CAST's 2024 Milestones: Advancing Sci-tech Innovation and Public Engagement
The China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) has made significant strides in various fields over the past year, according to the 9th meeting of the 10th National Committee of the CAST.
The association has achieved notable progress in cultivating sci-tech talents, building scientific journals, enhancing citizens' scientific literacy, promoting international non-governmental sci-tech exchanges, and regulating academic group governance.
Cultivating Sci-tech Talents
In 2024, the CAST focused on inspiring confidence in greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology. The association organized 71 national condition seminars, nurturing over 4,400 leading talents. Additionally, 180 national-level academic societies participated in selecting 3,226 outstanding doctoral students from "Double First Class" universities, providing robust support for young talents.
Building Scientific Journals
The CAST has taken the lead in implementing the Action Plan for Excellent STM Journals. Over the past 5 years, nearly 300 scientific journals have been supported to enter the top tier. The number of journals with international influence ranking in the top 5% of their discipline has increased sixfold compared to 2018.
Enhancing Citizens' Scientific Literacy
By 2024, the proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific literacy has achieved the "14th Five-Year Plan" target ahead of schedule. Across the country, 1,127 science and technology museums, 749 mobile science and technology museums, and 1,418 science popularization caravans received nearly 150 million visitors throughout the year. The flagship platform of "China Science Communication" has accumulated over 195.8 billion views. In 2024, National Science Popularization Day hosted over 200,000 events, with more than 5 million sci-tech professionals participating in the "Benefiting the People and Revitalizing the County" volunteer service.
Promoting International Non-Governmental Sci-tech Exchanges
The CAST has consolidated and expanded its international sci-tech "circle of friends," establishing 17 international sci-tech organizations in the past 3 years. The association has strengthened targeted cooperation with key countries in areas including science popularization education, mutual recognition of international engineers, agricultural technology promotion, and youth sci-tech innovation activities. The CAST continues to build 4 major platforms, including the World Science and Technology Development Forum (WSTDF) and the World New Energy Vehicle Congress (WNEVC), hosting thousands of international conferences in China. Over 2,000 CAST experts serve in international organizations.
Promoting Integration of Technological and Industrial Innovation
In 2024, the CAST established over 6,000 grassroots organizations, including enterprise (park) science associations. Relying on the Innovation China platform and small sci-tech institutes, the association organized more than 20,000 academic societies and tens of thousands of experts to serve the main economic battlefield and cultivate new quality productivity. The relevant academic societies also implemented large-span strategic consulting, summarizing and publishing major scientific and engineering issues, and proposing 10,138 high-quality consulting suggestions. Over 1,300 new group standards were issued nationwide, effectively supporting scientific decision-making.
Regulating Academic Group Governance
The CAST has taken significant steps to enhance discipline and governance within academic groups. In line with regulations, the CAST has issued warnings and revoked the membership of 9 societies. The association has also standardized evaluation and commendation programs, revamped the formats of academic conferences and sci-tech competitions, and streamlined less meaningful activities. Compared to 5 years ago, the number of evaluation and commendation programs has been reduced from 21 to 3, while the number of hosted and co-hosted forums has been cut from 63 to 10. These efforts underscore CAST's dedication to cutting red tape and prioritizing initiatives that drive real impact.