Super God-Level Top Student
Chapter 904 - 341 All Thorns!_2

Honestly, at this moment, Zhang Hongcai felt an almost murderous urge.

Especially when he thought about his trip to Xilin more than a year ago, the regret was even deeper.

If he had known things would turn out like this, he should have gone to Xilin with a do-or-die determination back then—even if it meant tying up Qiao Ze and dragging him to Yanbei.

Unfortunately, he failed at the time, and now his heartfelt words weren't moving these young mathematicians at all.

Most of them simply hung their heads, remaining silent.

A few raised their heads to look at him, but there wasn't even a shred of guilt on their faces.

Zhang Hongcai sighed inwardly.

There was nothing he could do. Ever since the school implemented the "up or out" policy, it indeed maximized the fluidity of talent, but the lack of tenured positions and the so-called contractual system also reduced the constraints on these young people. If they were dead set on leaving, he really didn't have a good way to stop them.

The "up or out" policy was essentially the pre-tenure system used abroad, which at its core was a long probationary contract.

For schools, it allowed them to observe a teacher's capabilities during the probationary period before deciding whether to grant tenure. For institutions like Yanbei and Huaqing, such dominant universities, this practice was naturally excellent, as it effectively stopped teachers from becoming complacent after signing contracts.

Of course, this required the school to maintain an absolutely dominant position. Thus, the first institutions to implement this system were Yanbei and Huaqing, followed by other key "985" and "211" universities.

After 15 years of continuous development in higher education, as the number of doctoral students eager to enter academic institutions multiplied, even many ordinary universities outside the key tiers started adopting this policy.

In theory, as long as the number of master's and doctoral graduates kept increasing, schools would have a larger pool to choose from, and this system would only become more advantageous for institutions.

But who would have expected Xilin's sudden rise to even put Yanbei in this awkward situation?

No tenured positions, and just a probationary contract—the constraints on these young academics were practically zero.

Previously, when Xu Changshu switched institutions, he still had to get approval from the department to retain his academic title; but theoretically, these young people could resign without a second thought—unless they were assistant professors who had benefited from the school's talent recruitment incentives.

Even then, if they were willing to compensate the school for financial losses, they could just pack up and leave as well.

So now, Zhang Hongcai wasn't left with many choices and could only play the emotional card.

Sadly, he had already said a whole bunch of good things, yet the young people before him showed almost no response. Old Zhang could only begin naming names.

"Luo Jiuwen, why don't you start? You've been a research assistant in the center for three years now. These three years, the center hasn't treated you poorly, has it? You haven't been short of funding or projects, right? And now, out of nowhere, you say you want to leave—doesn't that break our hearts?"

Luo Jiuwen lifted his head and glanced at Zhang Hongcai on the stage.

A wave of frustration washed over him.

To be honest, he hadn't expected so many people to secretly apply for Xilin's recruitment process—and actually pass.

While he didn't think that only he and Xin Zhenyang had gone to Xilin, he estimated that, at most, seven or eight people would want to leave. Who could've predicted that nearly thirty people had all had the same idea? And now he was being singled out.

But as his gaze met Zhang Hongcai's disappointed, "you're-better-than-this" expression, Luo Jiuwen suddenly summoned his courage.

"Director Zhang, since you've asked me to say a few words, I'll just speak my mind. Some of what I'm going to say might sound unpleasant, so I hope you won't take offense."

"Speak—I'm listening!"

Luo Jiuwen stood up decisively and said loudly, "Director Zhang, the research center has indeed treated me well, but you must also understand the challenges faced by domestic PhDs like me. I graduated with my doctorate, spent two years at the mobility station, and was then hired by the research center. As you've said, I've been here for three years now, yet I'm still just a research assistant.

"Counting the five years of my doctoral studies, I've spent another five transitioning from postdoc to research assistant. I understand Yanbei University has high standards, but to continue advancing here and be promoted to associate research fellow, it'll take at least another three years—and even then, there's no guarantee of tenure. Even if I make it to associate research fellow, there's still the pressure to produce cutting-edge work.

"I'm not saying this to criticize the school, but you have to think about my situation. I'm already 33 years old and far from being exceptionally talented. If I don't secure tenure, I won't be able to focus on the types of research I truly want to pursue. Everyone here knows how high the bar is these days for publishing papers.

