Multiple universities released their "Strengthening Foundation Plan" for 2025, adding cutting-edge areas such as integrated circuits to help solve "stuck neck" problems

Reporters' comprehensive report: To serve the needs of major national strategies and cultivate outstanding talents in basic disciplines, the "Strong Foundation Plan" (pilot program for reform of basic discipline enrollment) launched by the Ministry of Education in 2020 has continued to deepen its layout. Recently, nearly 40 universities, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and Beihang University, have successively released the 2025 "Strong Foundation Plan" enrollment brochures, adding several training directions that align with the national strategic emerging industries, focusing on key areas such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, and aerospace, and striving to solve the problem of "stuck necks" in core technologies.

Focus on Frontier Fields, Strengthen Cross-Fusion

This year, Beijing Institute of Technology has added two new directions to the "Strong Foundation Plan": Mathematics (Intelligent Science), led by the School of Automation, aims at intelligent robots and autonomous driving, cultivating leading talents with "hardcore" technology and industrial practice capabilities; Physics (Electronic Science), led by the Integrated Circuit College, focuses on chip design and manufacturing, and reserves cutting-edge strength to break through the bottleneck of semiconductor technology. Wang Haoyu, the executive deputy director of the admissions office of the university, said: "The new direction aims to keep up with the trend of the new round of technological revolution and meet the urgent needs of the national strategy for compound innovative talents."

The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China has added two new directions: "Information and Computing Science" and "Basic Mathematics and Physics Science." The former, relying on the disciplinary advantages of the School of Computer Science and Engineering, cultivates in-depth research in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence and information security; the latter is led by the School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, focusing on the entire chain of "materials-devices-circuits-chips" to solve the problems of integrated circuit design and process manufacturing. Lin Peng, director of the admissions office, emphasized: "These directions directly target the national "pain points" in the fields of artificial intelligence and chips, cultivating outstanding talents who can lead technological transformation."

Beihang University has added four new majors, including aerospace materials, electronic science (integrated circuit direction), and quantum information, highlighting the cross-fusion of aerospace and microelectronics. Liu Rui, director of the admissions office, introduced: "The electronic science direction under applied physics will focus on tackling "stuck neck" technologies such as chips, providing intellectual support for national strategic industries."

Deepening Basic Disciplines, Serving National Strategies
Since its implementation, the "Strong Foundation Plan" has always focused on basic disciplines such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry, while extending to key areas. In 2025, universities further optimized their training programs, strengthening students' innovation capabilities and strategic vision through the "basic disciplines + frontier technology" model. For example, the "Basic Mathematics and Physics Science" direction of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China requires students to participate in the full-process R&D practice of chips; the intelligent science direction of Beijing Institute of Technology sets up practical courses such as robot design and intelligent manufacturing.

A relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Education pointed out that the "Strong Foundation Plan" is not only an enrollment reform but also an innovation in talent cultivation models. Through measures such as a through-train training system for undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs, and the introduction of a joint school-enterprise mentorship system, it is ensured that students can both strengthen their theoretical foundation and meet the needs of the industry.

Future Outlook
With the acceleration of the new round of technological revolution, the "Strong Foundation Plan" of universities will continue to target national strategic needs and dynamically adjust the professional layout. Experts believe that this move not only provides talent guarantees for solving "stuck neck" technologies but also promotes the deep integration of basic disciplines and engineering applications, helping China to take a leading position in global technological competition.