics, engineering thermodynamics, heat transfer, and combustion, covering multiple application levels in the national energy field. Academician Tao Wenquan's idol, Qian Xuesen, has made important contributions to the study of high-speed aerodynamics in fluid mechanics.

"To excel in energy and power related majors, it is necessary to have a broad disciplinary foundation." Tao Wenquan introduced that energy and power involve topics such as thermal energy conversion and power machinery. In the related operations of mechanical operation, knowledge of automatic control and artificial intelligence has also been widely applied.

Nowadays, energy and power majors have undergone deeper cross integration. Introducing knowledge such as numerical calculations into the profession, computer simulation techniques can be used to study relevant knowledge points in heat transfer. In addition, the research field is constantly expanding, and micro and nano heat transfer have become important research branches, further promoting the deep integration of disciplines.

The application of knowledge in energy and power related disciplines is changing production and life. In 2017, Yang Ronggui, a professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, invented a scalable and non energy consuming radiation cooling film, which was selected as one of the "Top 10 Global Physical Breakthroughs" in 2017 by Physical World. The film is applied to the surface of the airport, and in summer, the energy emitted into the air by the film is much greater than the absorbed solar heat, thereby achieving a cooling effect and reducing the use of air conditioning and other cooling facilities at the airport.

The knowledge of energy and power related majors can be used to solve production and application problems in enterprises, research institutes, factories, and other fields. What impressed Academician Tao Wenquan was that Professor Wang Qiuwang from Xi'an Jiaotong University led a team to study spiral flow heat exchangers, breaking the technological monopoly of foreign companies for many years. It also achieved performance upgrades for heat exchangers, solved the problem of fouling and the need for cleaning and replacement of heat exchangers in Daqing Oilfield every six months, and achieved normal operation of heat exchangers for more than six years.

"In the future, with the clean and efficient development of new energy, energy and power majors will have great potential," said Academician Tao Wenquan.

At the International Heat Transfer Conference held every four years, the number of articles published by Chinese scientists has increased from just over a dozen per conference many years ago to over 500 per conference today, accounting for more than half of the total number of conference articles. As an internationally renowned engineering thermophysicist and expert in numerical heat transfer, Tao Wenquan exclaimed, "With the development of our country's economy, research on heat transfer has also made great progress, and its status in the international community is constantly improving."

Academician Tao Wenquan, who is 84 years old, still remembers a sentence his mentor once said: "We are Heat Transfer Men.". Since becoming acquainted with energy and power majors, he has regarded this major as a lifelong passion, and even today he will delve into new research topics until late at night. He said, "If you like it, there will be no complaints."

Academician Wu Shouer Slam: Computer related majors face the challenges of technological revolution

Reporter Zhang Miao and Wang Xueying from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network

In the opinion of Wu Shouer Slam, an academician of the CAE Member and a professor of Xinjiang University, the impact of the new wave of artificial intelligence on technology and social development is "beyond doubt".

"New technologies will bring more challenges and opportunities to students studying this major," Academician Wu Shouer told China Youth Daily/China Youth Network during the 2023 high school recruitment season.

He mentioned that in today's world, information technology is advancing rapidly, and digitization, networking, and intelligence are prominent features of the new round of technological revolution. They are also the core of the new generation of information technology. While promoting economic and social development, modernizing national governance systems and capabilities, and meeting the growing needs of the people for a better life, they have also given rise to new disciplines such as cyberspace security, as well as emerging interdisciplinary fields such as artificial intelligence in the era of big data.

Digital media technology, intelligent science and technology, new media technology, virtual reality technology, blockchain engineering, cryptography science and technology, etc., all belong to the new fields that the new generation of information technology has given birth to in the process of driving social and economic development. With the integration and development of technologies such as 5G, big data, cloud computing, and AI, more terminals have become internet entry points, and more information services and smart services are accelerating to emerge.

"What we often talk about are the Internet of Things, the metaverse, cultural dissemination, human daily information exchange, and students' daily use of mobile terminals to learn about office work, shopping and payment, instant messaging, voice communication, and creating and sharing short videos, all of which are closely related to computer related majors," said Wu Shouer.

Regarding this, Liu Jiren, Chairman of Neusoft Group, also told reporters that digital technology is constructing a digital society that transcends reality, and can see space for future development in the field of computer related fields.

Liu Jiren believes that practitioners should have strong learning ability and curiosity, as well as the ability to collaborate and innovate.

