If the application of technology is to build a house, then the first job is to lay the foundation. The foundation is unstable and the house cannot be firm. In addition, there are as many houses as there are foundations.
Therefore, scientific research often has two goals: first, to study theories and applications on the same foundation to “consolidate” the foundation; second, to explore “no man’s land” and “explore” new foundations. The latter is the so-called “basic scientific research” in the true sense.
The first goal is not difficult to understand, the direction is relatively clear, the risks are relatively low, and the funding and returns are relatively high; but the second goal, which emphasizes starting from nothing, from 0 to 1, is relatively a lesser interest, A choice that is difficult to adhere to – due to the unclear direction, uncertain results, and even a potential application scenario, scientists who choose this goal often have to sit on the bench for ten years, facing insufficient funds, unable to recruit students, and unable to support Real-world challenges for teams.
However, people also know the importance of basic science.
In October 2018, Ma Huateng asked Zhihu: “What basic scientific breakthroughs will affect the Internet technology industry in the next ten years?”
Accompanying it is Tencent’s third organizational structure change. In this adjustment called “930 Reform”, Tencent has made a major structural adjustment and accelerated technological upgrading. “Technology for good” has become the company’s new vision and mission. On November 9, 2018, just as Tencent’s 20th birthday approached, Tencent invested 1 billion yuan in a start-up fund to set up the “Scientific Exploration Award” to support basic research. This is not only the founder’s feelings for basic research, but also the company’s An important practice of “Technology for Good”.
While everyone was amazed by Tencent’s generous investment in basic research, Tencent’s exploration of a new sustainable development pattern did not stop there.
In April 2021, Ma Huateng and Tencent executives proposed a new strategic upgrade in a letter to internal employees, incorporating “promoting sustainable social value innovation” into the company’s core strategy. At the same time, it announced the establishment of the “Sustainable Social Value Business Unit” (SSV). The new business unit will become the core engine of the company’s sustainable social value innovation. In the first phase, 50 billion yuan will be invested in basic science, education innovation, and rural revitalization. , carbon neutrality, FEW (food, energy and water), public emergency, pension technology and public welfare digitalization to promote social value innovation.
“Basic science” is one of the very important directions.
Correspondingly, not long ago, Tencent announced a blockbuster project to support basic science – “New Cornerstone Researcher Project” (hereinafter referred to as “New Cornerstone”), investing 10 billion yuan within 10 years to support mathematics and mathematics. Scientists in the two fields of physical science, biology and medical science carry out basic research work, and each of the selected candidates can receive 3 to 5 million yuan per year for 5 consecutive years.
It is reported that under the guidance of the China Association for Science and Technology, this is a new type of basic research funding project led by scientists, funded by Tencent, public welfare attributes, and independently operated.
With such a large amount of funding, “New Cornerstone” has become one of the largest scientific research funding projects funded by the private sector in China.
Currently, the project is open for application.
1. Find the “Explorer”
“I especially want to see how brave our young people, our young and middle-aged scientists, are.”
When talking about the ideal candidates, Shi Yigong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, president of West Lake University, and chairman of the Scientific Committee of the New Cornerstone Researcher Project, said this.
“Boldness” is not a common word used to describe Chinese scientists, but in Shi Yigong’s view, it is one of the most indispensable qualities of a scientist’s spirit, because scientific research is a adventure. A great scientist is often an adventurous “explorer”.
What is the adventurous spirit of a scientist? Leifeng.com
The opposite of “adventure” is scientific research that is “not risky”.
Doing research in a popular field where the problem and direction are very clear and the achievements of predecessors have been very rich, based on the existing foundation to add bricks and tiles, and the application of the upper layer of the building is a relatively safe and relatively safe scientific research path. This scientific research path can also yield results, and such scientists are also respectable scientists.
But obviously, such scientists are not the “bold people” that Academician Shi Yigong called them.
