The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China established the integrated promotion of education, science and technology, and talent as an important foundation and support for improving the overall efficiency of the national innovation system. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the National Education Conference the need to promote education development, scientific and technological innovation, and talent cultivation as a whole. Scientific and technological innovation is the driving force for disciplinary development and the track for talent growth. Higher education is the foundation of scientific and technological innovation and the nursery for reserve talents. Only by adhering to the integrated development of education, technology, and talent can we open up new fields and tracks of development, continuously shape new driving forces and advantages, and promote high-quality development of higher education. We must firmly grasp the direction of scientific and technological innovation development and build a high-quality higher education system; To actively adapt to the demand for scientific and technological innovation talents and promote the transformation of the talent-cultivation model in higher education; We need to improve institutional mechanisms and strengthen the cultivation of scientific and technological innovation talents through diversified collaboration; We should actively embrace the technological revolution of the intelligent era and shape a new form of digitalization in higher education; We need to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, and create a good open innovation ecosystem.

Modernization of higher education governance is an important component of national governance modernization, and it is a necessary way to promote the construction of a strong higher education country and the process of Chinese modernization. On the basis of interpreting the connotation of Chinese modernization and its characteristics, the thesis discusses the logical relationship between the modernization of higher education governance and its urgency in Chinese modernization, answers the purpose of the modernization of higher education governance, its main body and its options for action, and explores the path of action for the reform of university governance based on the purpose of governance modernization.

Family background is the most important factor for students to make decisions on higher education. If families with relative advantages tend to choose the “Pilot Reform Program of Enrollment for Fundamental Disciplines”(PRPEFD) in order to attend elite universities, the selection effectiveness of PRPEFD is likely to be weakened. Based on the survey data which Graduate School of Education in Peking University held in the investigation of national college students’ development, this paper studies the relationship between students’ family background and their motivation for choosing PRPEFD. It is found that although the proportion of PRPEFD students taking major interest as their choice motivation is higher than that of utilitarian motivation for chasing elite universities, and there is no significant correlation between family background and major interest motivation, compared with families with relative disadvantages, PRPEFD students from families with relative advantages are more keen to chase elite universities. This preference for elite universities is mainly reflected in the student groups who come from relatively developed regions. Advocating the family relationship of “respecting and supporting children” and giving students sufficient information support will help reduce the utilitarian motivation of families with relative advantages to pursue elite universities, and help encourage the major-related interest motivation.

The training of top-notch innovative talents in China is mostly promoted in the way of special plans, reflecting the typical characteristics of the project system. The recruitment selection, organizational form, governance mechanism and development path follow the project system “selecting the best”“special office”“project system-bureaucracy system” dual-track interaction and the logic of “pilot-promotion” respectively. In the new period, the operation of the project system of training top-notch innovative talents in China faces the tension between the logic of “selecting the best” and the pursuit of fairness and human nature; the logic of “specialized office” and the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents emphasize the tension of openness; the “dual-track interaction” logic and the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents emphasize the tension of fully releasing the independent vitality of colleges and universities; the tension between the logic of “pilot-promotion” and the long-term and holistic characteristics of top-notch innovative talent training. In view of this, in the future, it is necessary to establish a fair and people-oriented cultivation concept of top-notch innovative talents, create a relaxed cultivation ecology conducive to the personalized development of talents, release the independent vitality of colleges and universities in the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents, and establish a long-term overall coordination and connection of top-notch innovative talents training system.

Generative artificial intelligence not only promotes self-regulated learning among college students, but also exacerbates academic misconduct such as plagiarism and copying. Generative artificial intelligence cannot directly shape college students’ creativity, and its impact on creativity depends on students’ self-regulated learning and their ethical boundaries in using generative artificial intelligence. The tension between the convenience of technology and the utilitarian learning approach fostered by meritocracy, as well as the contradiction between weak awareness of academic ethics and inadequate supervision, are the keys to triggering inappropriate use of generative artificial intelligence, which in turn stifles college students’ creativity. Self-regulated learning can not only reduce college students’ inappropriate use of generative artificial intelligence but also effectively mitigate the negative impact of such inappropriate use on their creativity. Enhancing the self-regulated learning of college students, helping them to rationally deal with intelligent technology, and reducing the inappropriate use of generative artificial intelligence are the keys to realizing the potential of generative artificial intelligence in enhancing college students’ creativity.

