From August 18th to 23rd, 2025, a special seminar class on enhancing political capability for university Party committee secretaries and presidents across Jiangxi Province, organized by the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China Organization Department and the Provincial Education Working Committee, was held in Nanchang. President Qin He was invited to deliver a special report titled “Exploration and Practice of Quality-Oriented Development in Private Universities.” Drawing upon JISU’s 30 years of educational practice, President Qin provided an in-depth analysis from three perspectives: “Why we pursue high-quality development and work to bring out the full potential of higher education,” “JISU’s Exploration Path,” and “Summary of Practical Experience.” Chairpersons (Board Chairpersons), Party Committee Secretaries, and Presidents from private universities within Jiangxi Province attended the meeting.
In elaborating on “Why we must take the path of high-quality, connotative development,” President Qin He used “Three Logics” as a starting point, progressively analyzing the inevitability of this development. The Policy Logic signifies an inevitable transition guided by policy direction, shifting from “scale expansion” to “connotation enhancement,” which has become the core proposition for private higher education in the new era. The Development Logic represents a practical choice in the context of market competition; facing challenges such as homogenization in running universities and increasing resource constraints, only by focusing on quality can institutions secure their footing amid competition and selection. The Education Logic is an inherent requirement of returning to the essence of educating people; the fundamental goal of education is to cultivate talent, not merely to pursue scale or efficiency, and this essential nature dictates that development must focus on high quality.
President Qin He focused on sharing the practical paths explored by JISU for achieving “quality-oriented development.” She stated that as a private university, JISU has always been grounded in the national strategic landscape and the actual conditions of the country and Jilin Province, deeply contemplating “how to forge a development path for a private university with Chinese characteristics.” With the long-term goal of “building a leading non-profit, application-oriented and high-profile foreign language university with salient features and global perspectives--and ultimately a century-old university ,” JISU has systematically advanced six practical paths: First, strengthening top-level design and firmly establishing the university’s orientation. Second, upholding the political attribute, adhering to moral education, and striving to run a socialist university. Third, fostering the people-oriented attribute, persisting in non-profit operation, and striving to build a century-old prestigious university. Fourth, highlighting the strategic attribute, consistently maintaining an application-oriented orientation, and striving to build a distinctive foreign studies university. Fifth, adhering to elite education, striving to build a high-level university. Sixth, consistently upholding open education, striving to build an internationalized university.
When summarizing the experience of the university’s high-quality development, President Qin He stated that JISU’s achievements are gifts of the era, nurtured by policies, supported by the care of leaders at all levels, and outcomes of reform and opening-up, but they are also the result of the university’s proactive efforts. She specifically mentioned that while the university has seized the opportunities of the new era, benefited from national policy support, and received guidance from leaders at various levels, its own continuous endeavors have been indispensable—emphasizing forward-looking planning, maintaining strategic resolve, striving to leverage advantages and highlight distinctive features, and moreover, using a profound university spirit to consolidate the endogenous driving force for development.
During the report session, President Qin He also exchanged views with attending leaders and participants. They expressed that JISU operates at a high level and has achieved rapid development, serving as a benchmark and banner for private universities nationwide, and its developmental achievements are commendable.
The keynote report was highly praised by the attendees. They indicated that the report offers significant insights on how to run a university well. They expressed the need to emulate President Qin He in steadfastly adhering to the original aspiration of cultivating talent for the CPC and the nation, possessing a genuine passion and dedication for loving and devoting oneself to education, and consistently and unwaveringly striving towards the goal of high-quality education with sound educational philosophy and scientific top-level design.
