According to media reports, Tian, a post-90s doctor in Xi'an, was recently "elected as an academician of the European Academy of Natural Sciences", becoming "the only post-90s academician in the world" and "among the world's first-class academicians". The "European Academy of Natural Sciences", which is claimed to be founded by a multinational organization of European scientists, is "one of the most recognized and influential scientific organizations across regions and academic fields" in the world. Some netizens questioned that the honor of "academician" is not high, and it can be purchased for 400,000 yuan. What kind of organization is this? Is it possible to buy "academicians" for money?
Amount of foreign registered graduate school title
Questionable
According to several official press releases, the "European Academy of Natural Sciences (Europaische Akademie der Naturwissenschaften)" claims to be headquartered in Hannover, Germany, founded by "multinational scientists and academic societies", and is "one of the most recognized and influential scientific organizations in the international cross-regional and academic fields". There are more than 1,700 so-called "academicians of the European Academy of Natural Sciences", mainly "scientists and scholars who have made outstanding achievements in the field of natural sciences", including "Nobel Prize, Einstein Prize, Copernicus Prize winners" and so on.
The surging news search found that the information on "elected members of the European Academy of Natural Sciences" publicly released by domestic authoritative institutions can be traced back to at least 2021. Among them, there are many researchers from Southeast University, Guizhou University, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences and other academic institutions, as well as people such as Li Shengxue, chairman of a pharmaceutical company in Jilin, Wang Tong, "President of China Development Research Institute" (note: "China Development Research Institute" has no record information in the national social organization credit information publicity system), and Tian Zheng, a "post-90s" doctor in Xi'an.
On April 30, 2024, Shandong media "Poster News" published a report that the reporter interviewed a number of relevant universities, and many university staff said that they did not know about the university's "professor was elected as a member of the European Academy of Natural Sciences". Among them, the staff of North China University of Water Resources and Hydropower and Guizhou University responded that the honor was declared by the individual parties, not through the school, although they had heard relevant rumors, but the school could not verify it.
According to public information, the "European Academy of Natural Sciences" is a private company registered in Germany by several foreigners, and its place of registration has even been "permanently closed". Judging from the information released by relevant scientific research institutes and enterprises, the ceremony of awarding certificates to the winners of the title of "foreign academician" of the academy was held in China, the email notification was in Chinese, and the signature on the certificate was also the name of a Russian rather than a German national.
Wu Jihua, head of the Chinese representative office of the European Academy of Natural Sciences, responded to Red Star News in a report on May 6, saying that he had also noticed the relevant public opinion in China, but the European Academy of Natural Sciences has never charged any fees for applicants, and Chinese members who are recognized as academicians will not charge annual fees. In the face of the doubts of "copycats" and "pheasants", Wu Jihua told Red Star News: "The Academy of Sciences is more like a 'real scientist club' in Europe, gathering many scholars who love science and are committed to scientific research. Although the threshold for the selection of academicians in Europe is high, it is not so much that only tens of thousands of people can produce an academician. As long as a person's scientific research achievements are genuine, independent, and have made significant contributions to the development of science, he/she is eligible to apply for Fellowship. Of course, whether or not you can eventually become an academician still needs to go through rigorous review and evaluation. We are not in favor of giving academicians a higher status than other scientists, which would affect his/her investment in scientific research. ”
180,000 packs
You can get the "Foreign Academician" certificate in a few months
The poster news reporter searched on the Internet for how to apply for foreign academicians of the European Academy of Natural Sciences, and called an agency that ranked first in Baidu's search results. According to the staff, they said that they can apply for honors including "Academician of the European Academy of Natural Sciences", depending on the applicant's academic qualifications and scientific research achievements. According to the requirements, the applicant's academic background should be a doctoral degree or above, and the most basic is a graduate degree; The scientific research results depend on the published papers or patents obtained, and the cost is about 200,000-500,000 yuan. If the declaration fails, no fee will be charged.
