As an academician of China Academy of Sciences and vice-president of Tsinghua University, he is unwilling to be interviewed because he always walks in the forefront carelessly. But when I heard that the reporter's purpose was to train students, Shi Xinran agreed.
It can be seen that although he tries to keep a low profile, Shi still has something to say about how to educate people and how to be a good mentor. In his view, compared with other things, it is particularly important to take good care of students, do a good job in scientific research and make valuable achievements for mankind, which is also a major event that he dare not stop thinking for a moment.
A good tutor should pass on his attitude, perspective and methods to scientific research.
"We are in an era when laboratories are facing great competitive pressure. While encouraging researchers to exert their creativity, it is very important to ensure the reliability of output scientific research results in technical details and the rigor of scientific research ethics. This is why it is very important to guide young scientists. Being the' boss' of the lab doesn't mean that you can provide excellent guidance for his or her students. "
Philip Campbell, editor-in-chief of Nature, made these remarks, which is also the consideration of setting up an outstanding tutor award in Nature. The award aims to reward outstanding mentors in the field of science and emphasize the importance of mentors in inspiring young scientists.
In Shi's view, the tutor's first responsibility to students is to teach students to choose a topic and how to judge the direction and research value of the topic, rather than let students explore. At the same time, when students encounter problems in the process of doing research, they should give timely guidance to help them solve the problems. But unfortunately, it is difficult for many tutors to spend enough time guiding students at present.
"On the one hand, it is because the teacher is too busy and there are too many things. Personally, I sometimes feel ashamed of my students. Of course, part of the reason comes from the sense of responsibility and the personal ability of the tutor, from the university teacher management system. " Shi recalled his experiences when he was studying abroad. "At that time, my tutor had to talk to me seriously once a week to understand my current research situation, what breakthroughs I had and what problems I encountered."
What is a qualified tutor? In Shi's view, "the qualification of scientific research ability is the basic condition, but at the same time, there is an equally important condition, which is the qualification of investment." But unfortunately, our current management mechanism can only constrain the tutor's class time, and it is difficult to evaluate and constrain the sense of responsibility and the effect of guiding students. " What worries Shi in particular is that many college teachers are busy with their own topics and project applications at present, and they have not really spent their energy and thoughts on the cultivation of students. Giving students more initiative may actually be a sign of failing to fulfill their responsibilities.
Shi believes that a good tutor should be able to really influence students, pass on his attitude, perspective and methods to scientific research, and pass on scientific style, accomplishment and research results to students.
Domestic high-level universities should attract and retain talents with international thinking and practice.
Shi returned to China in 2007 to establish a laboratory, which has been nearly nine years. He witnessed the rapid development of domestic scientific research level in recent years. "If 10 years ago, in the field of life sciences, we were only one percent or two percent of the United States, then we have now made progress to more than ten percent. Such speed and achievements are very exciting. "
The improvement of domestic scientific research level has also attracted outstanding talents to return to China. "At present, some high-level universities in China are also quite competitive internationally. If an excellent talent faces the olive branch extended by American state universities and domestic high-level universities at the same time, the possibility of choosing the latter should be greater than the former. " Shi said, "What we should focus on now is how to maintain the speed of scientific research strength and level improvement in the past 10 years, which requires us to further innovate in the system and mechanism." In his view, to further improve the scientific research strength of domestic high-level universities, it is necessary to introduce and retain talents with international thinking, practice and logistics support system.
Speaking of this, Shi talked about the comprehensive system reform carried out by many universities in China at present, especially the personnel system reform that has attracted much attention. Historically, to build a first-class university in China, it is necessary to introduce first-class talents. Those who can stand the test of international standards in basic research and world-class universities also want to introduce and retain talents. Therefore, when establishing the associate professor system, domestic universities should also refer to international standards and introduce international recognition. "Of course, we should also give full consideration to the school situation and local culture. We can't completely copy foreign experience. We must conform to China's national conditions and have China characteristics. We can't simply cut across the board."
The improvement of scientific research level can not be separated from scientific evaluation system and healthy baton. Whether at the national level or at the university level, it is particularly important for history to build a good scientific ecology.
"For researchers, it is really necessary to aim at major, original and breakthrough achievements that have contributed to world civilization and are meaningful to the country, rather than just focusing on publishing articles and declaring various awards. For colleges and universities, we should not only focus on the number of papers and influencing factors, but also focus on creating a relaxed research environment for researchers. " Shi recalled that he once introduced a young scholar in the field of immunology, and he didn't have a paper in the first four years after returning to China. It was not until the fifth year that he began to have world-famous research results. "Scientific research needs time, concentration, undisturbed and undivided attention. This requires the school to provide scholars with a good research soil and environment, as well as a good evaluation mechanism. "
Innovative thinking needs stirring, scientific research should not copy others, and should not blindly follow superstition.
Not long ago, at the annual meeting of Future Forum, Shi delivered a speech entitled "Cognitive Limit of Life Science". Different from the past, this history is not limited to life medicine, but starts with the three major challenges of human life, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, and tells how human beings respond to the challenges of life through science. From the known to the unknown, from biomedicine to quantum mechanics, his speech showed a biologist's unremitting questioning of the mysteries of life.
Perhaps it is because the research direction is in the field of life science, which is related to the origin of life. Whether in scientific research, education or school management, Shi likes to pay attention to the origin and explore the meaning when thinking and doing things.
Regarding the significance of learning, he met his students sincerely: "Some students sometimes fall into an unwarranted narrowness, thinking about finding a job every day, and the road is getting narrower and narrower. It is important to fight for yourself, but it is only a part of your life, because you live in a big world. Look at the country where you live and all aspects of China society. How many people need your attention and care? I hope that each of you will have a big ego in your heart while pursuing a small ego. Even if you are in trouble, you must have the ambition to take on the world. A firm belief is the prerequisite for a person to achieve any great thing. Do things with all your might, be the ultimate, and have no regrets. "
For the method of scientific research, he encouraged students like this: "Innovative thinking needs stirring. Without encouragement, there will be no good ideas. It must be drinking boiled water. You don't need to worship any scientists. What he said, you should learn at most, not blindly follow, not to be superstitious. You can't copy another person's footsteps, and you can't do it exactly in another person's way. You have to be yourself. "
"Do basic research, what can we do, what can we change? As a scholar who dares to take responsibility, he should not only listen to the wind and rain, but also care about family affairs, state affairs and what's going on in the world. I hope that no matter myself, my students or my colleagues, each of us will bear a little social responsibility. This is all my motivation except my interest in science itself, and it is also one of the most important supports for my future progress. " In addition to scientific research, history also pursues the meaning of self.