"We need to see the arrival of a digital society, a world where everything is interconnected and intelligent," he said. "In the past 20 years, the speed of iteration in the entire computer industry has been increasing. New technologies will bring more challenges and opportunities to students studying this major."

Wu Shouer told reporters that computer related majors are engineering disciplines that combine computer hardware and software, are system oriented, and lean towards applications. After graduation, students can engage in scientific research, education, development, and application in computer related fields.

The main characteristics of computer related majors are strong theoretical and practical, and rapid development. They require a solid theoretical and professional foundation in mathematics, logic, data structure, algorithms, architecture, and other aspects. At the same time, they need to cultivate strong engineering practical abilities, focus on the forefront of disciplines, and cultivate comprehensive research and development abilities.

Wu Shouer suggests that choosing a major should take into account factors such as students' interests, talents, abilities, family, and future development plans, and should not be blindly followed. After making a choice, one should not be afraid of hardship and continue to work hard.

Wu Shouer made a prospect for the industry, believing that the development of quantum computers will definitely impact the application and disciplinary development of electronic computers, and the era of electronic computers is about to develop into the era of quantum computers.

"If you are someone who dares to innovate, I suggest you choose computers; if you want to integrate into the tide of national development and social progress, I suggest you learn computer science," he said.

Academician Hao Fang: Geological majors take you up close to experience the beauty of the Earth

Reporter Fan Weichen from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network

Hao Fang, an academician of the CAS Member and president of the China University of Petroleum, is willing to spend more time in the field and study. "Geology is a very romantic major."

When it comes to geological majors, people may immediately associate them with "wilderness" and "hardship", but in interviews with Academician Hao Fang, he used the word "romance" several times.

What kind of romance is romance from the wilderness? What kind of future will studying geology bring to students? Hao Fang, an academician of the CAS Member, president of the China University of Petroleum, and Qin Ning, chief engineer of the Geophysical Exploration Research Institute of Sinopec Shengli Oilfield, were invited to talk with young students on the program "Yearning for Profession, Academicians Dialogue with Young Students" in the 2023 high action season to analyze geological majors.

"Geology is an ancient discipline, and when we say 'mathematics, physics, chemistry, heaven, earth, and biology', the term 'earth' refers to geology." Hao Fang said that studying related majors does require some field work. "The Earth has a history of 4.6 billion years and has undergone a very complex and interesting evolution process. The Earth has given humans too much, and there are many things that we humans have not fully understood.". Therefore, Hao Fang said that field internships are very meaningful and necessary when studying geological related majors.

At first, students also thought that field internships were difficult, but at the end of each internship, "students feel that the internship time is not long enough because the geological process is too beautiful. We are also increasing the time for field internships, which is an important part of the adjustment and reform of the education system in the new era." Hao Fang said.

In Qin Ning's view, students have learned a lot of knowledge and principles in school, but they do not understand how field seismic excitation and detector reception work. Through field internships, students have deepened their understanding of field construction methods. More importantly, during the internship process, students can more vividly feel the difficulty of collecting data by field personnel. In the subsequent learning and work, they will use technology to better process the data, allowing the data collected in the field to play a greater role.

"Although geological majors are ancient, they are also a discipline and professional field closely integrated with modern technology. A considerable portion of the world's most powerful computers are used in petroleum enterprises," said Hao Fang. Especially with the continuous development of artificial intelligence, wings have been added to this ancient discipline, highlighting the high-tech sense of this industry.

"More and more artificial intelligence applications are liberating more and more manpower, allowing them to invest more in research and development work," Qin Ning said.

Academician Hao Fang hopes that more young people will choose geological majors. "China has a unique Chinese story, and Chinese geology is a unique place in China. Telling Chinese stories well can lead to a rich and colorful geological life," Hao Fang said.

Academician Tang Lixin: Automation can expand the territory of human cognition

Reporter Fan Xue from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network

What majors are included in the automation category? What are the characteristics of automation majors? Why do some people refer to it as a "jack of all trades" profession? Is there a wide range of employment opportunities for automation majors? When it comes to automation majors, candidates and parents may have some questions.

Tang Lixin, an academician of the CAE Member, vice president of Northeastern University, director of the automation discipline, and director of the Chinese Association of Automation, was invited to the special program "Yearning for Professions, Academicians Dialogue with Young Students", and gave an in-depth interpretation of automation majors.

In Tang Lixin's view, "automation can expand the territory of human cognition.".

