2026 marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. In response to the requirement in the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development to “pursue the integrated development of education, ST and talent, and build globally influential centers for education, ST and talent,” the School of Nursing recently held a “Special Meeting on 2026 National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Applications.” The meeting took NSFC grants as a key lever to support the development of “Double First-Class” disciplines. Attendees included Li Ka, Dean of the School of Nursing and Member of the Party Committee of West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University; Shi Yan, Dean of the School of Nursing, Tongji University; Zhu Weihua, Section Chief of the Scientific and Technological Development Institute, Sichuan University; Director Ying Binwu and Vice Director Su Wei of the Department of Science and Technology of West China Hospital. More than 200 key nursing researchers from Sichuan University’s affiliated hospitals participated in the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Hu Xiaolin, Section Chief of the Discipline Construction Section of the School of Nursing.
Director Ying Binwu noted that nursing discipline of Sichuan University covers more than 10,000 nurses across its affiliated hospitals and boasts a strong disciplinary foundation and talent pool. He also identified the difficulties nurses face in applying for NSFC grants and, drawing on his personal experience, encouraged all to rise to the challenges, submit applications whenever eligible, and engage in interdisciplinary collaboration. Finally, he affirmed the solid research foundation of West China nursing of Sichuan University and suggested that new growth points could be explored in multiple tracks, including medicine-engineering integration and nursing management.
Dean Shi Yan, in her presentation titled “Key Success Factors for Nurses Applying for NSFC Projects: A Brief Analysis Based on Application Experience and Success/Failure Cases,” drew on a wealth of cases to vividly explain the importance and necessity of nurses applying for NSFC projects and to analyze in depth how to actively respond to changes in NSFC application policies. She emphasized that confidence, topic selection, deep engagement, quality, and collective wisdom are key elements for successful NSFC proposal writing, providing practical, actionable guidance and valuable suggestions for faculty members at West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University.
Section Chief Zhu Weihua delivered a report titled “Interpretation of 2026 National Natural Science Foundation of China Grants Policies.” He provided a detailed explanation covering three aspects: overview of NSFC-funded projects in 2025, NSFC reform measures in 2025, and relevant new regulations in 2026. His report brought the latest policy interpretation and proposal-writing suggestions to nursing colleagues and offered new ideas for continuously improving the quality of project applications.
Dean Li Ka took the national 15th Five-Year Plan as the starting point and emphasized that discipline development should be oriented toward national needs. She called for dedicated efforts and breakthroughs long-term care, rehabilitation nursing, hospice and palliative care, and maternal and child nursing, with an emphasis on addressing scientific questions in clinical nursing. She hoped that the nursing discipline team of Sichuan University would take this meeting as an opportunity to learn humbly, work together with determination, and strive with renewed vigor to scale new heights in the coming year. Going forward, the School will continue to provide project-related services and support, build more research and learning platforms, enhance the core competitiveness of the discipline, and contribute to accelerating West China Medicine’overall and leading entry into world-class ranks.
