China’s new tech war tactics: PhD students can now graduate with product instead of thesis
Top defence university pilots scheme aimed at solving ‘bottleneck’ engineering problems amid tech race with US
In September, Wei Lianfeng, an engineer-turned-doctoral candidate, became the university’s first PhD student to successfully pass his oral defence and obtain his degree based solely on practical results.
His research focuses on developing vacuum laser welding processes and designing and manufacturing associated equipment. To evaluate the practicality of his work, HIT invited several industry experts to serve on the oral defence panel.
Being a scientist in China today is no longer just about publishing in prestigious journals or defending a 100-page thesis. It is about solving real-world problems and building things that work, especially when the future of national technological survival hangs in the balance.
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What do we know about China’s two next-generation aircraft?
Since 2022, China has been quietly rolling out a nationwide pilot programme to reimagine engineering education from the ground up. Backed by the Ministry of Education and eight other key agencies, the initiative targets several strategically vital fields – from semiconductors to quantum computing – where theoretical knowledge alone will not break through US-led technological blockades.