(Reported by our reporter Cai Yunqi and Zhang Lin) How far is the gap between Chinese universities and world-class universities？At Yale、Oxford、Cambridge、In the eyes of presidents of top foreign universities such as Stanford，What is the most important thing that Chinese universities need to change at present？How to answer “Qian Xuesen’s question”，Let colleges and universities cultivate outstanding talents？At the Chinese and Foreign University Presidents Forum held in Nanjing yesterday，Presidents from 20 world-renowned universities in 11 countries and regions，And 121 domestic university presidents gathered together。The reporter interviewed five presidents of famous universities at home and abroad，Ask them to take the pulse of Chinese universities、"Fault"，Many principals agreed，China’s universities can definitely become world-class universities，It just needs a little more time，Fastest estimate，It takes 20 years。
Richard Levin, President of Yale University in the United States: Chinese universities lack the cultivation of critical thinking
As the world’s top university，Richard Levin said in an interview with reporters，Undergraduate education in Chinese universities lacks two very important contents: first，Just lack of interdisciplinary breadth；Second，It is the cultivation of critical thinking。
China’s undergraduate education still lacks two contents
Most Asian schools are the same as European universities，Undergraduate education is specialized education，Generally speaking, students choose their lifelong career when they are 18 years old，I won’t learn anything else from now on。Different from some first-class European universities and American universities，China’s teaching method is a rote model，Students are always passive listeners、Receiver，They focus on mastering the key points of knowledge，Not developing the ability to think independently and critically，Such a bet365 online casinotraditional Asian model，It may be useful for training some assembly line engineers or middle-level management cadres，But if we want to cultivate talents with leadership and innovative spirit，That won’t work。This is also detrimental to the country’s long-term economic growth。
The American general education model can be used for reference
How to change all this？Levine thinks，Can learn from American general education。Undergraduate students in the United States try a variety of subjects in their first two years，Then you will choose another major subject。Because through exposure to multiple disciplines，There will be different perspectives，Empower them to solve new problems in creative ways。Imagine a government leader who has studied history before，Also studied moral philosophy，Also studied economics、Psychology words，Then the chance of him being competent will be higher。At present, many first-class universities in China have begun to learn from the American general education model，Peking University launched the Yuanpei Project in 2001，Select some outstanding students for general education。They live together，Learn a variety of subjects in two years at the same time。At Fudan University，All students receive education in public subjects in the first year，I will choose a major later。At Nanjing University，Also starting to recruit students by major categories，Students no longer need to fill in a certain major when applying for the exam，And there will be more than 60 general education courses for them to choose from in the first year。
Interactive discussions allow students to learn challenges
Specific in teaching methods，Oxford、Cambridge University Tutor System，Students are required to make their own arguments，Let’s debate。The American model is some interactive seminars，Or a kind of small class teaching，They will challenge each other，Instead of blindly accepting the instructor’s point of view。Exams from top universities in the United States，Generally speaking, students are not required to memorize some facts，Let them solve problems they have never encountered before，To analyze two aspects of a certain point of view，Express your own opinions at the same time。bet365 online sports bettingHe thinks，It is more difficult to change teaching styles。Because the cost of teaching in small classes will be higher，And even with small class teaching, there is no guarantee that students will be able to communicate interactively。Therefore teachers should adopt new teaching models，Encourage students to think proactively，Enable students to challenge each other，Challenge Teacher。This is actually a big challenge for China，Although the presidents of Chinese universities have realized that this kind of reform is very necessary，But it is quite difficult in actual operation，It can be seen that training teachers in teaching methods is very important。And those university professors who have studied abroad，They may change more easily。In addition, exchanges between Chinese and foreign students，Inter-university exchanges，It will also speed up this process。Anyway，Levine believes that liberal education has more benefits than disadvantages for China，To cultivate students’ critical thinking and independent thinking abilities，The benefits outweigh the disadvantages for China。
Andrew Hamilton, President of Oxford University: China needs students who dare to challenge authority
The difference from Yale，Oxford University does not adopt general education，He thinks，Countries should adopt their own education methods according to their national conditions，The purpose is the same，It is to enable students to analyze problems，Have the ability to think，What China lacks most is students who dare to challenge authority。
Whether you dare to challenge authority is the biggest difference between Chinese and Western education
Hamilton said，In my career，As a scientist，There are also many students from China studying in my doctoral program，They are very good。So from the perspective of the results of education，I don’t think there are many differences between the East and the West。If we want to talk about differences，The biggest difference in my opinion，It is Chinese students who lack independent thinking and creative thinking，Lack the courage to challenge academic authority。This is also what we have to do，We must encourage Chinese students to become more active researchers、Challenger，Instead of being a passive bet365 online casinoreceiver and listener。But from my own experience，Chinese students are also changing，March，I came to Beijing，Did some lectures at Peking University and Tsinghua University，Some very young Chinese students asked some very difficult questions，challenged me，This is a very good change，We also hope that this change can continue，Slowly form a habit。
The UK does not adopt general education but professional education
Hamilton said，At the university we improve students’ talents through courses，Just like what the previous principal said，The goal of our education，Especially the teaching goals of some prestigious schools are consistent，It is to enable students to analyze problems，Have the ability to think，Different countries，There are different ways，For example, there are many universities in the United States that offer general education。The UK is in stark contrast，Adopted professional education。British secondary education itself is very specialized，Higher education is also very professional。Our undergraduate students take part in some independent study at the University of Oxford、Research、Lecture，We have some one to one or one to two teaching hours per week。It can be said，When these students face challenges，There is nowhere to hide，We must face some problems directly。At the same time，Make learning self-learning、The habit of self-motivation。A result of the tutoring system at Oxford University，That is, students will challenge the instructor’s interpretation while receiving education。can be found in different countries，Different educational practices exist，Clearly we don’t have a one-size-fits-all solution，But there is one thing in common，That is, we should all regard talents as the most important resource，And constantly reflect on how to better support their development。
Stanford University President John Haney
