In 2018, six ministries including the Ministry of Education issued the Opinions on the Implementation of the Top-notch Student Training Program 2.0 in Basic Disciplines, proposing to build several bases in five years to cultivate young tal🎶ents in scienti🔜fic research and cultural development for China.

  To speed up the cultivation of top-notch talents in basic disciplines, the Ministry of Education has announced three batches of programs for top-notch student training bases in basic disciplines. A total of 288 bases from more than 70 universities across China have been shortlisted, covering mathematics, physics, computer science, philosophy, economics and many other disciplines. In November 2021, Sun Yat-sen University's "Top Class" in Economics was included in the third batch and became the first training base in economics among universities in Guangdong.   The "Top Class" relies on Lingnan College in talent training. As a well-known college in economics in China, Lingnan College enjoys a long history. Sun Yat-sen founded Sun Yat-sen University in 1924, and the Department of Economics was established the following year. Lingnan College has come top in South China and also among others in Sun Yat-sen University regarding the average college admission score.   Over 20 years ago, Lingnan College began to focus on cultivating innovative talents in economics, and launched the Double-degree Class, Experimental Class, and Yat-sen Class, thereby accumulating a lot of experience in this regard. After being included in the program, the college has input more energy and more resources as guarantee for the cultivation of top-notch talents.   In January 2022, Lingnan College selected the first "Top Class" students from those enrolled in 2020, and recruited 10. In the fall of 2022, 20 students were selected from those enrolled in 2021 as a new force for the "Top Class". The "Top Class" now has two batches of 30 students.  

Specialized courses in mathematics and elective courses for PhD candidates

Lingnan College has equipped each student in the "Top Class" with an academic tutor, and guided students to join the tutor's scientific research team and take systematic training. They are required to complete a paper in the junior year to get their academic research capabilities improved.   In terms of curriculum setting, the "Top Class" focuses on strengthening the cultivation of mathematical and computer foundation, the advanced study of economic theory, and the training of scientific research capabilities and research methods. The college has set up four core courses for students in mathematics including differential equations, real variable functions, stochastic processes, and dynamic programming, and three "three elective courses" for undergraduate students through to PhD candidates including advanced microeconomics, advanced macroeconomics, and advanced econometrics. There are also 7 elective "frontier courses" for doctoral students, such as economic growth and transformation, and frontier topics in currency and finance.   In order to broaden the horizons of students, Lingnan College also established the "Dean's Reading Club" and made the customized "Dean's Book List". The monitor of the "Top Class" organized students for reading books in the list, and held regular sharing sessions as the unique "Second Classroom".   The "Top Class" also relies on the abundant alumni and diversified overseas exchange and study programs of Lingnan College to promote training up to international standards. The college aids outstanding students to study in top universities overseas in the field of economics, and hires alumni professors as their overseas academic tutors.   In September 2022, Lingnan College organized students of the "Top Class" for a visit to the former site of Sun Yat-sen University in Pingshi in Shaoguan, and to the Memorial Hall of the Red Army's Long March in Northern Guangdong. "It is the first time for the 'Top Class' to go out for study, and the students should be encouraged to learn from seniors like Professor Wang Yanan, who boasts not only excellent skills, but also a great mind. Knowledge comes from books and from experience accumulation by travelling far. One should, therefore, learn more about China in practice, and be instructed to devote themselves to the research of China's economic issues. Social practice will be carried out on a regular basis, and students will be guided to address the first practical problem in their life.   The college hopes that with these measures, students will master firmly economics and finance theories, mathematical and programming basics, language skills in Chinese and English, and independent scientific research capabilities and academic foundations for further study, and will become future leaders in economics, solve economic issues in China, and lead the progress of civilization.  

Establish a dynamic management mechanism with which students can be included into or dismissed from the Top Class

Every year, Lingnan College conducts an assessment for the students of the "Top Class". Students who fail the assessment or give up on their own will be withdrawn from the "Top Class". The college has established a dynamic management mechanism with which students can be included into or dismissed from the Top Class, so as to ensure the quality of training and truly select top-notch talents who are interested in economics, aspiring for academic research, and able to solve major practical problems in the future.   After being included in the program for base 2.0, the college has made it clear the goal of cultivating first-class economists rooted in the land of China. Next, the base will continue to innovate the curriculum system, integration of science and education, and international cooperation, improve the training mechanism featuring the academy system, tutorial system, credit system, and undergraduate-master-doctoral integration, give full play to the geographical advantage of Sun Yat-sen University in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, pay attention to practical problems, and cultivate more top-notch talents in economics for the comprehensive construction of a socialist modern country.