With the wide application of artificial intelligence technology, the gap in the demand for artificial intelligence rule of law talents is bound to further expand. AI empowerment, education takes the lead. Examining the specific practice of cultivating AI rule of law talents in China’s law schools and colleges, there are mainly four aspects, such as new disciplinary directions, new curriculum system, new specialized institutions, and new degree programs, etc. At the same time, there are also problems such as inconsistency in the title of the relevant disciplines, lack of clarity in the objectives of the curriculum, lack of depth in the implementation of the degree program, and instability in the operation of the newly established virtual scientific research institutions. These problems will lead to the supply of AI rule of law talents in China’s law schools to meet the needs of the times. In view of this, China’s law schools need to unify the“law + artificial intelligence” related secondary discipline title - “artificial intelligence jurisprudence”, according to the“technology-based”“artificial intelligence”. According to the different cultivation objectives of “technical” and “regulatory”, the curriculum system should be reconstructed, the undergraduate degree program should be implemented in conjunction with postgraduate education, and a collaborative cultivation platform should be set up, so as to cultivate AI rule of law talents to meet the needs of the times.

The National Special Plan is a major preferential admission measure implemented by key universities in China towards underdeveloped areas. In order to explore the non-academic adaptation of National Special Plan students in their first year after enrollment, based on the theory of mismatch hypothesis, cultural reproduction and resilience theories, this study uses longitudinal survey data from a “Double First-Class” university, and employs a framework of value-added assessment. It is found that at the initial stage of entering the university, the students from National Special Plan have a disadvantage in terms of psychological adaptation and economic consumption adaptation. During the freshman year, the value-added of psychological adaptation is significant, and by the end of the freshman year, there is no significant difference between two types of students, but the disadvantage of economic consumption adaptation persists throughout the freshman year. Further analysis shows that among all kinds of department support activities, National Special Plan students are more involved in “courses or guidance on interpersonal communication and adaptation” during their freshman year, and there is a significant correlation between this activity and psychological adaptation of National Special Plan students. Moreover, these results provide relevant suggestions for the non-academic adaptation of students from National Special Plan.

Educational legal liabilities is an important part of the rule of law system and an indispensable part of the codification of the education code. Realizing the norms of educational legal liabilities into the code requires strong theoretical support. At the value level, it helps to clarify and practice the educational normative provisions in the Constitution, maximize the specific function of educational legal liabilities, and further realize the codification goal of systematizing educational legal norms. At the jurisprudence level, legal liabilities is not only an inevitable response to the rights and obligations of the subjects in the education code, but also an important manifestation of the basic principles of the education code, as well as a theoretical basis for education administration and law enforcement. At the policy level, with the goal of enhancing the systemic, holistic, coordinated and responsive nature of legislation, the Party and the State, the legislature, and governments at all levels have made their respective demands and responses to the legal liabilities in education. The organization of the legal liabilities of the education code should be in the form of “general provisions + sub-legal provisions”, with a special chapter in the general provisions stipulating general provisions on legal liabilities in education, and sub-legal provisions stipulating specific provisions on legal liabilities for special education stages and types of education.

The codification of education law provides a favourable opportunity for the improvement of the educational appeal system, and it should be clarified at the theoretical level as to whether the educational appeal system should be codified and how it should be properly placed. It should be noted that educational appeal has an important role in terms of legislative value and functional position that cannot be replaced by other mechanisms, and it is necessary to codify them. In legal practice, educational appeal system norms are not fully integrated, the system positioning is not clear and the norms of the content of the imperfect omissions of the educational appeal into the code to form a constraint. To solve these problems, the theory should adopt the basic principles of procedural law, use the legislative technique of axiomatic extraction, place educational appeal in the chapter of educational dispute resolution, integrate the old norms on the basis of clarifying the content of the educational appeal system, and supplement the setting of new rules.

