1 mln yuan rewards for papers in top journal spark debate

Reports that teams led by two Chinese mainland professors have each been awarded 1 million yuan ($138,000) for publishing papers in Nature, a leading international science journal, have sparked heated discussion in academic circles.

While some said universities have the right to reward scholars in any way they want, others questioned whether the practice goes against government efforts to move away from an overemphasis on the publication of papers in academic evaluation.

According to media reports, Zhu Jiapeng, a professor at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, and his team were given 1 million yuan by the university for publishing a paper in Nature. They became the first people from the university to publish a paper in the journal in 70 years.

Peng Li, who was an associate professor at Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and his team were also awarded 1 million yuan for publishing a paper in Nature. They were the first people from Guizhou province to publish a paper in the journal.

Liu Xingde, the president of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said the reward was for outstanding academic results and the contribution Peng has made in medicine.

Peng has since been promoted to full professor and deputy director of the medical studies laboratory at the hospital affiliated with the university.

Zhu said academic papers were like a "spell" for researchers. Writing papers had given him pain, headaches and also joy, he said, asking people to pay more attention to his studies rather than the fact he had a paper published in a top journal.

According to a notice issued by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology, universities should stop using papers listed in the Science Citation Index as the top criterion in the evaluation of academic research. However, the notice also stressed that the authorities encourage academic researchers to publish high-level, high-quality and innovative academic papers in international journals.

Tian Wentao, a PhD candidate at a university in Hunan province, said he knows how hard it is to get papers published in top journals like Nature, as they only publish innovative and influential papers that require a massive amount of time-consuming work.

However, the researchers are generally not rewarded enough for their contributions, at least financially, which results in a lack of motivation to work on arduous but pioneering problems, he said.

"Giving high bonuses to such researchers is a great way to pay them back for their hard work and encourage other researchers to work on groundbreaking subjects," Tian said.

A PhD graduate from Central South University in Changsha, Hunan, surnamed Liang said there is nothing wrong with universities giving money to researchers who have published papers in top journals.

"Although the authorities have stressed making academic papers less important in talent evaluation, they are still widely used in getting funds and higher professional titles," he said. "They are also the proof that your hard-earned academic results are recognized."

Liang said people do not realize how hard it is to publish a paper in Nature or Science, especially for researchers from lesser known universities, because most academic resources are allocated to China's top universities.

Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences, said publishing in top journals can increase the reputation of a university, increasing its competitiveness in student enrollment and in getting resources and funds from the government, which is why the two universities gave such large cash rewards to the researchers.

Xiong Bingqi, director of 21st Century Education Research, said he disagrees with the universities' practice.

Medical universities and hospitals are notorious for placing too great an emphasis on the publication of academic papers, he said, and many paper retractions and frauds in recent years have happened in the medical sector.

That is why people should not equate academic achievements with publishing papers, Xiong added.