"Automation majors have a wide range of applications, especially in manufacturing and industrial fields, and have played a very important role in improving quality and efficiency. In other fields, such as agriculture, automation majors will also play a very important role." Tang Lixin introduced that studying automation majors will have a very important impact on students' thinking patterns, especially on their abilities in synthesis, system design, innovation, and so on.

What are the requirements for the quality of students studying automation majors? Tang Lixin summarized it into two points: "One is design ability, which is how to design a control system and an automation system. Behind the design ability, it also reflects system thinking, which is the ability to connect different things together. The other is integrated thinking, which connects previously opposed or isolated things together. Behind this ability, scientific thinking is also needed.".

When it comes to why he chose an automation major and has been deeply involved in this field for nearly 40 years, Tang Lixin believes that "interest is the most important". He encouraged students, "Once something is designed, it must be done in the long run and persevere. It is also necessary to maintain a craftsman spirit in construction in order to turn your blueprint into a beautiful reality."

With the development of technology and the advancement of artificial intelligence, Tang Lixin believes that automation majors now face two major opportunities: "Firstly, the opportunity of the times, where artificial intelligence provides excellent bottom-up perceptual support for the development of industrial automation; secondly, the national level attaches great importance to it, especially our country attaches great importance to the real economy. In this regard, automation will play a very important role in technical support."

Currently, candidates and parents are highly concerned about the development prospects of automation related majors. Tang Lixin introduced that students majoring in automation have multiple choices after graduation: "Firstly, they can continue their studies and engage in scientific and technological research; secondly, they can work in enterprises, such as traditional industrial fields such as steel, equipment, logistics and energy, or in emerging enterprises; thirdly, they can play a role in other aspects of society in a comprehensive manner."

In his view, artificial intelligence will bring about significant changes in employment, but students majoring in automation have good adaptability and are not entirely limited to the three typical jobs mentioned above. "The thinking training students receive through studying automation majors can support them in opening up new horizons in the information field, thereby providing them with more employment opportunities."

Academician Longteng: Instrumentation majors are a "treasure trove" that cannot be separated from technological breakthroughs

Reporter Ye Yuting from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network

Among the many majors that universities can choose from, one major is a special existence. In the process of human technological development, it is not only a scientific discovery, but also an important tool for scientific discovery. It is an instrument related major.

"From Galileo's two balls dropped from the gravity experiment on the Leaning Tower of Pisa, to the physical scales in France, electronic instruments in Germany, and today's computers, these are all 'instruments'. It can be said that the level of the instruments determines the level of a country's scientific research. The development of instruments, especially sophisticated instruments, is an important symbol of a country's scientific research level." Long Teng, academician of the CAE Member and president of Beijing University of Technology, said in an interview with the reporter of the China Youth Daily.

For the general public, "instruments" are a field of expertise that few people are familiar with. There is a joke online: There is a student whose major is "Measurement and Control Technology and Instruments". They are almost graduating, and their family still cannot pronounce the name of this major.

Long Teng said that although instrument majors may seem niche, they are widely used in daily life.

"The application of instruments in daily life is widespread in various fields and households," said Long Teng. For example, the CT and MRI used for medical examinations belong to the category of instruments. People go to the airport and take security checkpoints, and the explosion-proof inspection equipment used here also belongs to the category of instruments. He said, "The mass spectrometer used to monitor water pollution and food safety issues in daily life also belongs to the category of instruments. In fact, our people's lives cannot do without instruments."

Longteng also stated that instruments are the most important aid in scientific discoveries. "For example, the 'Chinese Eye' has brought about a revolutionary change in our understanding of distant pulsars. It can be said that instruments are a research field that covers thousands of households, supports scientific discoveries, and is itself a major scientific discovery, involving various disciplines such as mathematics, physics, precision machinery, and computers."

So, what is the experience of studying instrument related majors? Li Guanlin, a 2019 undergraduate student at the School of Optoelectronics at Beijing Institute of Technology, said that the most interesting aspect of studying instrument related majors is the process of turning the learned principles into tangible objects.

"In practical courses, we need to turn theory into reality. For example, our major has a course called Principles and Design of Optoelectronic Instruments. In this course, each student has to play the role of a future engineer. They need to design a complete optical device from principle to reality." Li Guanlin said that he designed an optical device based on the principle of light interference for alcohol concentration detection, which was recognized and praised by the teachers, and also gave him a sense of achievement and mission.

