Rather than trying to compete with researchers in developed countries and in order to quickly present breakthroughs Chinese universities should be more innovation-oriented in their research work, a top education official said in Shanghai yesterday.

 

The comment was made at the 2006 University Forum on the university's role in the urban innovation system. This is a conference affiliated to the ongoing China International Industry Fair.

 

More than 60 university presidents and education officials from about 10 countries and regions attended the one-day forum at East China University of Science and Technology.

 

"It seems that every university in the country pledges to build itself into a world-class university with high education quality and research ability," said Zhao Qinping, vice minister of education. He observed that this approach often led to researchers trying to make breakthroughs in fields that other universities around the world were already working on instead of looking into new areas. However, such an approach would take a much longer time to pay off.

 

He noted that tight research budgets didn't allow researchers to submerge themselves in a project for extended periods so many Chinese in this field were pushed to achieve something quickly.  

 

Ronald K. Machtley, president of the US Bryant College, said historically China was home to great innovations that influenced human civilization. But in recent decades innovative industrial thinking had come from other parts of the world.

 

(Shanghai Daily November 3, 2006)