"Favoritism?" Li Jian inadvertently raised his hand to touch his head, seemingly surprised that such words would come from Qiao Ze's mouth, looking completely lost: "Is that really okay? Not considering the students' talents at all?"
"Once they become professors after their education, what does talent matter? If you can earn a master's degree in mathematics, you definitely have enough talent. Those with great talent aren't necessarily suited to teaching," Qiao Ze replied.
Li Jian was instantly convinced by Qiao Ze's words. He felt that despite living for over thirty years, he hadn't seen through things as clearly as a child.
"Well, that's easy then. I've already approached five professors who have a relationship similar to mine with you, and you know most of them. It's just that we're short by two spots. Why don't you speak to Dean Xu and ask him to help you apply for two doctoral student positions? After all, supervising three or supervising five is pretty much the same, right?"
"Researchers can also supervise PhD students?" Qiao Ze asked.
He really hadn't paid attention to such matters, having thought that only university professors supervised doctoral students.
"Of course, researchers who have reached a certain level of seniority can apply to supervise PhD students. Otherwise, how would so many academic research institutes have doctoral programs? But you don't even need to have your qualifications reviewed for your application, it'd be instantly approved," Li Jian said with certainty.
Qiao Ze shook his head slightly and said, "But I'm not good at caring for people, nor do I know how to be a mentor, and I don't know how to help them with all sorts of life and psychological issues."
It was Li Jian's turn to be stunned. He tentatively asked: "Hold on, Qiao Ze, who told you that as a mentor, you need to solve your PhD students' life and psychological issues? You're supposed to be a mentor, not a nanny."
"But isn't that what you and Dean Xu do? Don't mentors need to deal with that?" Qiao Ze retorted.
"Ah, I see," Li Jian nodded blankly, then shook his head and simply stated, "Well, actually, it's right to care. How about this, let's divide the work. You just need to be responsible for their academic performance and thesis, and I'll take care of all the other life matters for the five doctoral students."
"Okay, I'll give Dean Xu a call later," Qiao Ze finally nodded in agreement.
"Mainly, there are still some procedures at the research institute that haven't been completed, otherwise, I could approve it directly," Li Jian joked, before adding firmly, "Let's settle it then. Once you finish proctoring exams, and the project team is ready, we can have the students come over. This will be a good opportunity for them to get acquainted with the two new disciplines along with the project team."
"Sure," Qiao Ze nodded.
Two people who had just ended their teacher-student relationship quickly sorted through the recent matters in just a few words.
Walking out of the Mathematics Research Institute, Li Jian felt a sense of relief.
He realized that regular communication with Qiao Ze was important. What had been unbearable troubles for him were resolved quickly and perfectly!
At least for quite some time to come, there probably wouldn't be anything troublesome for him.
Oh, no, that's not correct.
Next, he still had the responsibility of proctoring the new algebraic geometry exam.
Although it was Qiao Ze's idea, based on Qiao Ze's typical hands-off approach when it comes to things outside his interest, monitoring the exam would undoubtedly be his duty as the head of the empty-title department.
Even though the School of Mathematics would definitely assist, his role as the chief examiner was inescapable.
Being the chief examiner for many professors who were about the same age as him or even older was another headache.
Time flew, and by Friday, a different atmosphere was palpable among the students from the School of Mathematics and the adjacent Physics College.
For instance, in the morning classes, the back rows were unexpectedly filled with middle-aged people who had come to listen.
The classroom, which was fine before, suddenly resembled an unannounced public lecture. Fortunately, they had been forewarned the day before, so the additional crowd could be ignored.
In fact, this scene made numerous students realize how tough life really is.
Seeing many visiting professors chatting happily with their own after class, who would have thought that they were here to take exams? The purpose of the exam was to compete for the right to study and research in this campus, just like them. Only those who performed well could stay; those who didn't would have to return home, either to continue working on various projects at their postdoctoral research stations or to teach at their universities.
Thinking about it felt too pitiful.
It also motivated Zhang Zhou and Gu Zhengliang to eavesdrop on the professors' conversations during the break.
They were very curious about how these people, who usually ponder over setting exam questions, viewed the fact that they still had to take exams at their age.
"...Zhu, what's the situation at your school? I saw the registration list, and it doesn't seem like many from your institution signed up?"
"Don't even mention it. To free up space for you guys, our academy's professors faced lots of restrictions when registering. Those with undergraduate teaching duties were not allowed to register, excluding ninety percent of the people right away.
Also, anyone with ongoing university-level or higher funded projects couldn't register either. You do the math, how many are left? In the end, a few young people at our Xilin University of Technology's postdoctoral research station met the criteria and signed up all at once."
"That's great, then. Speaking of which, has your mathematical postdoctoral research station been established for about a decade now?"
"Yeah, about that. It was established in 2012, I think. Why do you ask?"
"Has it been that long? Is your postdoctoral research location close to Qiao Ze's research institute? Is there any chance of a leak in the test questions?"
"What are you thinking? They say the research institute is only finalizing the questions today and will go print them in the morning. Knowing these questions a few hours in advance won't help anyway, didn't you see the official website? It's all proofs and computation problems."