Recently, Jiang Lizhong, Secretary of the Party Committee of Hunan University of Science and Technology (HNUST) visited the Civil Engineering School's "Hainiu Class" and delivered the first ideological and political course themed "Decoding the Chinese Dream of a Powerful Nation and Shouldering Heavy Responsibilities with New Qualities."

Jiang Lizhong pointed out that the research and development of deep-sea equipment is a key area for the development of the country's new quality productive forces. Drawing on the experience of the "Hainiu II" drillship breaking through foreign technological blockades, he clarified that the mission of the "Hainiu Class" was to cultivate new-quality engineering talents —individuals who possess technical capabilities, collaborative awareness, and a sense of responsibility.

During the lecture, Jiang Lizhong traced the development of civil engineering: from the wisdom embodied in the ancient Yingxian Wooden Pagoda and Zhaozhou Bridge, to the commitment shown in the modern-era Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway and the Qiantang River Bridge, and on to the strength shown in today's Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the "Hainiu" drillship. his helped students understand that their field of study is both a "prerequisite" for national strategies and the "main arena" for new-quality talents.

Aligned with the "Hainiu Class" training plan, he encouraged students to master "hard knowledge" such as engineering mechanics and concrete structures, while also enhancing "soft skills" like humanistic literacy and teamwork. He concluded with "three plans": first, a "cognitive plan" to recognize the connection between the discipline and new-quality productive forces; second, an "capability plan" to actively participate in "Hainiu" laboratory projects and industry internships; and third, a "value plan" to integrate personal aspirations into national construction.

Students of the "Hainiu Class" stated that they chose the program to carry forward the spirit of being pioneers and overcoming challenges. They vowed to take role models like Wan Buyin, the Role Model of the Times, and the "Hainiu" team as examples, shoulder the mission of "We are ready to build a powerful China" and grow into "infrastructure vanguards" ready to bear great responsibilities.

It is reported that the "Hainiu Class" is a specialized program established by the School of Civil Engineering of HNUST, leveraging the university's research advantages in deep-sea equipment research and serving national strategic needs. It aims to cultivate top-notch new-quality talents with both engineering innovation capabilities and a sense of patriotism. The class tightly matches deep-sea engineering needs, rebuilds the curriculum, adds eight cutting-edge courses—including "Marine Intelligent Civil Engineering" and "Smart Water Conservancy"— and creates dual mentor teams (research and industry) to shift training from textbook-focused to strategy-oriented.

This course serves both as an initiation into becoming new-quality talent and as a compass for students' lives.

(Translated by WAN Chuang and LI Mengri)