The interaction and symbiosis between industry organizations and higher education have a long-standing history. As the integration of industry and education evolves globally, various industry entities have become deeply embedded in all dimensions of higher education development, with promoting the development of higher education hubs as their significant function. Higher education hubs have been identified as an emerging representation of higher education internationalization. However, existing theories have not adequately addressed the role of industry organizations in their formation. A study of global cases reveals that through interactions with higher education institutions in the students, talents, and knowledge/innovation hubs, respectively, industry organizations serve to enhance the impact of national education brands, attract global talents, and facilitate knowledge production and transformation. An understanding of the roles played by industry organizations in the construction of each type of hub can also provide insights into local practice.

Humanities and social sciences education has drawn attention from various interest groups, with the issue of “too many humanities and social sciences undergraduates” becoming a point of debate. Behind this controversy lies the reality of difficult employment and low returns for the undergraduates. Comparative studies across countries reveal that the core issue is structural rather than one of scale, reflecting inadequate internal planning of programs and a mismatch between educational goals and market demands. Therefore, nations should clarify the development of humanities and social sciences disciplines and balance academic structures. Enterprises need to comprehensively assess the competence of humanities and social sciences students and strengthen ties with humanities and social sciences education. Universities should focus on cultivating core competencies, deepening educational reform in the new liberal arts. Individuals should understand and respect disciplinary differences. To promote multiple entities collaborate for the high quality development of the humanities and social sciences education.

Outstanding engineers are the national strategic scientific and technological force for achieving breakthroughs in engineering technology innovation and leading industrial transformation. Enterprise participation in the training process of excellent engineer is an important way to train practical ability, innovation ability and complex problem-solving ability. This paper, based on interview data from 13 enterprises, employs a qualitative research three-level coding strategy to investigate the influencing factors and mechanisms of enterprises’ participation in the collaborative training of outstanding engineers. The study reveals that enterprises’ engagement in the collaborative training of outstanding engineers is a dynamic feedback loop mechanism driven by the sequence of “motivation-intention-behavior-outcome”. The motivation for enterprises’ involvement stems from internal drivers such as demand pull and external drivers like market push. Factors such as their own objective conditions, business philosophy, environmental elements, and other stakeholders influence enterprises’ willingness to participate. The behavior of enterprises during the participation process is influenced by factors including cooperation goals, cooperative investment, guarantee mechanisms, and organizational heterogeneity.

The phenomenon of high turnover among off-staff administrative personnel is an important issue that needs attention in university governance. Through in-depth interviews with 15 off-staff administrative personnel, using the grounded theory approach, it was found that the mobility intention of off-staff administrative personnel in universities is the result of the composite drive of three factors: self-belief, field opportunity, and stability expectation. Self-belief is an internal factor that directly affects mobility intention and regulates the strength of the relationship between stability expectation and mobility intention; field opportunity is an external factor that directly affects mobility intention, but also indirectly affects mobility intention through self-belief and stability expectation; and stabilizing expectation is a situational factor that directly affects mobility intention, but also indirectly affects mobility intention through self-belief. It is suggested that colleges and universities should strengthen the development of professional competence of off-staff administrative personnel to realize the value-added of human resources; improve the appraisal and promotion system and provide career promotion paths; optimize the organizational culture environment and establish a long-term mechanism of care.

Promoting academic entrepreneurship is of great significance to accelerate the formation of new quality productivity. Through the survey and analysis of 331 engineering teachers from “Double First-Class” construction universities, it was found that intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentive (economic remuneration, feedback research, career development) positively affect academic entrepreneurship intentions; Faculty role identity fully mediated the relationship between career development and academic entrepreneurship intentions, and it partially mediated the relationship between intrinsic motivation, economic rewards, research support and entrepreneurship intentions. The organizational support have an obvious negative adjustment effect on the relationship between economic rewards and academic entrepreneurship intentions. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that the effects of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentive on the efficiency of academic entrepreneurship are different in entrepreneurship forms and career development stages. It is recommended that university administrators should cultivate entrepreneurial culture to promote the role identity of entrepreneurship, formulate differentiated incentive policies according to different academic entrepreneurship forms and career development stages, and make dynamic adjustments according to the changes in the organizational environment.