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Economic Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Can India match China's STEM success by rethinking its higher education model?
On a different ivy league: Students of Nanjing University My daughter, who is completing high school, has expressed interest in continuing her education in the biotech space at college level and beyond. While researching the top institutions globally in this space, I was surprised to see a plethora of Chinese universities dominating the rankings. As I looked through other STEM areas, the same pattern emerged - if not accentuated - with much larger presence of Chinese universities, especially in areas of computer science and AI.I recollected a conversation with a professor-friend of mine in the US, who had been tracking Chinese research output. He had told me that over the past 20 years, output from Chinese universities in STEM has been continuously exceeding that from the US. For a country that still gets lampooned in international media for 'cheap copy' or 'substandard product', increasingly innovative capabilities in social media like TikTok, or in AI like DeepSeek and Manus, are stunning the world. China's dominance in solar cell manufacturing and EVs is already well known. So, how did China make it happen? Project 985, conceptualised in 1998 by the Jiang Zemin administration, selected 39 universities for increased investments to make them 'world-class'. The results are now showing. Focus on the number of universities has since gone far beyond the original 39. Ecosystems are forming around chosen universities similar to ones created in areas like Boston and Bay Area in the responded to the looming challenge in its 2016 budget by identifying 20 universities across private and public sectors in which GoI was willing to invest significant sums to make them 'world-class'. After the initial hullabaloo over the selected private universities, not much discussion about investments or their impact has been made in the public having many interesting ideas, India's next important effort around education through National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has been stuck in 'debates' over matters like 'imposition of Hindi' and 'central interference'. Here, too, the results show. While there was much joy in Kolkata for pipping Bengaluru as India's top research hub in the prestigious Nature Index 2024, the former was ranked 84th and the latter 85th among 200 science cities across the world. Beijing topped the list, followed by Shanghai, New York, Boston and Nanjing. Five Chinese cities were in the index's top 10 (compared to four American cities). Can a democratic, diverse India respond in the same way to China's top-down, centralised approach to higher education excellence? Probably not. To achieve success, India should consider two things: Instead of trying to convert individual universities as islands of academic and research excellence, India should look to identify cities that could become hubs of subjects like AI, quantum computing, biotech and climate technology. Each of these areas could be looked at from all angles including - but not limited to - research and innovation, while expanding to consider its impact from areas like IP and legal issues, looking at commercialising these innovations, or even studying its impact across societies. Indian cities are blessed with good academic institutions that can be leveraged to create talent across key futuristic areas by creating excellence in one area to start with. They can then become hubs of talent providing 360° perspectives across innovation, commercialisation and consulting, which a single-minded vision around research in an undemocratic monolithic society like China's cannot. Given the Trump administration's unprecedented assault on its higher education system - the threat to shut down Harvard's foreign enrolment being the latest, even as it was blocked for the time being by a federal judge on Friday - India is the only large democratic country with both the ability and the willingness of its population to absorb institutions and academics seeking a safe haven outside the US. While NEP does talk about introducing foreign education institutions within India, we have so far failed to bring in anyone worthwhile. It would be advisable to relook at our policies and redouble efforts both from central and state levels to bring immediate improvement to India's higher education ecosystem. While we should continue to focus on building homegrown institutions, there's no doubt that competition from foreign universities, along with access to globally recognised academics, will provide immense opportunities to, and traction for, India's this would, of course, require our politicians and administrators to be a little more thick-skinned and willing to accept criticism and research output that could even be contrary to their ideological posturings. But is it not what a healthy democracy is all about? If that allows us to 'reclaim' our 'Nalandas' and become a real 'Vishwaguru', pinpricks some politicians could feel would be a small cost to primary and secondary education improvements are necessary to solve today's problem, higher education can be the doorway for India to claim dominance in this century. If we don't act now, it'll be difficult to catch up to the yawning gap between us and China, and the US. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. What pizzas are Indians eating? The clue lies with India's largest QSR. Why high gold prices are making both banks and their borrowers smile How does IndusInd's 'fraud' tag affect its future? RBI has cut repo rates twice in 3 months. But that isn't enough to boost the economy! As India steps up commercial shipbuilding, it needs a supply chain boost Stock Radar: RITES stock breaks out from Ascending Triangle pattern; time to buy? Brokerage Radar: Morgan Stanley downgrades IndusInd Bank; BNP Paribas views DOMS Industries as top consumer sector pick Corrections come and go; focus on business and its growth: 6 large-caps from different sectors with upside potential of up to 52% Weekly Top Picks: These stocks scored 10 on 10 on Stock Reports Plus
