Abstract:

Major national science and technology infrastructure serves as the foundational platform for implementing major national innovation tasks and advancing the frontiers of science and technology. Interdisciplinary convergence manifests throughout its entire lifecycle—from goal-setting and design justification to construction and maintenance. Characterized by the aggregation of high-level innovation resources and the coordination of cross-disciplinary research missions, such infrastructure inherently possesses the capacity to transcend traditional disciplinary barriers and institutional inertia. Consequently, interdisciplinary convergence should constitute both a fundamental requirement and a natural outcome of its construction and operation. As primary organizers and builders of these facilities, universities face a critical challenge in coordinating disciplinary development with infrastructure construction/operation—a pivotal issue in the management practice of the Double First-Class Initiative. This study employs grounded theory methodology to extract operational elements of such infrastructure, supplemented by case studies of six representative facilities involving university participation to validate and synthesize inter-element relationships. Ultimately, a mechanism model is constructed to elucidate how major science and technology infrastructure drives interdisciplinary convergence. The paper reveals the interaction mechanisms between infrastructure development and disciplinary construction, offering novel theoretical perspectives and practical pathways for transforming knowledge production paradigms in higher education institutions.

Key words: Big Science, major national science and technology infrastructure, interdisciplinary convergence, Double First-Class Initiative