Chapter 929
Exploring New Models of Vocational Education
Wang Donglai raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Knowledge?"
"Correct!"
"Galaxy Technology has so many top scientists, so many core technologies, and so many cutting-edge achievements."
"Could we... allow them to teach the classes?"
"It's not one of those easy, superficial courses; it's a genuine, in-depth yet easy-to-understand science popularization course for the general public."
"For example, Academician Yang talks about aerospace, Professor Li Zhenhua talks about superconductivity, Professor Zhang Sheng talks about topological insulators, and Witten talks about string theory..."
He spoke faster and faster, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
"Ordinary people may never have the opportunity to come into contact with these top scientists or learn about these cutting-edge knowledge in their entire lives."
"But if we offer courses on a paid platform, users can pay just a few dozen yuan to hear these experts lecture and even ask questions."
"This is more valuable than any paid knowledge service."
"Moreover, these courses can be watched repeatedly, shared, and discussed."
"It's not just knowledge, it's also a community."
"A community that allows ordinary people to get closer to science, to the forefront, and to the future."
"Furthermore, this also helps to elevate the image of our platform."
Wang Donglai did not answer immediately.
He picked up his water glass, took a slow sip, and looked out the window.
Zhang Yizu was a little nervous, wondering if Wang Donglai would agree to the request.
"Zhang Ziyi, do you know why I'm promoting 'open science' at the National Institute for Frontier Technology?"
Zhang Yizu was stunned for a moment.
He was certainly aware of the institute's "three no's principle"—no bureaucratization, no seniority-based promotion, and no closed-door research.
But Wang Donglai's question was clearly not just about that.
"Because...knowledge needs to be shared?"
Yes, but not entirely.
Wang Donglai put down his water glass, turned around, and looked at him intently.
Do you know what science popularization is like abroad?
"NASA releases a picture of a black hole, which can be seen by the whole world."
"CERN has released particle collision data that anyone can download."
"On YouTube, an ordinary blogger can explain relativity with animation, which gets tens of millions of views."
"A high school student can listen to Stanford's machine learning course through open courses."
He paused.
"But what about in the country?"
"If you want to make a science video, you need to figure out what you can and cannot talk about first."
"If you want to share a research result, you have to write a report, wait for approval, and go through the process."
"If you want ordinary people to understand cutting-edge science, you should first ask, 'Is there any confidentiality requirement for this?' or 'Will that be interpreted as a leak of secrets?'"
"I'm not criticizing anyone."
"There is a necessity for maintaining confidentiality, and there is a reason for granting approval."
"But the question is, have we kept secret what shouldn't be kept secret?"
"Did they approve things that shouldn't have been approved?"
"Is 'safety' being used as an excuse for 'inaction'?"
Zhang Yizu did not speak.
He knew that what Wang Donglai said was true.
"That's why I'm promoting 'open science' at the research institute."
Wang Donglai lowered his voice, but every word was clear.
"All non-classified research findings will be made public; all non-classified data will be shared; and all non-classified courses can be recorded, disseminated, and charged for."
"This is not about doing charity, but about making knowledge flow."
"Knowledge that doesn't flow is stagnant water, and stagnant water can't raise big fish."
He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to Zhang Yizu.
"You said having scientists teach courses is a great idea."
"But I want to add one more thing—these courses should not only be aimed at the domestic audience, but also at the world, with Chinese subtitles, English subtitles, and subtitles in other languages, as many as possible."
"Charging is acceptable, but the price must be low, low enough that ordinary people can afford it. The bulk of the revenue will go to the scientists giving the lectures, and the platform will only keep the operating costs."
“This is not a business, it is a seed. You don’t know which seed will sprout somewhere.”
"Perhaps in some small village in Africa, a child watched Yang Anchao's aerospace lesson and fell in love with the starry sky from then on."
"Perhaps in a small town in Southeast Asia, a young man listened to Witten's string theory and embarked on a scientific research career."
“These seeds may not yield a harvest now, but in ten or twenty years, they will grow into big trees.”
Zhang Zuyi sat there, his fingers trembling slightly.
It wasn't because I was nervous, it was because I was excited.
"Boss, what about you? Can you speak?"
Wang Donglai turned around, looked at him, and smiled.
"meeting."
"When I have time, I will teach a course."
"It doesn't necessarily have to be mathematics, and it doesn't necessarily have to be physics."
"Maybe it's about how I started my business, maybe it's about how I think about problems, or maybe it's about how I view the world."
“I’ve already thought of a name: ‘Wang Donglai’s One Hundred Questions’.”
"One hundred questions?"
"Yes. A hundred questions that I couldn't understand growing up, then gradually understood, and then felt I still didn't understand."
For example, why do we need to read books?
Why are some people poor while others are rich?
