Recently, the “Youth Boundary Marker: A Journey Series” national defense education practice activities were held in Inner Mongolia. This event was initiated by Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and jointly organized by Inner Mongolia University, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, East China University of Science and Technology, Southeast University, and Xi’an University of Electronic Science and Technology. The activity aims to create a “walking national defense grand ideological course” through practical scenarios, and to establish a platform for collaborative ideological education between Shanghai and Inner Mongolia.

Trace the original cultural roots and solidify a sense of community.

As the first step in this initiative, the teacher-student team visited the Inner Mongolia Museum. By leveraging the museum’s extensive collection of cultural artifacts, they systematically traced the millennia-long development of grassland civilization and gained a deep understanding of the historical panorama of long-term interactions, exchanges, and integration among various ethnic groups. The diverse array of museum exhibits that represent the unity of the Chinese civilization continued to influence the minds of young students, guiding them to cultivate a strong sense of patriotism through historical exposure, further solidifying their awareness of the concept of the Chinese nation as a community, and laying a solid ideological foundation for subsequent frontier research and defense studies.

Visit border outposts to deepen one’s sense of national duty and responsibility.

The frontline of the border is the core practical classroom for this exercise. Teachers and students visited a training base and a border outpost one after another. They observed the outdoor training tent encampments firsthand, got close to observe the current-service equipment, modern border patrol facilities, and the intelligent drone control system. Standing beneath the solemn gates of the border and beside the clear boundary markers, all the participants gazed out at the extended borderline, and a sense of responsibility for their homeland and a sense of purpose as young individuals arose naturally. The concept of national defense became even more profound and tangible through this immersive experience.

Investigate industries in northern regions and gain insight into cutting-edge technologies.

On the front lines of unique industries in northern regions, the students visited the Mengcao Seed Industry Center, the Yili Health Valley, the Potato Ecological Cultivation Base, and the Wulanchabu Zero-Carbon Computing Base. Through these visits, they gained a thorough understanding of cutting-edge technologies and industry development in areas such as local germplasm cultivation, dairy industry cluster research and development, smart agriculture and animal husbandry, “East Data West Computing”, green and zero-carbon computing, and artificial intelligence. By experiencing these firsthand, they gained a more intuitive and profound understanding of the strategic layout and development achievements of the country in key areas such as seed self-sufficiency, ecological protection, and digital computing, as well as the intrinsic connection between technological self-reliance and national overall security.

Inter-school discussions for mutual learning, establishing a platform for collective learning.

During the study tour, the practical teams visited Inner Mongolia Medical University and Inner Mongolia University to conduct specialized inter-institutional discussion seminars, thereby establishing a bridge for long-term exchanges and cooperation in national defense education and ideological education between Shanghai and Inner Mongolia universities. In the exchange and discussion sessions, both parties reviewed existing national defense education practices and the achievements of ideological curriculum development. They engaged in in-depth exchanges on the construction of a comprehensive ideological education system, the normalization of national defense education in the new era, the development of distinctive features in national defense education practices, and the organization of joint inter-institutional study tours and exchanges. During the discussions, the parties reached several consensus points on joint inter-institutional study, national defense practice-based education, and the sharing of practical resources.

This practical defense and ideological education course jointly organized by universities in Shanghai and Mongolia aims to strengthen the awareness of college students regarding defense, their love for defense, and their commitment to defense construction. It also serves as a vivid demonstration of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics’ implementation of its educational philosophy of “cultivating virtue and acquiring knowledge, and using economics to address contemporary challenges,” as well as its efforts to develop a distinctive ideological education model. This initiative brings defense education out of the confines of theoretical classrooms and into the real-world industrial setting, effectively integrating it into the growth process of young students. It guides them to internalize a sense of defense awareness and national pride as part of their spiritual pursuits, and to externalize this into selfless actions that serve the development of the country. This provides strong practical support for cultivating young individuals who are committed to the greater good of the nation, possessing both professional expertise and a sense of defense responsibility, and thus contributing to the revitalization of the nation through youthful energy. (Looking into the New Era)