On February 13, a distinctive doctoral defense was held at the National Institute of Excellence in Engineering at Southeast University. There was no thick bound dissertation on the table. Instead, the \u201ccore material\u201d for the defense was a set of prefabricated intelligent rebar construction technologies already implemented in several major bridge projects. Engineering doctoral candidate Zheng Hehui, jointly supervised by Professor Liu Zhao of the School of Civil Engineering at Southeast University and Chief Scientist Zhang Hong of CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Co., successfully passed his doctoral practice-based achievement defense on the strength of this engineering accomplishment. The case is regarded as one of the first nationwide\u2014and the first in Jiangsu Province\u2014approved under the newly revised degree law to grant a doctorate based on practical achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zheng\u2019s defense is not an isolated case, but rather a microcosm of a broader institutional shift. In recent years, China\u2019s engineering doctoral education has undergone a milestone reform: students are no longer required to write and publish a traditional dissertation to obtain a PhD. Instead, they may defend substantial products, technological prototypes, or complete engineering solutions. The concept of \u201capplying for a doctoral degree with product achievements\u201d has moved from policy language into operational reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legal foundation for this reform lies in the revised Education Law of the People’s Republic of China (commonly referred to as the revised Degree Law), adopted in 2024 and officially implemented on January 1, 2025. It provides a clear legal basis for practice-based defenses and degree conferral in engineering doctorates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Subsequently, the Ministry of Education issued the Basic Requirements for Doctoral Theses and Practice-Based Achievements for Engineering Professional Degree Candidates (Trial)<\/em>, formulated by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council. The document further clarifies standards, procedures, and evaluation dimensions for practice-based defenses. It emphasizes strengthening engineering innovation capabilities, serving national strategic needs, and integrating achievement evaluation throughout the entire doctoral training process. The core of this institutional design is not simply the \u201cabolition of dissertations,\u201d but a reshaping of doctoral evaluation logic\u2014from a focus on publication counts and journal impact factors to an emphasis on real engineering contributions and technological innovation value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the new framework, universities may set their own standards for evaluating practice-based achievements in accordance with disciplinary characteristics. Students can apply for degrees by developing industrializable technologies, prototype products, or engineering works recognized by the industry, rather than relying solely on the number of published papers. Unlike the previous model, which stressed theoretical output and quantitative metrics, this reform prioritizes the ability of outcomes to solve problems in real engineering environments. In other words, doctoral candidates must demonstrate their capacity to propose solutions in complex engineering contexts, complete validation processes, and generate tangible benefits\u2014not merely produce a high-scoring academic paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reform\u2019s implementation framework is highly systematic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, in terms of training models, most pilot universities have adopted a \u201cdual-supervisor system,\u201d in which an academic advisor from the university and an industry expert jointly guide doctoral research and project execution. This mechanism bridges the gap between university training and industrial demand, ensuring both solid academic foundations and responsiveness to real engineering challenges. For example, at Chongqing University, doctoral candidate Yuan Xiaohu from the School of Materials Science and Engineering was jointly supervised by university and enterprise mentors, forming a full-process management system from topic design and experimental research to engineering validation. This model enables doctoral students to engage directly with real engineering problems while allowing research works to serve enterprise projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, regarding evaluation mechanisms, the Basic Requirements (Trial)<\/em> specify that practice-based defenses must assess technical indicators, engineering feasibility, industrial application effects, and innovative contributions. In addition to traditional academic reviewers, defense committees must include industry experts, enterprise technical leaders, and engineering practice evaluators. The basis of evaluation is no longer the length or number of academic papers, but the technical quality of the achievement, the operational performance of prototypes, and the potential for technology dissemination. Students must, quite literally, \u201clet the product speak,\u201d demonstrating whether their works can genuinely address industry pain points and be promoted in practice, rather than relying solely on theoretical argumentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across the country, multiple universities have already seen practice-based works successfully implemented. As noted earlier, Zheng Hehui of Southeast University developed modular bridge tower structures that can be assembled like building blocks. His works have been applied in the Changtai Yangtze River Bridge project, significantly improving construction efficiency and simplifying installation procedures. At Harbin Institute of Technology, doctoral candidate Wei Lianfeng independently developed a vacuum laser welding technology and equipment system that overcame bottlenecks in high-precision welding for aerospace components and nuclear power equipment. The technology has been incorporated into testing and promotion programs on several national key R&D platforms. Meanwhile, Yuan Xiaohu of Chongqing University developed a 630\u00b0C ultra-supercritical steam turbine valve anti-oxidation coating system. The innovation improved corrosion resistance under high-temperature steam conditions, generated economic benefits exceeding 100 million yuan, was incorporated into a national energy equipment demonstration project, and resulted in national invention patents as well as participation in drafting multiple industry standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These cases illustrate that, compared with the previous dissertation-centered evaluation system, the new framework highlights the practical engineering significance of research works. It provides direct technological support for industrial chain innovation and allows doctoral education to truly take root \u201con the production front line\u201d and be practiced \u201cat the forefront of innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This reform in engineering doctoral education is not an isolated development, but an important component of China\u2019s broader educational and technological strategy adjustment. For a long time, China\u2019s doctoral evaluation system centered on publication quantity and quality, contributing to phenomena such as \u201cpaper factories\u201d and academic misconduct, while dampening incentives for practice-oriented technological innovation. The revised Degree Law explicitly allows doctoral degrees to be granted on the basis of practical achievements, responding to urgent societal expectations regarding research integrity, engineering talent cultivation, and the integration of industry and academia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a macro level, the reform carries multidimensional strategic significance. First, it directly supports China\u2019s innovation-driven development strategy. Strategic sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, aerospace, and energy equipment urgently require doctoral-level talent capable of solving real engineering problems. Through the practice-based defense system, universities and enterprises can jointly cultivate high-level professionals able to tackle technological bottlenecks, thereby enhancing China\u2019s core competitiveness in global technological competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, the reform promotes deeper integration of industry, academia, and research. National Institutes of Excellence in Engineering and other universities have collaborated with major state-owned enterprises to establish engineering practice bases, enabling doctoral candidates to train within real corporate projects and participate in tackling key technical challenges. This breaks with the traditional \u201civory tower\u201d model of academic education and facilitates the transformation of research works into productive forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Naturally, the reform has also sparked debate. Critics worry that overemphasizing practical achievements may weaken originality in fundamental theoretical research and undermine the doctoral mission of \u201ccreating new knowledge.\u201d As the practice-based evaluation system is refined, it will be crucial to balance theoretical value and engineering application contributions, ensuring that doctoral graduates possess both systematic scientific literacy and the capacity to solve real-world technical problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking ahead, as the practice-based defense system expands and evaluation mechanisms mature, China\u2019s engineering doctoral education may develop a distinctive model that integrates academic rigor with practical impact. This model could also offer reference points for other applied disciplines\u2014including the social sciences\u2014opening a new chapter in higher education evaluation reform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In recent years, China\u2019s engineering doctoral education has undergone a milestone reform: students are no longer required to write and publish a traditional dissertation to obtain a PhD. Instead, they may defend substantial products, technological prototypes, or complete engineering solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2550"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2551,"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2550\/revisions\/2551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poroschronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How the Reform Is Being Implemented<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Logic and Challenges Behind the Reform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n