When one chooses to explore no man’s land, the risks are often enormous.
What is risky research? Leifeng.com
Einstein’s research on relativity in an era without relativity was a risk; Tu Youyou’s research on artemisinin when there was no artemisinin was also a risk… This means that scientists need to have a strong and confident heart, dare to be the first, and be unwilling to do so. Just be a follower. This is one of them.
In addition, the challenges of reality should not be underestimated. To do scientific research, to buy materials, do experiments, recruit teams, go out to participate in academic exchanges, etc., is to do everything possible to maximize the thinking time and knowledge accumulation of scientists, so as to accumulate a lot and take a step towards the possibility of innovation. This will inevitably involve a lot of money costs, and in most cases, applying for scientific research funding in a brand-new direction is often unable to compete with popular directions. The second is the extreme mismatch between the financial support obtained and the energy invested.
If a scientist has both excellent ability and lofty scientific research ideals, and is willing to take risks, but spends a lot of time to solve the problem of shortage of research funds, or misses the best time to do scientific research on the way to find funds, then, From a small perspective, it is a personal loss for scientists; but from a general perspective, it is a loss for the entire society. Leifeng.com
To change this phenomenon and encourage more scientists to take risks, innovation must be sought in the external environment. Therefore, it is necessary to give new funding to such scientists who are willing to be cold benches and have the potential to create something.
This is also the original intention and goal of the establishment of the new cornerstone.
2. Select people but not projects
Compared with the Scientific Exploration Award, the content of the new cornerstone has changed a lot.
First, the New Cornerstone Fellows Program is a grant program, not an award. In terms of the use of funds, the “New Cornerstone Researcher Program” is to provide the selected scientists with funds needed for scientific research and exploration, not personal rewards. Therefore, the funds obtained by scientists from the New Cornerstone Project can only be used for scientific research.
This is obviously different from the Science Exploration Award: in the Science Exploration Award, each winning scientist can receive a total of 3 million yuan within five years. The prize is freely distributed by the scientists and can be used for scientific research or to improve personal life.
Secondly, in terms of field setting, the new cornerstone project is oriented to two fields, focusing on basic research: one is mathematics and physical science, the other is biological and medical science, and encourages other disciplines and the intersection of these two fields. Among them, the physical sciences include physics, chemistry, and theoretical computer fields that have no immediate industrialization potential.
Compared with the Scientific Exploration Award, the target area of New Cornerstone is more focused.
The Science Exploration Award covers a wider range of disciplines: mathematical physics, astronomy and geosciences, energy and environment, transportation and construction, new chemical materials, life sciences, information electronics, advanced manufacturing, cutting-edge intersections, etc. Science”, both for basic research and for cutting-edge applications.
In addition, in terms of the amount of funding, the new cornerstone is also more powerful. It is divided into two categories: the experimental category can receive a maximum of 5 million yuan per person per year, and the theoretical category can receive a maximum of 3 million yuan per person per year for 5 consecutive years. After the expiration of the period, if you pass the evaluation, you can get continuous funding. In other words, the selected scientists can receive up to 25 million yuan for scientific research within five years.
According to Wang Wurong, secretary-general of the New Cornerstone Researcher Program, the amount of funding is an appropriate figure that Tencent finally came up with through exchanges and research with many scientists. With this funding, scientists engaged in basic scientific research are able to form teams and purchase materials to carry out research, and no longer need to do trivial chores for “finding money” that are not related to scientific research.
On the official website of New Cornerstone, a declaration clearly states: Scientists who apply for New Cornerstone and are selected can accept government research funding, but “from the start of the New Cornerstone researcher funding period, they shall not accept any new corporate entrustment or consulting topics.” . In other words, this project hopes that the funded researchers can concentrate on basic research work.
Compared to the Science Discovery Awards, the new cornerstone also has a wider age range: the maximum age has been raised from 45 to 55.