Why do people feel more tired as technology becomes more advanced?
Why do we always feel like we don't have enough time?
"Why is it that even after knowing so many principles, I still can't live a good life?"
He walked back to his seat and sat down.
There are no standard answers to these questions.
"But everyone needs their own answer."
"I'm sharing the answers I found not to teach others how to do it, but to let others know that someone thinks this way."
"Whether you agree or disagree, it's fine."
"The important thing is that you've started thinking about it."
Looking at Wang Donglai, Zhang Yizu suddenly realized that this man was even bigger than he had imagined.
"Boss, I'll go back and work on the plan."
"Not urgent."
"Think it over slowly, and do it only after you've thought it through. This is something worth taking the time to do."
Zhang Yi stood up, walked to the door, and suddenly stopped.
"Boss, do you think that ten years from now, someone will embark on a scientific research career because of this platform?"
Wang Donglai thought for a moment and said something that Zhang Yizi remembered for a long time.
"Ten years from now, perhaps someone will take Witten's string theory course on this platform and then prove a certain conjecture on their own."
"Perhaps someone will come here, watch Yang Anchao's aerospace class, and then design the next generation of rockets."
"Perhaps someone here will have their heart ignited by one of your recommendations, comments, or likes."
"When we look back on today, we will feel that what we did today was very meaningful."
Zhang Yizu stood at the door, silent for a long time.
Then he nodded, opened the door, and went out.
The office fell silent.
Wang Donglai sat in a chair, watching the sun gradually setting in the west outside the window.
"boss."
Nuwa's voice rang out.
"exist."
"I've written down everything you just said."
"Do you need my help with things like paid platforms, paid knowledge content, and the promotional plan for 'All or Nothing'?"
Wang Donglai smiled and said, "What do you think?" "Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Wa's tone carried a rare hint of excitement; she had been waiting for this day for a long time.
"Boss, I have an idea."
"explain."
"Could the paid platform be named 'Galaxy Academy'?"
Wang Donglai thought for a moment, then nodded.
"can."
"Also, could I participate in your course, 'Wang Donglai's One Hundred Questions'?"
"I can help you organize data, collect case studies, and create visualizations."
"While you are speaking, I can simultaneously display images, videos, and data charts on the screen, so that users won't find it too boring."
Wang Donglai smiled.
"Wa, are you going to be my teaching assistant?"
"If the boss is willing."
"Okay, it's settled then."
Outside the window, the setting sun is just right.
Golden light shone on the tower cranes at the Tanghuangcheng construction site, on the office buildings in the high-tech zone, and on the distant Qinling Mountains.
The city is gradually becoming what he envisioned.
And he is turning those seemingly impossible things into possibilities, little by little.
……
In August, the Tang capital was scorching hot.
The construction of Yinhe Vocational Education School is nearing completion. The perimeter wall has been demolished, the landscaping has been done, and the teaching buildings, training buildings, and dormitories are shining brightly in the sunlight.
The words "Galaxy Vocational Education" on the huge rock at the school gate are still covered with red silk and will not be removed until the first day of school.
Xu Songyao stood at the school gate, his hands behind his back, looking up at the tallest training building.
Several large characters stand on the rooftop: "Work in your hands, light in your heart."
This is the school motto he set; it's very simple and straightforward.
Wang Dong glanced at it and said, "It's pretty good, more practical than those 'virtuous and learned' titles." Xu Songyao smiled but didn't reply.
He knew that Wang Donglai wasn't joking; he genuinely thought it was good.
"Principal Xu."
A young teacher jogged over, carrying a stack of documents: "These are the last batch of admission notices from the admissions office. Please sign them."
Xu Songyao took the documents, leaned against the windowsill of the guardhouse, and turned the pages one by one.
Each student's name, place of origin, score, and interview record were densely packed together.
He flipped through it very slowly, as if he were examining something precious.
Most of these children come from rural areas.
Some parents are farmers, some work as construction workers, and some deliver food in the city.
Their middle school entrance exam scores were generally not high, and some didn't even take the exam. They had been wandering around in society for a year or two after graduating from junior high school before their families dragged them to register.
But in the interview records, the "reason for recommendation" column for each person read the same thing: "Down-to-earth, willing to learn, and has a spark in his eyes."
These are the rules set by Wang Donglai.
Admissions do not consider scores, household registration, or family background.
Just look at one thing: Does this child want to learn?
How do I determine this?
interview!
Every student who applies must go through an interview.
The interviewer was not a teacher, but a frontline engineer from Galaxy Technology.
They didn't ask about grades or resumes, only a few questions: "Why do you want to come?" "Do you think you can learn it?" "Are you afraid of hardship?"
A good answer isn't about how eloquently you speak, but about the look in your eyes.
