Cultivation and Practical Pathways for the 'Three Core Abilities' of Top-Notch Innovative Talents in Economics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6918/IJOSSER.202611_9(11).0009Keywords:
Artificial intelligence; New Liberal Arts; top-notch innovative talents in economics; three core abilities; practical pathways.Abstract
High-quality economic talent with innovative thinking, cross-disciplinary knowledge, and application ability is in great demand in today's China, which is accelerating its economic growth and undergoing a holistic socioeconomic transformation in the face of rapid changes in AI and dramatic social changes of a century not seen before. Drawing on reflections on the limitations of current economics education and the frontier of the AI era, this paper systematically proposes and then discusses the cultivation system that focuses on three core cultivation abilities: thinking ability, cognitive ability, and learning ability. In addition, it puts forward an integrated practical approach with four pillars, including reorganising the curriculum, innovating teaching modes, enhancing research training and optimising the educational ecology, and establishes institutional and mechanism safeguards. The paper attempts to support the shift from a 'knowledge paradigm' to an 'ability paradigm' in economics education and to provide a systematic solution that can be implemented in the near future, from theory to practice. It also aims to provide theoretical and practical material for cultivating top innovative talent in economics with Chinese characteristics and international standards.
Downloads
References
[1] Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. (2025, October 29). Recommendations on formulating the fifteenth five-year plan for national economic and social development. People's Daily.
[2] Wang, H. J. (2025). Research on innovation of talent training models under the new economic paradigm. China Higher Education, (17), 42–47.
[3] Qiao, J., Tang, Z. S., Fu, M. Y., et al. (2025). The 'university approach' to the independent cultivation of top-notch innovative talents. Journal of National Academy of Education Administration, (10), 3–14.
[4] Lu, Y., & Bu, S. C. (2024). Between closed and open: Evaluation of the cultivation effectiveness of top-notch innovative talents in first-class universities. Journal of Higher Education, (5), 64–74.
[5] Zhong, B. L., et al. (2023). Local experience and theoretical construction of China's top-notch innovative talent cultivation system. Chinese Journal of Distance Education, (12), 1–9.
[6] Wang, X. F. (2023). Independent cultivation models and practical difficulties of top-notch innovative talents in Chinese universities. China Higher Education Research, (7), 39–45.
[7] Li, Y., & Jiang, J. (2025). Re-examining the identification validity and fairness of the 'top-notch student training program' for students' innovation ability. China Higher Education Research, (11), 57–65.
[8] Tian, X. P. (2025). Precise policy support for the independent cultivation of top-notch innovative talents: Logic, dilemmas, and breakthroughs. China Higher Education Research, (6), 42–49.
[9] Slavin, R. E. (2021). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (12th ed.). Pearson.
[10] Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman.
[11] Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906–911. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.906
[12] Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.
[13] Deng, X. P. (1994). Selected works of Deng Xiaoping, Volume II. People's Publishing House.
[14] Xi, J. P. (2024, June 25). Speech at the National Science and Technology Conference, the National Science and Technology Award Conference, and the Academicians Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering. People's Daily.
[15] Xi, J. P. (2023). On self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology. Central Party Literature Press.
[16] Xi, J. P. (2023). Strengthen basic research and achieve high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology. Qiushi Journal, (15).
[17] Labaree, D. F. (2025). A perfect mess: The unlikely ascendancy of American higher education (B. Sun, et al., Trans.). Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press.
[18] Shi, Y. G. (2023). Exploring a path for independent cultivation of top-notch innovative talents through the integration of education, science and technology, and talent. Journal of National Academy of Education Administration, (10), 3–10.
[19] Bao, X. H., et al. (2024). Strategic considerations and path recommendations for China's independent cultivation of top-notch innovative talents. China Higher Education, (7), 9–14.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Social Science and Education Research

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.




