Amidst the rapid advancements in science and technology, the Experimental Class of New Functional Materials and Technology set sail in 2020. Led by Jiang Fengyi, a recipient of the National Technological Invention Award (First Prize) and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the class boasts a top-tier faculty including academicians and national-level talents. It leverages Jiangxi Province's only "National First-Class Discipline (Luminescent New Materials Technology)" and several related "National First-Class Majors", forming a high-end teaching team that leads future technological development, primarily focused on new engineering disciplines, with interdisciplinary integration of science, engineering, medicine, and humanities (economics and management) to provide students with comprehensive and multi-level training.

    The Experimental Class of New Functional Materials and Technology aims to cultivate well-rounded, innovative talents with broad knowledge, solid foundations, strong skills, innovative abilities, marketing proficiency, and management expertise. It is the first program at Nanchang University to implement an     integrated undergraduate-master-doctoral program, breaking down disciplinary barriers. Each student is assigned two mentors (a science and technology mentor and a leading science and technology mentor) and two advisors (a market advisor and a business advisor). A refined three-stage curriculum system—"Science and Engineering Foundations - High-end Manufacturing - Management and Marketing"—is designed and developed, combined with platforms for fostering innovation and creativity, such as the "Academician and Dean Forum" and "Cutting-edge High-end Instrument Skills Training." During their studies, students can choose to participate in national-level research projects and undergo immersive rotations at top-tier research platforms such as the National Silicon-based LED Engineering Technology Research Center, the National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and Technologies of the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute of Nanchang University. This encourages students to broaden their thinking, break with convention, explore the unknown, and scale the heights of science.

    The Experimental Class of New Functional Materials and Technology is student-centered, offering joint scholarships with enterprises to support outstanding students in social practice, innovation and entrepreneurship, and international exchange. Based on students' interests and strengths, personalized development paths are planned for each student, cultivating and guiding them to become leading scientific and technological talents driving the transformation from "Made in China" to "Created in China."

    During the implementation of the Science and Technology Mentor Program, 58 students from the 2020 and 2021 cohorts of the Experimental Class of New Functional Materials and Technology participated in the publication of 43 SCI papers, including 25 high-quality papers in Q1 journals. They also participated in the application for 19 invention patents, 2 utility model patents, and obtained 1 software copyright. The first graduating class received numerous honors, including the Bao steel Education Scholarship, the National Scholarship, and a gold medal at the China International College Students' "Internet+" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. The rate of national-level awards and the proportion of students recommended for postgraduate studies at Tsinghua University, Peking University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences are among the highest in the university's science and engineering classes.

    Four faculty members of the college's self-designed intensive courses were awarded the title of Top Ten Teaching Excellence (including nominations). Their self-compiled textbooks were selected as one of the first batch of strategic emerging textbooks in Jiangxi Province and became the only selected typical case of ideological and political education in new engineering courses in Jiangxi Province in 2023. The college also pioneered a bilingual, dual-teaching cutting-edge digital technology course taught by a professor from MIT. Self-designed training programs for cutting-edge skills using various large-scale instruments.