On 21 May, the 8th Innovation and Development Forum for Foundations of ‘Double First-Class’ Universities, themed ‘Building Momentum, Empowering Growth, and Striving for the Future Together’, was grandly held at Xi’an Jiaotong University. The Tengchong Scientists Forum Foundation was invited to attend this grand event as a representative of social welfare foundations. Li Jiaqiang, Secretary-General of the Foundation, delivered a presentation at the forum, joining leaders from renowned university foundations and leading corporate philanthropic foundations from both home and abroad to discuss the original aspirations of philanthropy, deliberate on plans for cooperation, and explore new pathways for the deep integration of social welfare and higher education. Gu Wei, Chairman of the Foundation, attended the forum.

Secretary-General Li Jiaqiang delivered a report entitled ‘Harnessing the Power of Philanthropy to Promote the Integration of Science and Education’

Leveraging the unique platform advantages and resources of the Tengchong Scientists Forum, the Tengchong Scientists Forum Foundation was formally established in December 2025. Upholding the mission of focusing on scientific and technological innovation, building platforms for academic exchange, promoting science popularisation and talent development, facilitating the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and sustainable social development, and contributing to the construction of an innovative society, the Foundation is committed to ensuring the long-term, public-benefit and inclusive utilisation of the Forum’s resources.

Secretary-General Li Jiaqiang stated that the Tengchong Scientists Forum Foundation is fully committed to building a public-interest bridge between universities and society, as well as between scientific research and industry. It aims to use the power of public welfare to empower the integration of science and education and the ‘Double First-Class’ initiative, sharing the same mission, goals and actions as the foundations of various ‘Double First-Class’ universities. He also put forward four cooperation initiatives to the attending delegates:

Firstly, to share the Forum’s academic resources and jointly promote academic exchange among universities. The Forum Foundation is willing to fully open up the Tengchong Scientists Forum’s academic resources, expert networks and communication channels. Working hand in hand with university foundations, and leveraging the Forum’s platform, it will jointly organise academic seminars, disciplinary forums, young researchers’ salons and other activities. This will help universities break down academic barriers, broaden their horizons for exchange, enhance their academic influence, and build a high-level exchange platform for the development of ‘Double First-Class’ disciplines.

Second, to pool philanthropic resources and jointly foster research talent. Focusing on the cultivation of top-tier innovative talent and young research backbone within universities, and leveraging the Forum’s strength in talent aggregation, we will jointly establish award and grant schemes to support university staff and students in engaging with cutting-edge research, academic advancement and the presentation of research outcomes. Through philanthropic collaboration, we aim to address resource constraints in talent development and scientific innovation, thereby helping universities nurture more scientific and technological talent that meets national strategic needs.

Thirdly, we will jointly build bridges for the commercialisation of research outcomes and promote the integration of science, education, industry and vocational training. We will fully leverage the role of the Tengchong Scientists Forum as a platform for industry-academia-research collaboration. By coordinating with university foundations and integrating philanthropic and industrial resources, we will facilitate the precise alignment of high-quality university research outcomes with industrial needs, ensuring their successful commercialisation and application. This will establish a philanthropic pathway that connects ‘research – commercialisation – application’, enabling university research outcomes to better serve social development.

Fourthly, we will jointly explore pathways for industry development and build a framework of philanthropic standards. We will strengthen mutual learning with sister university foundations regarding fund management, project operations, brand building and risk prevention, jointly exploring professional, standardised and branded development models for university philanthropic foundations. Working hand in hand, we will enhance the sector’s overall service efficiency and consolidate synergies for the development of university philanthropy.

The Forum Foundation is set to launch the ‘Scientists in Schools’ public welfare curriculum project. By integrating the Forum’s core resources—including the cutting-edge perspectives of academicians, scientists’ research narratives, and state-of-the-art scientific achievements—we will develop science popularisation courses tailored to be easily understood, learned and applied by primary and secondary school students. We will also promote regular visits by scientists to schools for face-to-face exchanges with young people, enabling students in frontier regions to share high-quality science education resources with their peers nationwide. This initiative aims to truly realise the vision that “frontier regions are not far away, science is close at hand, and dreams know no bounds”, thereby cultivating scientific literacy among young people and passing on the spirit of science through the power of science popularisation.

Innovation and Development Forum of the “Double First-Class” Universities Foundations

Launched in 2017 by the Institute of Public Governance at Renmin University of China, the Innovation and Development Forum of the “Double First-Class” Universities Foundations has been successfully held for seven consecutive years and is currently one of the most prestigious and influential industry exchange platforms in the field of higher education philanthropy in China. This year’s forum is co-organised by the Education Foundation of Xi’an Jiaotong University and the Institute of Public Governance at Renmin University of China, in collaboration with the Education Fund Work Research Branch of the China Higher Education Society. Under the theme “Building Momentum, Empowering Growth: Walking Together Towards a Brighter Future”, the forum featured a plenary session alongside three thematic workshop sessions focusing on educational philanthropy, scientific philanthropy and talent philanthropy. Representatives from university foundations—including those of the University of Oxford, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, the University of Science and Technology of China, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beihang University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology—as well as representatives from corporate foundations such as the Alibaba Foundation, the Joe Tsai Foundation and the Kuaishou Foundation attended the forum and delivered speeches.