Zhao Weiqian, Dean of the School of Optoelectronics at Beijing Institute of Technology, stated that the employment directions for instrument majors can be divided into several aspects.

"Firstly, one can enter universities or research institutions to engage in scientific research focused on cutting-edge or basic sciences; secondly, one can enter some engineering oriented research institutions or application oriented industrial and mining enterprises to engage in instrument development work for engineering needs and applications; thirdly, one can enter some market-oriented companies, many commercial companies also have talent needs and application scenarios for instrument majors." Zhao Weiqian said.

Academicians Wang Qi and Tian Jinzhou: Traditional Chinese Medicine majors take you to explore the wisdom of China for thousands of years

Reporter Fan Weichen from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network

"Chinese medicine has a history of thousands of years, and it is a great thing to be able to devote all one's life to it," said Wang Qi, an academician of the CAE Member and professor of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a discipline with a long history. So, what kind of Chinese wisdom does Traditional Chinese Medicine, which has a history of thousands of years, contain? What kind of development will there be when entering this field? In the 2023 high recruitment season, Wang Qi, two academicians of the CAE Member, professors of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Tian Jinzhou were invited to talk with young students in the program "Yearning for a Major, Academicians Dialogue with Young Students" to analyze the specialty of traditional Chinese medicine.

People are no strangers to traditional Chinese medicine, especially since the COVID-19, traditional Chinese medicine has played an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of the epidemic, but for students who want to enter the category of traditional Chinese medicine to study, they also need to have a deeper understanding of this major.

"Chinese medicine is not only the achievement of ancient Chinese cultural philosophy and science and technology, but also combines the concepts and methods of modern science," said Tian Jinzhou, an academician of the CAE Member and a professor at Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. "It is interesting that we need to learn and explore."

There has always been a comparison and debate in society regarding traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. In the view of Academician Wang Qi, traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine are two paths and methods for interpreting the world and understanding life. For example, when facing patients with sore throats, Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine will adopt completely different diagnostic and treatment methods. "Ultimately, both can solve problems. Therefore, the relationship between traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine is not simply additive, they complement each other," Wang Qi said.

Tian Jinzhou introduced that the curriculum system of traditional Chinese medicine majors is "my master follows", mainly focusing on traditional Chinese medicine courses, while also incorporating basic and practical Western medicine courses such as biology, pharmacology, anatomy, etc. "This includes all clinical courses of Western medicine, laying a good foundation for students to connect with Western medicine."

With the continuous development of traditional Chinese medicine majors, the employment opportunities for studying traditional Chinese medicine majors are also very broad. There are many job opportunities in various fields such as promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and health. There are many newly built hospitals that integrate traditional Chinese and Western medicine across the country, and these hospitals also have traditional Chinese medicine departments. "In the field of rehabilitation, there will also be a great demand from society in the near future," said Tian Jinzhou.

However, no matter what understanding one has of traditional Chinese medicine majors, in order to achieve success, one must be prepared to endure hardships. As Tian Jinzhou said, "No matter what major one chooses, students need to be curious, make arduous efforts, and adopt exploratory methods to learn. Only in this way can they become good doctors, researchers, and teachers in the future."

Academician Lin Zhongqin: Going from heaven to earth and from the sea is not possible without a major in mechanical engineering

Reporter Wang Yejie from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network

The School of Mechanical and Power Engineering is one of the oldest, most representative, and influential departments of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. There are nearly 50 academicians who have studied and worked in the college. People's scientist Qian Xuesen was a graduate of the 1934 cohort, and Wang Xiji, a recipient of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" Merit Medal, served as the director of the Turbine Teaching and Research Office. Gu Songfen, a recipient of the highest national science and technology award, graduated from the Department of Aviation Engineering in 1951. Numerous alumni have participated in creating many firsts in China: the first escalator, the first 10000 ton ship, the first sounding rocket, the first atomic bomb, and the first artificial satellite.

The manufacturing of "national treasures" such as rockets, airplanes, and large ships cannot do without talents trained in mechanical engineering.

Recently, Lin Zhongqin, an academician of the CAE Member, chairman of the Chinese Society of Mechanical Engineering, and former president of Shanghai Jiaotong University, received an exclusive interview with reporters from the China Youth Daily and China Youth Network. Through the dialogue with young students, he explained the mechanical engineering specialty for students and introduced the cutting-edge direction of the discipline.