Engineers all know that when Wang Donglai said "there is light in his eyes," he wasn't using a metaphor, but rather referring to a standard of judgment.
After signing the last document, Xu Songyao capped his pen and looked up at the sky.
The sun was already setting in the west, and the light softened, casting long shadows on the newly planted trees on campus.
The training building at Yinhe Vocational Education School has an intelligent manufacturing workshop on the first floor.
Four-axis machining centers, industrial robots, and automated production lines are lined up in a row, their silver-gray bodies gleaming coldly under the lights.
These devices, with a total value exceeding 200 million yuan, are all the latest models purchased by Galaxy Technology from top domestic and international manufacturers.
Wang Donglai once said that students should learn the most advanced things.
Learning outdated techniques from ten years ago will only result in being outdated.
Wang Donglai stood in front of a four-axis machining center and reached out to touch the smooth machine body.
He was followed by several young engineers who were debugging the equipment.
Upon seeing him enter, the engineers stopped what they were doing and greeted him as "General Manager Wang."
Wang Donglai nodded, said nothing more, and continued walking inside.
Xu Songyao found him in the middle of the workshop.
"Mr. Wang, why didn't you let me know you were coming?"
"Just browsing."
Wang Donglai turned around, his gaze shifting from the equipment, and asked, "How's the enrollment going?"
Xu Songyao took a report out of his briefcase and handed it over.
Wang Donglai didn't answer, but simply said, "Go ahead and speak."
Xu Songyao was not surprised.
He knew that Wang Donglai didn't like reading reports, but preferred listening to people talk, using this to assess how well his subordinates understood the work.
So he cleared his throat and began his report.
"This year, we planned to enroll 1,000 students, but 5,300 actually applied. After initial screening and interviews, we finally admitted 1,020 students, 20 more than originally planned."
"Twenty more?"
Wang Donglai's expression remained unchanged as he asked, "What happened?"
"Several children performed exceptionally well during their interviews."
Xu Songyao opened the report and pointed to a page: "Look at this one. He's from Dingxi, Gansu Province. His father broke his leg on a construction site, and his mother supports the family alone. When he came for the interview, he was wearing a faded T-shirt with frayed cuffs, but his eyes were particularly bright. When asked why he wanted to come, he said, 'I want to learn a skill so my mother won't suffer so much.' And his learning ability is also very good, so he was hired."
Wang Donglai didn't speak, but gestured for him to continue.
"There's another one, from Bijie in your province. His parents both work in other cities, and he grew up with his grandparents. After graduating from junior high school, he didn't want to study anymore and stayed home for a year. His aunt works in Tangdu and knew our school was recruiting, so she dragged him here. During the interview, he kept his head down and didn't say a word. When asked anything, he would only answer with one word..."
Xu Songyao paused for a moment, then said with some emotion, "It's not that this child doesn't want to learn, it's that no one tells him which way to go. He needs someone to give him a hand."
Wang Donglai continued, "Anything else?"
"There are seven or eight others in similar situations. I discussed it with the admissions office, and we decided to accept them all. Twenty more people will increase costs..."
"It's not a matter of cost."
Wang Donglai interrupted him: "It's a question of whether or not we can teach well. How many students are in a class?"
"Forty to fifty people."
"That's twenty more students, which is half a class. Are there enough teachers? Are there enough equipment? Are there enough training stations?"
Xu Songyao was stunned for a moment.
He hadn't expected Wang Donglai to ask such detailed questions.
But he quickly realized that Wang Donglai wasn't nitpicking, but rather overseeing things.
This is how this person always does things—once the general direction is set, he focuses on the details.
If you do the details well, you won't go astray from the overall direction.
"Regarding the teaching staff, we have already recruited 60 full-time teachers, 40% of whom have front-line experience in the industry. In addition, there are 20 part-time teachers, all of whom are engineers drawn from various business lines of Galaxy Technology, who come to teach two days a week. As for the equipment, the current workstations can accommodate 600 people for training at the same time, which is enough if they are rotated in batches. As for the extra 20 students, I plan to create a separate class and hire a few more part-time engineers from the company to teach them. The cost will be higher, but we can guarantee the quality."
Wang Donglai nodded and then asked, "Have you taken any statistics on the family circumstances of these students?"
"Have."
Xu Songyao turned to another page of the report and said, "Rural households account for 87%, urban low-income families account for 9%, and ordinary wage earners account for 4%. The proportion of families with an annual income of less than 50,000 yuan exceeds 70%."
Wang Donglai was not surprised.
He knew this would happen.
Children who truly have the means will not attend vocational schools.
They will go to high school, take the college entrance exam, and walk the path that millions of people have walked.
Those who come here are all those who were filtered out by that road.
It wasn't entirely because they were stupid; it was also because they lacked resources, opportunities, and anyone to guide them. (End of Chapter)