Abstract: In the midst of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, cultivating top-tier innovators who can serve national strategic needs has become a core mission of higher education. This article reviews the reforms and practices undertaken by the Chemistry Experimental Teaching Center at the University of Science and Technology of China, where “cultivating top-tier scientific and technological talent” has been the central objective in recent years. We have aligned curricular and co-curricular platforms to build a multilayered laboratory program that progresses from humanistic literacy through foundational, integrative, research-oriented, and internationalized training. We translate cutting-edge research into signature instructional experiments, strengthen a competition-enabled teaching model, and accelerate the digitalization and internationalization of courses, in order to measurably enhance students’ innovative thinking and hands-on research capability. In response to persisting gaps, we propose an integrated undergraduate laboratory pathway that combines disciplinary integration, frontline research practices, and the convergence of computational chemistry with AI-enabled methods. This framework offers a scalable model for chemistry education reform and excellence-oriented talent development. We dedicate this article to the 40th anniversary of University Chemistry and gratefully acknowledge the journal’s sustained role as a premier platform for chemistry education and talent cultivation in China.

Key words: University Chemistry, Top-tier scientific and technological talent, Laboratory teaching reform, Holistic Education Model, Integrated undergraduate laboratory pathway