"And once I hit 35, the 'newcomer protection period' ends. My competition will no longer just be with professors under 35 but with all doctoral advisors and master's advisors. I don't know about anyone else, but I personally don't feel I have what it takes. After all, how many five-year cycles do we get in life, am I right?

"So I want to give Xilin a shot. Say what you will, but at least at Xilin's Mathematics Research Institute, they promise that research assistants only have a six-month probation period. If you meet the standard, you're promoted to associate research fellow and get tenure. At least it's a hope I can strive toward. Of course, if you're saying that six months from now, as long as I deliver results, I'll get a tenure contract here, I'd also be willing to stay."

Having said this, Luo Jiuwen sat back down before Zhang Hongcai could respond.

Soon, murmurs began spreading throughout the meeting room. From the corner of his eye, Luo Jiuwen could see many people giving him discreet thumbs-up.

Especially not far away, Xin Zhengyang was bowing his head while flashing him a sly grin.

Luo Jiuwen paid them no mind.

He had already decided to leave, so offending Director Zhang didn't bother him at all. Speaking his thoughts out loud felt immensely satisfying.

After all, opportunities like this didn't come often.

If it were just him and Xin Zhenyang planning to leave, chances were he wouldn't have gotten a chance to deliver such a speech.

Indeed, Luo Jiuwen's remarks left Zhang Hongcai visibly rattled.

He certainly couldn't publicly promise a tenure contract within six months for Luo Jiuwen.

Not only did he lack the authority, but such institutional matters couldn't be decided unilaterally by a department head. Even if he had that kind of authority, he wouldn't dare to say it publicly. At most, he might privately express his confidence in someone.

Otherwise, could he single-handedly secure positions for just one person? Could he arrange positions for all twenty-seven people in the room?

Even if he managed to perform a miracle and accommodate all twenty-seven from the School of Mathematics, what about the rest of the department? What about the young lecturers across other schools?

At this moment, Zhang Hongcai felt like his head was about to explode.

He could only sigh inwardly—today's young people are fundamentally different from his generation. Back then, people valued the spirit of dedication, but now...

"Alright, stop giving thumbs-up now. Are you all planning to applaud Luo's speech as well?" Zhang Hongcai said in a disgruntled tone.

Then, the next moment, someone in the room did begin clapping.

And with a leader taking the initiative, the applause grew increasingly fervent, eventually becoming thunderous.

This reaction thoroughly frustrated Zhang Hongcai...

Since when did Yanbei University admit such a rebellious bunch?!

Did they really have to make it feel like the whole world couldn't match Xilin, huh?

...

At this moment, Yanbei wasn't the only institution grappling with frustration. Over at Huaqing, the situation was no better. If anything, they were even more troubled than Yanbei.

After all, while Yanbei's mathematics and physics departments saw only around forty people recruited, more than fifty people from Huaqing had been poached—outnumbering Yanbei significantly.

Even worse was the fact that Yanbei's strongest disciplines were in the natural sciences, whereas Huaqing's strength lay in engineering; it was still catching up in pure sciences.

So while Yanbei felt the immediate impact of losing over forty personnel in its teaching and research programs, the situation was at least manageable for now. What they feared more was the long-term impact. For Huaqing, however, this exodus would cause severe disruptions across various ongoing efforts.

The purpose of implementing the "up or out" system was to prevent young teachers and assistant researchers from becoming complacent—it wasn't meant to encourage them to run off!

Thus, Huaqing was also trying to retain people, but the results were largely the same as Yanbei's—ineffective.

Yes, Xilin's Mathematics Research Institute had published the official list of recruits.

But instead of discouraging these young academics from elite universities, it gave them even more hope.

Six hundred tenure-track positions, and only 678 recruits? And this round of hiring involved competition among qualified young professors nationwide, all under forty?

Wasn't this practically the opportunity of a lifetime?

If there was no visible hope at Huaqing, then competition at Xilin suddenly presented a tangible chance. This was a once-in-a-lifetime breakthrough.

Given the current tightening of tenure-track positions nationwide, waiting for another opportunity like this would mean banking on someone like Qiao Ze once again creating a groundbreaking institute out of thin air. How realistic was that?!

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