Recently, the Sichuan Province Industries, Science and Technology, Human Resources, and Education Integrated Development Plan (hereinafter referred to as the Plan) was issued. As the first provincial-level initiative of its kind in the country, the Plan focuses on building a modern industrial system and promoting the mutual empowerment and efficient integration of industries, science and technology, human resources, and education.
Science and technology, education, and human resources are integral strategic pillars for advancing Chinese modernization. To achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology, it ultimately depends on cultivating high-level innovative talents. With a focus on the strategic goal of building a leading country in science and technology, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made significant plans centering around integrating measures to advance education, science and technology, and human resources causes and building a competitive advantage in talent. Sichuan implements an integrated development plan for industries, science and technology, human resources, and education, which will provide solid support and inject continuous momentum for accelerating the construction of a leading province with a higher level of scientific and technological strength.
Integrated Development: Foundation and Demand Coexist
The recently released Plan consists of seven chapters, with dedicated chapters that outline 12 key tasks focusing on four areas: leading and driving industrial innovation through sci-tech innovation, strengthening human resources and education support for industrial innovation, enhancing the driving effect of the industries on science and technology, human resources, and education, and creating a conducive ecosystem for integrated development. According to the Plan, by 2027, Sichuan will basically establish an integrated development pattern encompassing industries, science and technology, human resources, and education; and by 2030, the province envisions overall achieving deep integration and development of industries, science and technology, human resources, and education.
"Economic high-quality development hinges on science and technology, the high-level progress in science and technology depends on human resources, and the high-standard human resource cultivation is contingent upon education," emphasized a relevant leading official from the Provincial Department of Science and Technology. The official further stated that Sichuan possesses both the foundation and the demand to develop a roadmap for advancing the integrated development among industries, science and technology, human resources, and education. On the one hand, Sichuan is home to a comprehensive range of industries, possesses abundant resources in science and education, and demonstrates a regional innovation capability that is among the first echelon in the country. The potential for the integrated development of industries, science and technology, human resources, and education in Sichuan is substantial and holds great promise. On the other hand, Sichuan is currently in a critical development phase of making breakthroughs, a key period of effectively advancing transformation and upgrading, and a pivotal moment for transitioning from old to new growth drivers. It is necessary to address practical issues, such as the aggregation of high-end industrial talent and the alignment of education with industrial demands, and establish and improve a coordinated mechanism across departments, industries, and fields.
In the process of drafting the Plan, the Provincial Department of Science and Technology, in conjunction with departments including the General Office of the People's Government of Sichuan Province, the Organization Department of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee, the Provincial Commission of Development and Reform, the Provincial Department of Economy and Information, the Provincial Department of Education, and the Sichuan Provincial Branch of the People's Bank of China, established a specialized working group dedicated efforts to compiling the Plan.
Enhanced Efforts: Exploring New Approaches for Collaborative Integration
The complexities of industries, science and technology, human resources, and education prompt the question: How can integrated development be advanced? The Plan presents a Sichuan framework that offers a response: It is guided by industrial upgrading, driven by sci-tech innovation, bolstered by human resources and education, and propelled by deepening reforms, with the goal of exploring new approaches for collaborative integration.
In the realm of driving industrial innovation through sci-tech advancements, with the objective of addressing critical industrial "bottlenecks" and "key deficiency" problems, the Plan emphasizes focusing on industrial needs and exerting vigorous efforts to promote sci-tech innovation, expedite the conversion of scientific and technological breakthroughs into industrial applications, and foster the high-end, intelligent, and green transformation of industries, among other strategic initiatives. In particular, specific measures encompass conducting cutting-edge technological breakthroughs in pivotal domains, such as artificial intelligence, aerospace, advanced equipment, biomanufacturing, clean energy, and advanced materials, expediting the establishment of a province-wide "1+N" pilot-scale testing R&D service system to significantly boost Sichuan's levels in supporting pilot-scale testing, and moving faster to enhance industrial foundation capabilities and the thorough execution of industrial foundational reengineering projects.
In terms of reinforcing the supportive role of human resources and education in driving industrial innovation, the Plan closely aligns with the talent demands of sci-tech and industrial innovation and proposes multiple key tasks, such as enhancing education quality by coordinating the supply and demand of educational resources, improving a coordinated talent-cultivation system via multi-side collaboration, and building and strengthening an innovative talent team in a well-structured manner. For instance, the Plan outlines specific actions such as optimizing the layout of academic disciplines, establishing specialized academies, creating platforms for industry-education integration, and deepening cooperation between schools, research institutes, enterprises, and local governments.
In terms of enhancing the industries' driving effect on science and technology, human resources, and education development, the Plan focuses on the industries' influence in guiding and driving integrated development and highlights efforts to fully leverage the enterprise's principal role, harness the traction momentum of iconic products, and utilize the aggregative power of industrial parks and new areas, among others. Specifically, the Plan underscores the importance of creating iconic products to lead sci-tech breakthroughs and talent aggregation. For instance, it proposes supporting "chain-master" enterprises in leveraging innovation consortiums and other platforms to achieve breakthroughs in areas like core technologies, key components, and basic materials essential for iconic products, establishing generic technological platforms for inspection, testing, and pilot-scale verification, and promoting open sharing of innovation resources throughout the industrial upstream and downstream chains.
"To promote the mutual advancement and integrated development of industries, science and technology, human resources, and education, it is also crucial to create a conducive ecosystem for integrated development," emphasized a relevant leading official from the Provincial Department of Science and Technology. Efforts are required to effectively utilize the critical move of reform to refine the institutional mechanisms for integrated development, the official said.
The Plan suggests exploring collaborative and coordinated reform measures, promoting a virtuous cycle between the science and technology, industries, and finance sectors, and enhancing the efficiency of resource element allocation. Furthermore, it supports qualified cities (prefectures) in conducting comprehensive reform pilots for education, science and technology, and human resources. These pilots will spearhead innovative platform construction and operation, scientific research organization methods, and other areas, with the goal of exploring and developing a series of pioneering reforms and groundbreaking practices.
