The course, The Spirit of Science, jointly built by five top universities in East China, met the students for the first time on March 15, 2021. This course is led by the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and co-taught by nine renowned teachers from five universities.

The Spirit of Science is a cross-campus live course that combines lectures and interactive seminars, with students and faculty from five universities could communicate virtually in real-time.

The course aims to systematically introduce the origin, the history of development and the methods of exploration of science. It also discusses the relationship of science and society, covering economy and ethics.

The first lecture consisted of two sessions, given by Professor LUO Yi and Dr. YUAN Lanfeng from USTC respectively. LUO introduced the concept of science to the audience. "The constraints of rules and regulations should be removed from those who work in basic science research, so that the practical activities of science can return to their origin," said LUO.

LUO reaching the audience. (Image by Center of General Studies)

Focused on the Euclid's work The Elements, YUAN revealed subtleties in the book that are not known to the general public during the lecture. Yuan also dabbled in the development of science in China to inspire students to think about the difference between science and technology.

YUAN inspiring students to think about relationship between science and technology. (Image by Center of General Studies)

The end of this lecture is characterized by enthusiastic discussion between students from the five universities and lecturers.

The Spirit of Science is jointly built by USTC, Fudan University (FDU), Nanjing University (NJU), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Zhejiang University (ZJU), aiming to fully mobilize and actively utilize the excellent faculty strengths of these five universities, which give full play to the strengths of each university, and create a special course to meet the needs of the majority of students. This course is a good practice for the collaboration of higher education in the Yangtze River Delta and the exploration and progress of the coordinated cultivation of talents.

(Written by ZHANG Boxian, USTC News Center)