"Our country has the highest number of engineering talents in the world," Lin Zhongqin said. Among the many engineering talents, mechanical talents are a major category, accounting for about one sixth of engineering talents. In the 2021 report of the "Strategic Research on World Top Engineering Colleges" consulting and research project of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, it was revealed that China cultivates a huge number of engineering talents every year, with the total number of engineering graduates exceeding one-third of the total number of engineering graduates in the world.

Lin Zhongqin said, "In the past, when it comes to mechanical engineering, people always thought it was a physics and mechanics related major. However, now, this major emphasizes the combination with information technology. For example, Professor Gao's team fully integrates structural mechanics and information technology in the process of designing a docking robot in the aerospace field. This is a new development direction for our mechanical discipline."

Huang Yiji, a junior undergraduate student majoring in Mechanical Engineering at the School of Mechanical and Power Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, has a special understanding of this. He introduced that in a course called "Introduction to Engineering", students will be asked to form teams in small groups to solve practical engineering problems submitted by a company. "My team is going to design and produce an automatic garbage collection device in this course."

Wang He, Deputy General Manager of Capital Aerospace Machinery Co., Ltd., is currently studying at the School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and is a student of Academician Lin Zhongqin. His company is the largest carrier rocket assembly manufacturing enterprise in the country, and its products include the Long March series rockets.

"After graduating with a PhD, I worked on valve products at the front line of the company, researching how to improve their qualification rate and manufacturing efficiency, optimizing the process, and soaking in the workshop every day. Wang He still remembers that he received many offers from enterprises before graduation. When seeking the opinions of Academician Lin Zhongqin, Academician Lin clearly told him, 'Don't look at money, look at development, platform, and what kind of work you do.'". In Lin Zhongqin's view, it is good for a PhD graduate from Shanghai Jiao Tong University to go to the front line of the factory for training.

Lin Zhongqin told reporters that the biggest feature of the mechanical engineering major is the ability to turn "things that come to mind" into real-life products. "Mathematics and physics are the basics, and after mastering these two courses, students who enjoy making inventions and creations are most suitable for our mechanical engineering discipline. Our students love hands-on and practical work, and are also willing to go to the front line for hands-on practice after graduation."

Academician Chen Xiaoping: Cultivating "Good" Doctors in Clinical Medicine

Reporter Zhang Miao from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network Intern Reporter Yang Jie

"Clinical medicine", as the name suggests, means "personally visiting the hospital bed". In the words of Chen Xiaoping, an academician of the CAS Member and honorary president of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, clinical medicine is a discipline that directly faces diseases and patients, studies the causes, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of diseases, improves the level of clinical treatment, and thus promotes human health.

"In the most easily understandable words for students, clinical medicine is the profession that cultivates clinical doctors." In the special program "Aspirated Professions: Academician Dialogue with Young Students" during the 2023 high school recruitment season, Academician Chen Xiaoping told reporters that clinical medicine, basic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, nursing, and other fields all belong to the first level disciplines under the medical category. Under clinical medicine, there are more than ten secondary disciplines, such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, emergency medicine, geriatrics, neurology, and so on.

According to Chen Xiaoping, in China, the length of study for clinical medicine is generally 5 years, and the degree is awarded as a Bachelor of Medicine. There are more than 10 high-level medical colleges in China that offer 8-year clinical medicine programs, which are integrated with undergraduate and doctoral programs and confer medical doctoral degrees.

After graduating from a bachelor's degree in clinical medicine, one cannot directly become a doctor. They must participate in the National Medical Practitioner Qualification Examination and pass the examination before registering as a true practicing physician. They also need to participate in the National Health Commission's standardized training for resident physicians and specialized physicians, gradually growing into specialized doctors in a certain professional field.

Chen Xiaoping told reporters that when he was in elementary school, he didn't say he wanted to become a doctor, and even "scared when he saw a doctor". He even went under the table when getting vaccinations. "Later on, I became a doctor myself," he said with emotion.

What moved him to this idea was the blow of two relatives passing away due to illness. Later, Chen Xiaoping began working as a barefoot doctor in the countryside. Subsequently, he was admitted to Bengbu Medical College and began receiving medical education, ultimately choosing liver surgery as his main focus.

The most impressive experience for him was an appendectomy. At that time, he interned at the Jiulonggang Coal Mine Hospital in Huainan and completed the surgery in less than 20 minutes. The rapid appendectomy caused a great sensation in the local area. He found that through his own efforts, he was ultimately able to help patients overcome their pain.

This unforgettable experience made Chen Xiaoping very happy and also made him determined,