Epoch Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
April 25, 1999: Why It Matters to the West
Commentary Twenty-six years ago, on April 25, 1999, more than 10,000 peaceful Falun Gong practitioners gathered outside the State Council's appeals office at the Zhongnanhai compound in Beijing to appeal for their right to practice Falun Gong in China. Not since students assembled in Tiananmen Square in June 1989 had so many Chinese citizens gathered in public to appeal to the authorities. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice in the Buddhist tradition based on the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion, forbearance (zhen, shan, ren, in Chinese). It was brought to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in May 1992 and quickly became the most popular qigong in China. By 1998, the State Sports Commission found that more than 70 million people were practicing Falun Gong. Zhongnanhai Zhongnanhai is a compound in Beijing, a former imperial garden west of the Forbidden City, that houses the offices of the State Council and the offices and residences of the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The State Council oversees provincial governments throughout China and has an appeals office to receive petitions from citizens who have been treated unjustly. What Happened on April 25, 1999? The events of April 25, 1999, had a slow buildup. Despite the improved health and morality Chinese people found in Falun Gong, CCP hardliners, such as then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin, saw it as a resurgence of traditional culture that must be crushed by a Cultural Revolution-like campaign. By 1996, the regime's public security authorities started disrupting Falun Gong meditation gatherings, and state media ran articles attacking the practice. Through 1997 and 1998, there were incidents of Falun Gong practitioners being unjustly treated across China. In early April 1999, Falun Gong practitioners in Tianjin went to a state-run news agency to request corrections to inaccuracies in its article on Falun Gong. However, the Tianjin Public Security Bureau used anti-riot police to beat and arrest more than 40 people. Local police told the practitioners to go to Beijing to resolve the issue. When other practitioners heard about this, many went to the State Council's appeals office on April 25 that year, hoping to ensure a peaceful and safe environment for practicing Falun Gong. The office is located on Fuyou Street, on the west side of Zhongnanhai. However, local public security forces Related Stories 4/19/2025 3/15/2025 Soon, there were more than 10,000 people—some standing quietly, others sitting. They were careful not to obstruct activities on the streets or footpaths, did not chant slogans or raise their voices, and were very orderly. In the context of the communist regime's historical response to dissent and the potential consequences, this mass gathering was brave and an embodiment of kindness and forbearance. Zhu Rongji, then the Chinese premier, came out with several staff members to speak with the practitioners and called three of them to come inside to meet the deputy secretary of the appeals office. By nightfall, the issues appeared to have been resolved, and the practitioners all went home. CCP Response Although the Chinese petition and appeals system is intended to offer hope to people who have been treated unjustly, as with all regulations in China, the CCP stands above the law. On July 20, 1999, at Jiang's direction, the CCP launched a major arrest of Falun Gong practitioners and a brutal persecution to eradicate the practice. The persecution continues today, including the killing of practitioners to harvest their organs for the state-run organ transplant industry in military and civilian hospitals. CCP officials often claim that the appeal at Zhongnanhai was an organized 'siege' that posed a threat to the nation's leaders. Sadly, some Western governments and media still refer to this false narrative as a reason that Falun Gong was banned. Why Is 'April 25' Important? The Chinese communist regime does not accept the rule of law, fundamental human rights, and its obligations under international trade or treaties, and is a threat to the national security and freedoms enjoyed by all Western nations. That's not a political issue. It is an issue of humanity—the challenge of preserving our humanity, the goodness and kindness inherent in human beings. Shi Caidong, a doctoral candidate at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was one of three Falun Gong practitioners invited inside the Zhongnanhai compound by Premier Zhu. Later, after the persecution began, Shi witnessed his academic colleagues being sent to forced labor camps and even tortured to death. He was constantly harassed and arrested, and eventually fled to the United States as a visiting university scholar. In 2010, when asked about his experiences in an interview with 'April 25' was the beginning of a peaceful resistance movement that is changing China from within. Through embodying the principles of Falun Gong, practitioners are helping hundreds of millions of Chinese people connect with their roots and see a future without communism. It was also the beginning of the end for the CCP, as the regime's irrational and frenzied attacks on Falun Gong became more extreme, revealing its evil and inhumane nature to the world. The West now has a clear choice of what it will support and the future it chooses for its people. Righteousness and justice will ultimately prevail. Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
