For many experts, the greatest value of the new type of research university lies precisely in its transformative contribution to reforming traditional higher education models.

Shi Yigong, president of Westlake University, said that the new type of research university represents both the self-evolution of university organizational forms and knowledge production models, and a response to social development and national strategic needs.

China has made a top-level strategic design, emphasizing the integrated development of education, science and talent. It is a remarkable shift, Shi said, citing a report from a Communist Party of China Central Committee plenary session in 2024. "A decade ago, education in government work reports was mainly framed as a livelihood issue, disconnected from science and talent. This is the first time the three have been placed together as a strategic priority."

In China's context, Shi added, the new type of research university should act as a catalyst. "It should not simply be a 'catfish' that stirs the water, but also a catalyst and a spark," he said. "It may not compete on scale, but through reform it should challenge traditional universities and stimulate change across the system."

Wang Shuguo, president of Fuyao University of Science and Technology, noted that the rise of the new type of research university is closely linked to breakthroughs in the ongoing technological revolution, which are reshaping human cognitive boundaries and altering knowledge frameworks established during previous industrial revolutions.

"As existing cognitive boundaries are broken, new knowledge is continuously generated at the intersections of disciplines, and traditional disciplinary divisions can no longer keep pace with technological development," Wang said. This, he added, marks a shift in knowledge production from quantitative accumulation to qualitative transformation, requiring universities to assume responsibility for restructuring humanity's knowledge systems.

"This is a shared responsibility of all universities, but the new type of research universities should take the lead," Wang said, noting that their greater institutional flexibility and lighter historical burdens enable them to act as a "light cavalry".

"The new type of research universities are meant to do what traditional large-scale universities have not done, do not want to do, are unwilling to do, or are unable to do," he said.

From their inception, the new type of research universities in China have been entrusted with such a mission.

Jiang Hong, Party secretary of Southern University of Science and Technology, recalled that when the university — among China's first batch of the new type of research universities — was approved in 2012, its founding mandate already included the exploration of a modern university system.

Thirteen years later, Chen Shiyi, president of EIT, echoed this vision at the university's founding ceremony."We have explored new forms of education, new disciplinary layouts, new training models, new governance structures and new management systems," he said. "These efforts ensure the correct direction of the university, maintain institutional vitality, and provide solid safeguards for its long-term development."