1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 162 Huangpu Polytechnic University
On April 1903, 4, He Yujie and his two companions finally returned to Guangzhou after a month's vacation.

The Spark Project has officially begun!
In their own yard, Li Qiwei, He Yujie, Xia Yuanzhao, Xu Qitai and Zhou Ziyu sat opposite each other.

In front of you are placed various exquisite fruit snacks, tea, wine and drinks.

Father Li knew that these four people were Li Qiwei's backbone, so he would not neglect them and gave them a grand reception.

Li Qiwei was in high spirits, sweeping away the fatigue of dealing with the social interactions during this period, and enthusiastically introduced Zhou Ziyu.

"This is Mr. Zhou Ziyu, a well-known education patriot in China."

"In the future, he will join us as a Chinese studies teacher at the school."

Zhou Ziyu bowed and got to know He Yujie and others.

He knew that the three people in front of him were Li Qiwei's direct subordinates and their status was incomparable to his own.

Therefore, even though he was the oldest among the group, he was not arrogant, but rather low-key and taciturn.

I am still wanted by the Qing Dynasty, and I am already satisfied to have a safe job.

His value needs to be reflected by his future work performance.

Then, Li Qiwei began to explain the highlight of the day to everyone.

"I already have a plan for our first university."

"According to my speculation, my education reform outline will definitely pass."

“And even if it doesn’t pass, I will still establish the first private university in our country.”

"No one can stop me!"

The four of them heard the strong determination in Li Qiwei's tone and were shocked.

"I want to emulate the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States and establish our own polytechnic university."

"Mr. Rogers of the United States set the tone for the university when he founded MIT."

“Emphasis on engineering, science, and art.”

"But we need to adapt to local conditions. The country doesn't need art now, but Chinese literature, real Chinese literature."

"Only when students know the purpose of learning Western scientific knowledge can education be meaningful."

“And science and technology are the focus of this polytechnic university.”

"After all, even if you know the purpose, it's useless if you don't learn anything."

“This university is to promote science in the country, bring forth new ideas, and even surpass Europe and America and lead the world!”

Li Qiwei draws the pancake domineeringly, accompanied by powerful gestures, which makes people feel a strong power and confidence.

The four of them were eager to make a move, and they all felt Li Qiwei's strong emotions about to burst out.

At this time, He Yujie asked: "Brother Li, what is the name of the university?"

Li Qiwei smiled slightly and solemnly said the name of the super university that would later influence the entire world.

"Huangpu University of Science and Technology!"

He Yujie and the other three whispered the name and felt that it was nothing special.

None of them were from Guangdong and had never heard of the place called Huangpu.

Xia Yuanzhen asked: "Brother Li, what does Huangpu mean? Is it a place name?"

Li Qiwei explained: "Huangpu is a place under Panyu County of Guangzhou Prefecture."

"It's more than thirty miles away from where we are now."

“It’s far away from the center of Guangzhou, and the environment is fresh and elegant, which is very suitable for running a university.”

"You all know that countries like Britain and the United States choose to build universities far away from downtown areas so that teachers and students can focus on academic research."

"I've taken a fancy to a place called Cheung Chau Island in the Huangpu area. I've been there when I was a child and the scenery is very beautiful."

"The island is not very large, only four kilometers long and two kilometers wide. The site of Huangpu Polytechnic University is located in the south of the island."

"I'll take you there someday to experience it for yourself."

The four were very excited after hearing this. They had no feelings about the name Huangpu Polytechnic University, but were excited that this would be the first private university in the country.

It may even be the best university in the country.

And they will become the first batch of veterans, how can we not be excited.

Li Qiwei looked at the expressions of several people and felt deeply moved.

He is the only one in the world who knows the meaning of this name. This loneliness and isolation makes him feel dazed.

But he quickly adjusted his mood.

Li Qiwei himself did not know what kind of shock this university would bring to the world in the future.

After knowing the name of the university, Xu Qitai, who was the most impatient, immediately asked the most crucial question.

"Brother Li, according to your education reform outline, can we become professors directly?"

He Yujie and Xia Yuanzhen also pricked up their ears immediately, as this was also an issue that they were very concerned about.

They already knew that Li Qiwei was planning to hierarchical and subdivided the positions in the university into lecturers, associate professors, and professors.

As the first batch of veterans, it is not too much for these three to be professors.

As for Zhou Ziyu, he was much calmer. He was not like those young people who attached great importance to reputation.

What he cares about is real career. As long as he can engage in education and spread his ideas, he would be willing to work as a janitor.

However, he was also very interested in Li Qiwei's plan.

The other party seems to have a complete higher education program. I wonder if he learned it from Cambridge University.

Li Qiwei smiled and did not answer directly, but continued: "Huangpu Polytechnic University will adopt a three-level management system of university-college-major."

"I will serve as the first president of Huangpu Polytechnic University."

He Yujie and the other two exclaimed in surprise. After years of hard work, Brother Li was finally going to get his wish and become the principal.

"The university has temporarily established five colleges: the College of Mathematics, the College of Physics, the College of Chemistry, the College of Life Sciences, and the College of Humanities."

"In addition to Brother Zhou serving as the dean of the College of Humanities, I will concurrently serve as the dean of the remaining four colleges."

Zhou Ziyu was shocked after hearing this. He was really flattered by Li Qiwei's decision.

