Jiang Xuefeng. [Photo/eastday.com]

On Nov 9, 2023, the 42nd session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference held in Paris, France passed a resolution to establish the UNESCO International Institute for STEM Education in Shanghai. It is the first Category 1 Institute of UNESCO to be located in China.

These measures provide an important platform for talent cultivation in Shanghai. Jiang Xuefeng, a CPPCC member and professor at East China Normal University, said that seizing educational opportunities and effectively utilizing STEM education to cultivate talent is an important task worthy of attention in Shanghai.

The government work report clearly stated that Shanghai will promote the pilot comprehensive reform of systems and mechanisms for talent development and improve the evaluation system for scientific and technological talent.

Jiang said that Shanghai's STEM education has still not firmly grasped the essence of scientific education. From the perspective of talent cultivation, existing methods still focus on imparting knowledge and do not adequately encourage students to actively explore.

He called for the establishment of multi-dimensional evaluation standards and reducing quantitative evaluation indicators, as well as encouraging students to independently explore new things and cultivate problem-solving abilities.