Chinese academician workstations: Evolution, development, and optimization

Authors

Qinjie YANG, College of Accounting, Ningbo University of Finance & Economics, Ningbo 315175, China
Shengbo WU, Nottingham University Business School China, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, ChinaFollow
Cong CAO, Nottingham University Business School China, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, ChinaFollow

Keywords

academician workstation；historical evolution；spatial-temporal differentiation；development situation；optimizing strategy

Document Type

Policy & Management Research

Abstract

As a science and technology platform where star scientists are deeply involved in industry-university-research cooperation, academician workstations play a pivotal role in driving enterprises’ technological strategic planning and facilitating the transformation and upgrading of regional industries. They also promote the more efficient integration of innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain. Based on the data of Chinese academician workstations and integrating big data analytics and mathematical statistics analysis, this work studies historical evolution, spatial-temporal distribution patterns, and innovation mechanisms of academician workstations with following findings. (1) The development of Chinese academician workstations can be divided into four stages: exploration (2003–2008), growth (2009–2014), expansion (2015–2018), and standardization stage (2019–present). (2) Main tasks of academician workstations include technology research and transformation, strategic consulting, and personnel training, which in turn determine their cooperation modes, from commissioned research, joint research, technology investment, to industry–technology alliance. (3) The number of newly established Chinese academician workstations shows a trend from increase to decrease. Collaborative units involve universities, enterprises, scientific research institutions, and hospitals, with enterprises accounting for the largest proportion. (4) These workstations have evolved spatially and temporally from an initial stage of scattered distribution patterns, an intermediate stage characterized by patterns of linear corridors with point clusters, to finally a mature stage exhibiting regional agglomeration patterns of “sheet-like” distributions and point clusters. (5) There are significant regional disparities in the spatial distribution of academician workstations, with dense clustering in eastern China and sparse coverage in western regions. Systematic governance challenges include overlapping administrative jurisdictions, inconsistent management guidelines, and different performance evaluation standards across regions. To optimize the operation of academician workstations, a dual-track region-focused policy framework is advocated, entailing targeted development support for western regions and efficiency improvement for eastern regions. This should be implemented through a unified national information sharing platform featuring unified performance indicators, consistent evaluation methodologies, and synchronized assessment cycles.

First page

1397

Last Page

1407

Language

Chinese

Publisher

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Recommended Citation

YANG, Qinjie; WU, Shengbo; and CAO, Cong (2024) "Chinese academician workstations: Evolution, development, and optimization," Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version): Vol. 40 : Iss. 8 , Article 7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3724/j.issn.1000-3045.20250410006
Available at: https://bulletinofcas.researchcommons.org/journal/vol40/iss8/7