The Red Star News reporter also contacted a staff member of a service company that claimed to assist in the application of foreign academicians, who said that the company is an intellectual property agency based in Qingdao and will "contact foreign countries directly". On the homepage of its social platform, in addition to the European Academy of Natural Sciences, there are also application services from the Royal Society of Medicine, the European Academy of Humanities and Natural Sciences, the Russian Academy of Engineering and many other colleges. When asked how to apply for the academician of the European Academy of Natural Sciences, the other party said that 180,000 yuan can be covered, and the applicant needs to provide personal results and fill in relevant forms. "Generally, after applying, you can get the relevant certificate of 'foreign academician' of the European Academy of Natural Sciences in a few months. The cost of 180,000 yuan will be paid half in the early stage, and the final payment will be paid after the announcement, and a contract needs to be signed. When the Red Star News reporter asked as an applicant, and claimed that he had not obtained a doctoral degree from a domestic university and did not have any patents, whether it would affect the application, the staff replied: "European Natural Sciences (referring to the European Academy of Natural Sciences) is not very difficult to apply, we can assist in the declaration of your conditions, but you should be very young, and whether there will be a negative impact after the selection, you need to consider it yourself." ”
▲Public list of academicians of the European Academy of Natural Sciences (partial)
True and false academician of the Academy of Sciences
It is necessary to puncture the mask
A review article published by Southern Weekly on May 6 compared the "European Academy of Natural Sciences" to the "Claydon University" in Qian Zhongshu's novel The Siege of the City, in which the protagonist Fang Hongjian traveled abroad for many years, bought a diploma from Claydon University, and after returning to China, went to teach at the university, which later became synonymous with "Pheasant University."
Some people want to use the title of "foreign academician" to bluff people, so that ordinary people who do not know what is in the know will be convinced of their "academic achievements". Academicians are synonymous with "authority" in the minds of ordinary people, and it is even more difficult to be a foreign academician, and the authority that foreigners are convinced of must not be wrong.
According to the article, "Pheasant University", "Water Journal" and "Shanzhai Academy of Sciences" are actually in the same vein. There is a demand for fake diplomas, fake papers, fake academician titles, and someone creates pheasant, copycat institutions to meet these needs. If someone just wants to spend money to buy a title for themselves, it's not really a public business. However, when they spend tens of millions to get a title, they will definitely not just keep it at home for themselves, but will take it out and use it, and once they take it out and use it, it will become a fraud, a fraud of money, and a fraud of status. Therefore, it is necessary to puncture the mask of the "Claydon University" and the "European Academy of Natural Sciences", so as not to be deceived by the world.
The article points out that, in fact, it is not uncommon for such copycat academic institutions to be favored in the world, including the World Productivity Academy of Sciences, the Nanyang Academy of Sciences in Singapore, and so on, all of which are considered copycats. Just as the domestic academic circles take "publishing papers" as the academic evaluation criterion, many "water journals" with Chinese scholars as the goal have been born, and as long as they pay money, they can publish papers. This has been around for a long time.
In the list of academicians of the European Academy of Natural Sciences, there are also the names of many university professors. If domestic academicians can't be evaluated, the title of "foreign academician" will also have a certain bonus effect on their "academic status". As one account promoting the academy on social media put it, domestic research institutions, universities and academia "generally" recognise academics of international scientific bodies, including the European Academy of Natural Sciences. Even the Chinese Academy of Sciences' China Science Daily, which is in charge of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has published news that Chinese scientists have been elected to the European Academy of Natural Sciences, and their "authority" has been endorsed. If the Chinese academic community "recognizes" the title of foreign academician, then some people will inevitably rush to these titles, because with these titles, they can seek more benefits in the domestic academic circle, and the application for the project will be much smoother. The Beijing News pointed out that what kind of institution is the "European Academy of Natural Sciences", and whether its selection of "foreign academicians" is authoritative, the relevant departments should also uphold the attitude of academic dignity and responsibility to verify the facts.
Source丨The Paper, The Beijing News, Southern Weekly, Double First-Class and other editors丨Nong Caijun contact Nong Caijun丨18565265490 New Era, New Seed Industry, Southern Rural Daily丨Agricultural Treasure Book
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