According to a press conference held by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education on Jan 19, an initiative to build first-class universities of applied sciences in Jiangsu province will be implemented this year. The goal is to establish approximately 10 such universities, which are more practical and profession-oriented than research universities, by 2028.

The key tasks, as stated in an action plan released by the department, include placing greater emphasis on scientific research that can solve practical production problems, strengthening cooperation between universities and local industries, and enhancing exchanges between scholars and elites from key industries.

Xu Qing, the director of the department's Higher Education Division, stated that Jiangsu has previously made considerable progress in promoting the construction of universities of applied sciences. For instance, it has collaborated with the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology to establish 50 industry colleges, worked with the Provincial Department of Emergency Management to develop seven key emergency management colleges, and partnered with the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs to co-establish the School of Elderly Care Services and Management at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine.