Surgery Godfather
Chapter 838 - 749 Madly in Love with CNS

Chapter 838: Chapter 749 Madly in Love with CNS

Yang Ping’s paper was successfully published in the journal Science, and Dean Xia started to get busy again.

As the dean, he needed to be a facilitator for talent, and being a facilitator wasn’t just about shouting slogans, it required action.

He ran around to Nandu Medical University, to the Provincial Hall, and also to various old classmates’ homes. These few days had been quite fruitful, with Yang Ping’s doctorate graduation advanced, the professional titles of chief physician and professor essentially confirmed, just waiting for the procedures to be completed.

The position of doctoral supervisor was also almost certainly within reach, after all, with so many top medical journal papers, plus this super-weighty paper in Science, becoming a doctoral supervisor for a clinical doctor was assured.

However, applying for the National Outstanding Young Talent Fund was not so easy, with only 300 slots available nationwide each year, covering 67 subdivided scientific categories and 8 major categories, resulting in only about 30-40 slots for medicine.

The Outstanding Youth (Outstanding Young Talent) is second only to the academicians of the Two Academies in terms of high-end talent within the country, serving as an authoritative measure of the innovative potential and academic level of young scholars, and the competition is intense—nearly all academicians under the age of 50 have once received support from it, saying it’s a step towards becoming an academician is not an exaggeration.

This year, Nandu Medical University had only three nomination spots, two of which had already been decided upon. These two individuals were young scholars who had studied abroad in Europe and America and had been promised a recommendation for the National Outstanding Young Talent during their introduction, so these two spots were not subject for debate.

With one spot remaining, Yang Ping had to compete with others, his competitor also a talented young prodigy, a mere 38 years old, already with two CNS papers published. This young talent was also the son-in-law of a vice principal at Nandu Medical University, so Principal Ruo found it very difficult.

In the end, only one of them could be recommended.

Ultimately, whom to choose? If eligibility criteria were met, it would have to be decided by a vote at a meeting.

The running around these past few days also left Dean Xia feeling somewhat tired, his energy was not what it used to be as his age caught up to him.

For example, playing basketball, in previous years, the "leaders’ team" led by Dean Xia had always been lively and could compete with young people, but this year he was clearly not up to the task, not even managing to win a trophy.

Dean Xia sat alone in his office, sipping tea and pacing back and forth, when Director Han knocked on the door, and he eagerly welcomed Director Han inside.

As they sat down, Dean Xia broadly outlined his efforts of the past few days, with joys and concerns alike.

His current biggest worry was about the Outstanding Youth. In fact, it wasn’t that he had to apply this year; if necessary, a delay of a year or two would be acceptable, but Dean Xia was determined not to give up the effort. He had decided that sooner was better than later; now that the criteria were met, why postpone?

"Everything else is basically settled. The Outstanding Youth is difficult to secure. Nandu Medical University has only one slot left, and it’s probably going to be a battle between two, with Xiao Yang’s competitor being Vice Principal Ding’s son-in-law Guan Ruyan. This young man is truly remarkable; having returned from studying in Germany, he has published two CNS papers, spearheaded five national research projects, and published 32 SCI papers," Dean Xia said with a worried look.

Director Han had heard of this young man too, and on paper, his academic achievements far surpassed Yang Ping, who had only one national-level project and other projects which could only be considered self-funded.

"Is there a way to apply apart from Nandu Medical University, from our hospital as an independent entity?" Director Han suggested.

Since an institution has only three slots, competing for this one would clearly not give Yang Ping the upper hand. His statistics were visibly less impressive than the young man’s, but if imone could bypass Nandu Medical University and apply through Sanbo Hospital as an independent entity, then there would be no need to vie for the nomination spot.

Dean Xia shook his head: "We have to go this route; we still don’t have the clout to recommend independently. We can only join the Nandu system as a whole to compete."

So, they had no choice but to vie for this spot. The National Science Foundation pays great attention to the research foundation and accumulation of applicants—what constitutes research foundation, how many past topics you had and their respective levels.

In this respect, Yang Ping was clearly at a disadvantage. However, from another angle, achieving such accomplishments before the age of thirty was quite extraordinary.

"Have you visited Old Su? What was his opinion?" Director Han asked with concern.

Dean Xia replied, "I’ve already met with Old Su. He shares my sentiment that earlier is better, and he has a very firm stance. He’s determined to secure this slot. Although Yang’s quantitative stats may fall short of Guan Ruyan’s, their quality far exceeds his. The most recent paper was just published, and although the citation count is still unknown, the citation figures for the previous papers were quite high."

In academic competition, achievements are key. But, when achievements are comparable, connections become incredibly important.

In the academic jianghu, where there are people, there are power dynamics—it’s an objective reality.

Vice Principal Ding Decheng of Nandu Medical University—if it comes down to voting—professors who have good relations with him and are eligible to vote would undoubtedly choose Guan Ruyan, which is a natural human response.

Similarly, professors who have a good personal relationship with Professor Su would vote for Yang Ping.

And this is just for securing the nomination spot. Connections are also incredibly important after receiving a nomination.

Once nominated, one must go through preliminary review, re-examination, committee review, and decision-making stages.

The decisive committee review consists of a vote by expert judges, who include former Outstanding Youth recipients, academicians, and others. For instance, Professor Su, as a newly elected academician, could be invited to serve as a judge. While relatives or judges from one’s own institution must abstain, he has his own connections.