On December 21, 2025, the 6th “Development of World-Class Research Universities Conference” with the theme “Development and Evaluation of New-Model Research Universities” was held in the Conference Hall of the Convention Center at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). Yao PENG, President of the Shenzhen Education Association, Hongwei FANG, Vice President and Provost of SUSTech, and more than 200 experts, scholars, department officials, and postgraduates from over 120 universities and research institutions across the country attended the meeting.

In his opening remarks, Hongwei FANG pointed out that the development and evaluation of new-model research universities align with the strategic needs of building a strong nation in education, technology, and talent. There is an urgent need to strengthen the role of higher education in supporting science, technology, and talent through evaluation reform. New-model research universities should not only excel in individual areas such as education, science, and talent, but should also generate a multiplying effect on social contributions through the deep integration of the three. SUSTech undertakes Shenzhen’s first pilot project to deepen the reform of education evaluation in the new era, titled “Evaluation Reform of New-Model Research Universities.” This project aims to explore the construction of an innovative and appropriate evaluation index system for new-model research universities, focusing on dimensions such as innovative talent cultivation and scientific and technological development. The “Evaluation Reform of New-Model Research Universities” was also a key topic of discussion at this conference, experts and scholars were encouraged to engage in in-depth exchanges and put forward constructive policy recommendations and action plans.

The conference closely focused on national strategic needs and the macro trends of higher education reform, precisely concentrating on the core theme of “Development and Evaluation of New-Model Research Universities,” and arranged 13 high-quality keynote presentations. The 13 professors’ keynote reports were respectively chaired by professors Qingnian XIONG from Fudan University, Jianling XU from Shenzhen Polytechnic, and Jun LI from Shenzhen University.

Haifeng LIU, from Zhejiang University, gave an in-depth analysis of the origin, policies, and future direction of new-model research universities in his lecture titled “The Origin and Direction of New-Model Research Universities.” Xiaoming LI, from Great Bay University, in his report “New-Model Research Universities: A Symphony of Ideals and Reality,” LI pointed out that, for new-model research universities, evaluations are important as a guiding direction to inspire these universities to make leading contributions to human scientific and technological progress. Luting MA, from the China National Institute of Education Sciences, gave a detailed expose on “Achieving the Ascension from New Universities to New-Model Research Universities.” Tingzhu CHEN, from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, focused on “The Interdisciplinary Development of New-Model Research Universities.” Jin LIU, from Renmin University of China, compared the core research characteristics of new-model research universities in his report “Organized Research Models of New-Model Research Universities.” Xiaohao DING, from Great Bay University, in the report “Quality and Efficiency in New-Model Research Universities,” proposed that new-model research universities should balance quality and efficiency. Liang CHEN, from Shaanxi Normal University, explained the relationship and optimization strategies between universities and regional sustainable development in his report “Synergy Effects of New-Model Research Universities Empowering Regional Sustainable Development.”

Yuzhuo CAI from The Education University of Hong Kong, Guangcai YAN from East China Normal University, and Fei XU from Fujian Fuyao University of Science and Technology, each discussed the development of new-model research universities from the perspectives of international comparison and historical investigation. Zhifeng LI from Wuhan University of Technology, Hongcai WANG from Xiamen University, and Hong SHEN from SUSTech presented special reports on research findings related to the evaluation of new-model research universities. Among them, Chair Professor Hong SHEN gave a report titled “Theoretical Foundations and Practical References for the Evaluation of New-Model Research Universities,” in which she introduced the “new” and the “model” aspects of new-model research universities, their “external characteristics” and “internal characteristics,” the logical starting points for evaluating new-model research universities, the “six-dimensions for university evaluation” derived from the idea that “a university is an academic organization,” as well as practical considerations in the evaluation process.

The roundtable discussion on “Collaborative Innovation in Higher Education across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau” was chaired by Associate Professor Wenqin SHEN from Peking University. Professors Gerard A. Postiglione and Rui YANG of the University of Hong Kong, and Assistant Research Professor Yao ZHOU of SUSTech, conducted a constructive roundtable discussion focusing on key issues such as the challenges and opportunities faced by higher education institutions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, resource complementarity and integration, mechanism connectivity, and the construction of collaborative innovation communities, providing new ideas for the collaborative innovation development of higher education in the Greater Bay Area. 

The special discussion “Roundtable on New-Model Research University Case: The SUSTech Research” was chaired by Associate Research Professor Le KANG of SUSTech. Together with Professor Qingsong LIU, Associate Professor Xu LIU, Assistant Professor Yuan GAO, and Assistant Research Professor Fan JIANG, SUSTech’s development experiences in teambuilding with talent, talent cultivation, internationalization, and science and technology development evaluation were each analyzed.

At the research results release session, Chair Professor Hong SHEN presented the first two monographs of the “SUSTech Research Series,” published by the China Social Sciences Press and edited by the President Qikun XUE of SUSTech, along with Hongwei FANG and Hong SHEN. The two monographs are: “Innovation of Faculty Development Institution in New-Model Research University – The Case of SUSTech” and “Innovation of Students Cultivation Institution in New-Model Research University – The Case of SUSTech,” showcasing the latest research achievements on SUSTech study in integrating the theory and practice of new-model research universities.

In addition, the Center for Higher Education Research of SUSTech and the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) jointly released the “Blue Book of Global Higher Education Knowledge Production.”