html On July 1, under the guidance of China Association for Science and Technology , the "New Cornerstone Researcher Project" (hereinafter referred to as "New Cornerstone"), which is led by scientists, funded by Tencent, and independently operated, officially opened for application. Public information shows that the entire application period for the project will last for three months until the end of September 30, 2022.
It is understood that "New Cornerstone" is a new basic research funding project that focuses on original innovation, encourages free exploration, and has a public welfare attribute. As the funder of the project, Tencent will invest 10 billion yuan in the next 10 years (this fund comes from the 100 billion special fund established by Tencent after launching the sustainable social value innovation strategy in 2021) to provide long-term and stable support for a project. A group of outstanding scientists have devoted themselves to basic research and achieved original innovation "from 0 to 1".
The importance of basic research is self-evident. It is the source of the entire science and technology , and also provides the foundation and stamina for the transformation of social and economic development from factor-driven to innovation-driven. Although China has made great progress in basic research, its "shortcomings" are still outstanding, and its original innovation ability "from 0 to 1" needs to be improved urgently. The original intention of the "New Cornerstone" project was precisely to improve this ability. Based on this, the "new cornerstone" of "selecting people but not projects" will be led by scientists in the future, determined to become a useful supplement to the state's support for basic scientific research, and contribute to the achievement of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the 2035 vision. strength.
"Ambitious, young and powerful, courageous to take on responsibilities, and dare to go all out to explore in areas unreached by mankind. These are the scientists we want to support." Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences , President of West Lake University , "New Cornerstone" Scientific Committee Chairman Shi Yigong said so. Zhang Jie, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, director of the Li Zhengdao Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and member of the "New Cornerstone" Scientific Committee, issued an invitation to scientists: "Scientists need opportunities and support to realize their dreams. The 'New Cornerstone' is here, your dream Is it big enough? ”
Focus on “selecting people rather than projects”
Support 200-300 outstanding scientists in the next 10 years
In fact, after years of development, my country’s basic scientific research has made great progress. However, top scientific research talents It is still a pain point for scientific research in our country. In 2018, the State Council issued the "Several Opinions of the State Council on Comprehensively Strengthening Basic Scientific Research" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), which pointed out that compared with the requirements of building a world power in science and technology, my country's shortcomings in basic scientific research are still outstanding. There is insufficient investment in basic research, unreasonable structure, and lack of top talents and teams.
The "China Science and Technology Talent Development Report (2020)" also shows that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the growth rate of corporate scientific research and experimental development personnel in my country has slowed down, and the investment intensity of scientific research and experimental development personnel (all R&D personnel among 10,000 employed persons) Time equivalent), the proportion of researchers involved in scientific research and experimental development is still far behind that of major countries in the world, and the overall quality and structure of scientific and technological talents needs to be further improved.
Competition in comprehensive national strength is ultimately a competition for talents. In the face of major changes unseen in a century, the importance of talent training has become even more prominent. "New Cornerstone" adopts the "select people rather than projects" model, which is actually a characteristic label of "people-oriented, long-term perspective". While focusing on basic research talents, it also helps the construction of basic research talent teams in our country.
It is reported that Tencent will provide long-term and stable support for 200-300 outstanding scientists to devote themselves to basic research within 10 years, realize original innovation "from 0 to 1", and promote scientific development. In 2022, the "New Cornerstone" plan will support 60 people.
In essence, the "New Cornerstone Researcher Program" focuses on "selecting people rather than selecting projects". It focuses more on the basic research talent team and supports creative scientists to carry out exploratory and risky projects. basic research.To this end, the project strictly follows the "scientist-led" principle in talent selection and has established a scientific committee as the decision-making body for talent selection.
Judging from the currently public information, the "new cornerstone" includes institutional nomination and free declaration. Applicants for both declaration methods need to meet the following conditions: under 55 years old at the time of declaration; serving as a doctoral supervisor for more than 5 years; Work full-time in Mainland China or Hong Kong and Macao (regardless of nationality); devote no less than 9 months to scientific research every year; have experience in undertaking basic research topics and still be on the front line of research.
