Chinese universities launch alliance for rural field survey

Over 40 Chinese universities established the national university alliance for thousand-village rural field survey on Friday, creating a collaborative platform to strengthen ideological education through rural fieldwork and support the country's rural vitalization strategy.

The alliance was launched during a ceremony at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, attended by over 200 university leaders, academics, and student representatives from across China.

The thousand-village survey program, pioneered by Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in 2008, has sent more than 30,000 students to conduct research in over 14,600 villages nationwide.

The initiative combines academic study with hands-on rural experience, allowing students to understand China's national conditions while contributing to policy research.

"The alliance marks our entry into a new phase of demonstration and promotion," Xu Tao, Party secretary of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said. "We aim to integrate classroom learning with real-world social experiences, answering the call for comprehensive talent development in the new era."

The program has created an educational framework that integrates national conditions education, research-based learning, labor education, social practice, and cultural cultivation.

Lin Hui, associate director of the Chinese-style modernization research institute of the university, emphasized the program's focus on rural education development this year. "We hope our research will contribute to high-quality development in rural education and help build China into a strong agricultural and educational nation," Lin said.

During a roundtable discussion, representatives from eight universities — including Renmin University of China and South China Agricultural University — shared experiences and discussed innovative approaches to practical education.

The ceremony concluded with the unanimous approval of the alliance charter by all member universities, establishing institutional frameworks for cooperation. The 43 member universities will coordinate field research activities, share data and findings, and jointly develop educational materials based on their rural surveys.