Gongdong Polytechnic’s achievements in the invention exhibition have made it famous all over the world. Who would have expected that the number of students in this vocational school that cultivates the most inventors has dropped from 1,800 to 600? people.
"Congratulations! Our students participated in the 2014 Moscow Invention Exhibition and won two golds, three silvers and two bronzes." The red list was posted on the bulletin board under the bright sun, Gongdong High School's achievements in the invention exhibition , let the fame spread all over the world. Who would have expected that the number of students in this vocational school, which cultivates the largest number of inventors, has dropped from 1,800 to 600. "Six hundred and seventy-two people," principal Lan Zhenfang remembers. This number is the number of students he took over Gongdong seven years ago. Now, Gongdong has 1,400 students, and it has also become the design group for junior high school students. The first choice for vocational schools.
How to climb back from the bottom? Lan Zhenfang said: "Use creativity!" Lan Zhenfang is an inventor himself and wants to use "creative inventions" to inject new elements into the school. Although no one believed this was a solution to admissions at first, the teachers gave it half a try and reluctantly guided students to submit their works. However, during a visit to the Ministry of Education, Xu Chunmei, section chief of the Central Office of the Ministry of Education, greatly encouraged: "These inventions have hundreds of millions of business opportunities!" This boosted the morale of the school, and the "Creative Research and Development Class" was launched.
In order to inspire students’ inventive genes and introduce new elements of patented inventions, Gongdong has included invention courses as compulsory courses, not just the works of clubs or specific students. Freshmen in the first year of high school have a compulsory "Creative Research and Development Class" every week, while in the second year of high school, thematically produced courses are integrated into various subjects to train students to care about the environment and think about whether there are any inconveniences in life. How to solve it? If a good work is derived, the school will also provide a simplified version of the patent application form to assist students in applying for a patent.