"Qiwei, I haven't done anything yet. I'm afraid I can't handle the big responsibility, and I can't convince the people."

Li Qiwei said with a smile: "Brother Zhou, don't be so modest. You are a Jinshi."

"The four of us combined cannot catch up with you in Chinese literature."

He Yujie and the other two took a deep breath. Although they didn't care about the eight-part essay of the Qing Dynasty, those who could pass the imperial examination were definitely the chosen ones of heaven.

For such a person, even if he learns Western scientific knowledge from scratch, he will find it easy.

The slight dissatisfaction in my heart just now disappeared immediately.

Moreover, they also believe that their elder brother Li will not treat them unfairly.

After all, they met in the grassroots and even knew the core secrets of the Spark Project, and currently only the three of them knew it.

Then, Li Qiwei said to He Yujie and the other two, "My purpose of taking on this concurrent role is to help you check things out first, so that you won't be so inexperienced and flustered."

"It probably won't be long before I step down as dean."

He then announced the appointment:

"He Yujie, you are the acting vice dean of the School of Physics and professor of physics."

"Xia Yuanzhen, you are the acting vice president of the School of Mathematics and professor of mathematics."

"Xu Qitai, you are the acting vice dean and professor of chemistry of the School of Chemistry."

"I will be the one personally teaching the School of Life Sciences for the time being."

After hearing Li Qiwei's arrangements, He Yujie and the other two were so excited that they almost jumped up.

That's a professor!

Back when they were at Cambridge University, they were still a long way from becoming professors.

Now that he has returned to China, he has actually started as a professor. No one can contain his surprise.

Li Qiwei is in charge of education. He will later determine the levels of teaching positions and give strict salary differences.

And everything is aligned with European and American universities.

In other words, their professor titles are the same as those of professors in Europe and the United States.

As for the gap in level, it can be made up for.

Li Qiwei has never been a pedantic person and has never advocated educational equality.

Academic research is equal, but the education system cannot be equal, otherwise it will be a mess.

Moreover, if motivation is lost, no one will teach wholeheartedly.

In this world, only a few people make a living purely on their ideals.

"However, you three shouldn't be too happy too soon. I will inspect you from time to time."

"If you fail, it will be embarrassing for me."

"When the time comes, hmm, just demote me to a lecturer and slowly start from the beginning."

The three of them were not worried at all and were still smiling.

Just kidding, they are also serious Cambridge undergraduates. When they return to China, it will be a dimensionality reduction attack.

Li Qiwei had his own considerations for making such an arrangement.

Xia Yuanzhen has the best grades, strict logic, and is very suitable for mathematics.

He Yujie has the highest talent in physics and likes to translate various professional documents, so he is suitable for physics.

As for Xu Qitai, he has an outgoing personality and likes to do experiments, which makes him suitable for chemistry.

Moreover, although the three of them are professors, the focus of their work is not scientific research, but teaching and educating.

Li Qiwei's assessment of them also looks at their teaching level and the performance of the students they teach.

According to Li Qiwei's plan, all teachers and students at Huangpu University of Technology will not be allowed to think about doing original scientific research within ten years.

This is simply unrealistic in the current Qing Dynasty.

The job of He Yujie and other two people is to eliminate illiteracy, especially scientific illiteracy.

Just to fully teach the existing scientific system in Europe is already an extremely huge project.

They have to compile teaching materials, polish courses, design exams, etc., and all the work has to be done from scratch.

Western universities have been developing for hundreds of years, while domestic universities have just started, so you can imagine how difficult it will be in the early stages.

Not to mention doing your own research based on other people's work.

There is no other way. The Qing Dynasty’s foundation is not even comparable to that of the neighboring Sakura Country, so it can only develop slowly and steadily.

"In addition to teaching materials, your next major task is to start recruiting lecturers."

"Yujie, Yuanzhen, Qitai, you must look for scientific and technological talents in the country and try every means to win them over."

"For example, Qitai, you can even ask your father to teach a few courses."

"In the early stages, we shouldn't divide things too finely."

"Although the three of you are professors of your respective colleges, it does not mean that you do not need to teach courses in other majors."

"The more capable you are, the more work you should do. Now that you are a professor, you should focus on teaching."

“The better the students you bring out, the better your work is.”

After saying that, Li Qiwei looked at Zhou Ziyu again.

"Brother Zhou, I will leave the Chinese language section to you."

"You can recruit two people for now. As for how to treat them, I will personally interview them and then make the decision."

Zhou Ziyu was excited throughout the whole process. He was obviously just a dean, which was nothing like the school he founded before.

But Li Qiwei's dean gave him a different feeling.

There was a voice in his heart that kept reminding him that he must seize this opportunity, otherwise he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"Don't worry, Qiwei. I have some connections in the country."

"It's hard for me to find talents in science and engineering, but I guarantee you will be satisfied with Chinese."

Li Qiwei smiled and nodded.

Next, the few of them discussed some details and asked Li Qiwei if they didn’t understand something.

Then the troops were divided into two groups.

Li Qiwei went to raise funds and began to design and build Huangpu University of Technology.

We strive to perfectly integrate Eastern classics with Western technology so that all teachers and students can feel a peaceful and harmonious intellectual atmosphere from the bottom of their hearts.

The remaining four began to write their own handouts, recruit staff, and make adequate preparations for the class.

(End of this chapter)