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Social forces join in
Provide new possibilities to promote "from 0 to 1"
Basic research is the driving force and source of building an innovative country, but it also faces practical problems such as long cycle, high difficulty, and high risk. . How to get more funds into basic research has also become a problem that relevant departments hope to solve. In recent years, the state has attached great importance to diversified investment in basic research and has included “encouraging social forces to invest in basic research” into its policies.
In 2018, the "Several Opinions" proposed to establish a diversified investment mechanism in basic research, explore measures such as co-building new R&D institutions, joint funding, and charitable donations, and encourage enterprises and social forces to increase investment in basic research. In 2020, six departments, including the General Office of the Ministry of Science and Technology, further clarified in relevant notices that they support the establishment of basic research donation funds from all walks of life.
Under the guidance and support of policies, social funds fund basic research to provide new possibilities for "breaking problems" to freely explore and promote original innovation "from 0 to 1". Industry insiders generally believe that the flexibility and advantage of social funds can provide scientists with the greatest freedom, support them in planning longer-term scientific goals, and engage in challenging and scientifically important explorations without hesitation.
According to the information disclosed by "New Cornerstone", the project currently has two fields: mathematics and physical science, and biological and medical science, and encourages cross-disciplinary research. Among them, physical science includes physics, chemistry and those with no immediate possibility of industrialization. theoretical computer field. At the same time, the "New Cornerstone" funding categories are set to experimental and theoretical categories. The experimental category shall not exceed 5 million yuan per person per year, and the theoretical category shall not exceed 3 million yuan per person per year, for five consecutive years. If the funding period expires and passes the evaluation, the funding will be renewed.
It is worth mentioning that the “New Cornerstone Researcher Project” is not the first time Tencent has contributed to national basic research. According to the "Tencent Sustainable Social Value Report (2021)", as early as 2018, Tencent launched the Scientific Exploration Award and funded 150 outstanding young scientists, many of whom are committed to research in key areas. In addition to financial support, Tencent also held the "Young Scientists 50² Forum" to build a high-level interdisciplinary communication platform for outstanding young scientists. It is on the basis of these continuous attempts that companies can fully understand the general expectations of the scientist community, and the "New Cornerstone" project came into being.
"From tracking to imitating, to transcending and leading, China's scientific development is in a critical opportunity period with conditions for breakthroughs and gains. The 'New Cornerstone Researcher Project' hopes to become a useful supplement to the country's support for basic scientific research, and to continue to make breakthroughs and inject new ideas into basic research." A unique 'catalyst'," Shi Yigong said. Pan Jianwei, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, executive vice president of the University of Science and Technology of China, and member of the scientific committee of the "New Cornerstone Researcher Program", also said that the "New Cornerstone" project responds to the long-standing expectations of the scientific community, free exploration and targeting uncertainty, It is often difficult, risky and time-consuming. Social funds are more flexible and can provide timely help to scientists who focus on free exploration.
has high hopes in the industry
"New Cornerstone" wants to select such scientists
What kind of scientists does "New Cornerstone" hope to select?
Shi Yigong said, “In my personal opinion, how many articles the applicant has published, how many patents he has, and how many citations he has are not the key or the standard. The only standard is whether his past research has had an international impact. , whether the research to be carried out in the future is really at the forefront of basic research, we hope to see his ambition and see that no one has tried his research direction. "
Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of the Department of Science at Peking University, "New Cornerstone". Science Committee member Xie Xiaoliang also said: "We hope that the selected 'New Cornerstone Researchers' will be the most original scientists in a field. When his name is mentioned, people can think of his pioneering work in this field. "
When talking about the future, Zhang Jie very much hopes that the "New Cornerstone" will have an important impact on improving my country's basic research ecology. "I hope that in ten years' time, there will be a group of New Cornerstone researchers who will have a leading role in their fields. Everyone. "
It is understood that the official website of the "New Cornerstone Researcher Project" (https://www.newcornerstone.org.cn) has been officially launched. Applicants can learn more about the subdivisions, application guide, FAQs, etc. through the official website. information and complete the application through the project official website. This year's "New Cornerstone Researcher Program" funding list will be announced in the first quarter of 2023.
