The "National Engineering Award" ceremony was held, recognizing 81 individuals and 50 teams. What information is noteworthy?

Introduction of the National Engineer Award

It is noteworthy that this is a national award established just last year.

In 2023, the Central Committee of the Party and the State Council decided to inaugurate the “National Engineer Award” in the name of the Central Committee of the Party and the State Council. The “National Engineer Award” is one of the highest-level engineering science and technology awards in China. It aims to recognize engineers who have made outstanding contributions and excellent performances in the field of engineering science and technology and engineering management. The award is jointly sponsored by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, China Association for Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. It is evaluated every two years, and the winners are required to have a high level of scholarship, technical strength, and rich practical experience, and to have achieved significant innovations and breakthroughs.

Different from previous awards, which were mainly evaluated within universities and research institutes, this Engineer Award is also mainly aimed at enterprises.

In state-owned enterprises, mixed-ownership enterprises, and private enterprises, top companies, “chain leaders” in the industry chain, manufacturing single champions, specialized and innovative “little giant” enterprises, national engineering research centers, national enterprise technology centers, and other national-level industrial innovation platforms, as well as related universities, research institutes, national laboratories, new types of R&D institutions, and state-owned financial institutions, engineering and technical personnel and teams engaged in major engineering construction, major equipment manufacturing, breakthroughs in “bottleneck” key core technologies, and major inventions and creations are targeted.

The list of awardees was announced last December.

This award involves various enterprises, especially military enterprises, which performed remarkably well. The launch of such an award indicates that the state aims to promote breakthroughs in basic science as well as to advance engineering disciplines. These achievements will be put to good use.

Let’s take a look at the list, National Outstanding Engineers (81 people):

National Outstanding Engineer Teams (50 teams):

What Information Deserves Attention?

While bestowing various titles upon them, how much money have they been paid? How much has their salary increased? Are they able to lead a decent life? Don’t always preach selfless dedication when it comes to money. Engineers are humans too; they need to provide for their families. I hope companies don’t always deceive them with titles and certificates, don’t always praise them with moral encouragement and verbal tributes, and certainly don’t always glorify their hardships. Instead, they should be given more material rewards! I hope the treatment they receive is commensurate with their honors and titles!

Here are 6 points of interest:

• Why is there no lithography machine?
• Why is there no Xiaomi?
• Why is there no Huawei?
• Why is there Hikvision?
• 17, Advanced Aircraft Technology Development Team (X-37B perhaps?)
• 18, Advanced Engine Development Team (Shenyang Engine, WS-*)?

This is the true backbone of the nation

It should be vigorously promoted

In recent years, the concept of craftsmanship that has been put forward

The wording is somewhat vague

Many people understand it as the spirit of perfection pursued by craftsmen

In fact, what we advocate is the spirit of continuous improvement in the industrial age

These engineers are representatives of this spirit

How many of the awards prepared for leaders of state-owned enterprises and central enterprises are truly engineers?

To be honest, the people on the list have little to do with the role of an engineer.

I’m quite practical, or you could say my thinking is not noble enough. Let me ask, will these people’s treatment improve in the future at work? Will the leaders say, “If you don’t do it, there are plenty of others who will”?

National Engineer Award

The “National Engineer Award” is a national-level commendation activity conducted in the name of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. This recognition event marks the inaugural edition of the award.

In 2023, the National Engineer Award was proposed under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. Subsequently, various departments established a series of award evaluation processes, with recommendations and selections progressing from provinces and cities. The first set of results was announced on December 4, 2023 [1], followed by an award ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People on January 19, 2024.

The scope of eligibility for this award includes:

• Leading enterprises in state-owned, mixed-ownership, and private enterprises.
• “Chain leader” enterprises in the industrial chain.
• Manufacturing champions in specific industries.
• “Little giants” specializing in unique and innovative areas.
• National engineering research centers and national enterprise technology centers.
• Relevant universities, research institutions, national laboratories, emerging research organizations, and state-owned financial institutions.
• Engineering and technical personnel and teams engaged in significant engineering construction, major equipment manufacturing, critical core technology breakthroughs, and major inventions.

Therefore, the main beneficiaries of the National Engineer Award are individuals and teams contributing to solving key technical issues in major scientific and engineering endeavors in China.

The publicly disclosed list is as follows:

The final list of awardees had minor discrepancies compared to the initial announcement but remained mostly consistent.

Furthermore, from the list of recognized individuals and entities, it is evident that the directions covered are broadly representative of important scientific research areas in China. In addition to large-scale engineering projects like aerospace, high-speed rail, and nuclear power, some highly competitive international technology innovation fields such as artificial intelligence, 5G communication, chip materials, and new energy development and utilization are also included.

These directions represent China’s long-term strategic planning and continuous investment, closely tied to national strategies. Therefore, scientists and engineers who have made outstanding contributions in these areas deserve this prestigious award. Congratulations to them!

There are 83 individuals and 50 teams on the list, and I want to know which two are unlucky.

This is a good start, but it’s far from:

Let real engineers not have to bow their heads in front of others, or toast at the dinner table.

Let outstanding engineers proudly tell their families about their salaries.

Let exceptional engineers focus on technical challenges rather than “public relations."

There’s still a long way to go, but as mentioned at the beginning,

This is a good start.