In addition, it is worth noting that, as a scientific research fund, New Cornerstone focuses on “selecting people” rather than “selecting projects” in the selection process.
Generally speaking, when domestic scientists apply for the national scientific research fund, they first set up a topic, write a plan, and apply for a fund with a scientific research project. Generally, the applied fund can only be used for a specific project, and scientists can explore freely and flexibly. The degree of innovation is low, because most of the innovations from 0 to 1 are “accomplished by chance” in firm exploration. If the direction is specified, many unexpected surprises may be missed.
In this regard, New Cornerstone has made changes. In the selection mode, it first finds courageous and knowledgeable scientists, and gives them sufficient funds to allow them to explore freely.
New Cornerstone breaks the task-driven model in project-based research. It does not set clear research tasks for “New Cornerstone researchers” who have received funding, does not assess the number of papers, and does not limit the time limit for producing results. I just hope they can calm down. , “Ten years to sharpen a sword”, toward the truly great scientific research goals.
The new cornerstone project in 2022 plans to fund 60 people, which also places extremely high requirements on the selection process of elected scientists.
The scientific committee of the new cornerstone is composed of several senior scientists, Shi Yigong, President of West Lake University (in the field of life sciences), Pan Jianwei, executive vice president of the University of Science and Technology of China (in the field of mathematical and physical sciences), Xie Xiaoliang, director of the Department of Science at Peking University (in the field of life sciences), and Shanghai Zhang Jie (in the field of mathematical and physical sciences), director of the Li Zhengdao Institute of Jiaotong University, et al.
In the selection of candidates, Shi Yigong said: “In my opinion, how many articles the applicant has published, how many patents, how many citations are not the key, nor the criteria, the only criteria are his past research. Whether it has an international impact and 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 to see his research direction that no one has tried yet.”
Xie Xiaoliang also said: “I hope the selected ‘New Cornerstone Researcher’ is the most original scientist in a field. When his name is mentioned, people can think of his pioneering work in this field.”
Until now, the four members of the New Cornerstone Scientific Committee are still active in the front line of scientific research. They all clearly mentioned that the project will make every effort to ensure the objectivity and fairness of the review. Shi Yigong said: “I would like to reassure every applicant that the scientific committee and the review committee have a heavy responsibility on their shoulders. The level of the ‘new cornerstone researchers’ selected in the future is the credibility of all of us.”
At present, the “New Cornerstone Researcher Program” is open for application, and the deadline is September 30, 2022, suitable scientists should not miss it!
3. Break the “narrowness” of corporate scientific research
Since the birth of Bell Labs, companies built their own laboratories are mostly interpreted as scientific research to support technological innovation, and then technology to enable product and business development.
After Huawei imitated Bell Labs in research and development and established the 2012 laboratory, domestic Internet companies have also established their own research institutes.
However, with the deepening of scientific research and exploration of no-man’s-land by enterprises, the focus of technology enterprises on basic research has also begun to turn from the inside out. Tencent has established the Science Exploration Award and the New Cornerstone Researcher Program to fund outstanding scientists who have little to do with their own business development.
This transformation from “self-interest” to “altruistic” reflects the sentiment of technology companies to give back to the society, and has also become a “catalyst” for increasing the attention of all parties to basic scientific research and investment in basic scientific research. Scientists have the conditions to engage in research work that is crucial to human well-being, and ultimately benefit from the whole, including the main body of the enterprise.
The “recession” of the Internet industry this year has become a hot topic on social media, which may be a discussion of pure economic growth. However, from the perspective of participating in sustainable social development, similar to the emergence of Tencent’s “New Cornerstone Researcher Program”, this just shows that the Internet industry is at the forefront of promoting social value creation, and has begun to pay attention to all walks of life and all walks of life. ” stage.
Applaud for the bigger purpose.
Reference link:
https://www.newcornerstone.org.cn/#/
https://tech.qq.com/a/20210419/004961.htm
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