To promote theoretical and practical research on youth rule of law, advance juvenile justice studies, improve comprehensive social governance, effectively prevent juvenile delinquency, and support the healthy development of young people, the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League and Southeast University have jointly established the Jiangsu Provincial Research Base for Youth Work (Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency). The Base serves as a dedicated think tank specializing in the prevention of juvenile delinquency. It upholds the positioning of being “professional, authoritative, and leading,” with the vision of “rooted in Jiangsu, serving the nation, and influencing the world.” Focusing on disciplinary areas such as specialized juvenile justice theory and practice, prevention of juvenile delinquency, and the protection of youth rights and interests, the Base provides services including policy consultation, special investigations, legislative advice, analysis of complex cases, database development, theoretical justification and evaluation of pilot reform projects, and training for professionals working in juvenile justice and juvenile delinquency prevention. It also undertakes commissioned projects, compiles and releases research reports on juvenile delinquency, juvenile justice reform, and youth rights protection; publishes academic journals on the prevention of juvenile delinquency; and develops digital resources and professional databases in the field.
1.Team Development
The Base fully leverages the advantages of “Double First-Class” talent development, bringing together experts with extensive experience in Youth League and youth affairs, juvenile justice theory and practice, and big data analysis in juvenile legal studies. It has formed a dynamic and innovative team consisting of young faculty members as core researchers and practitioners from relevant fields as collaborating experts. Team members possess diverse academic backgrounds, spanning law, criminology, sociology, education, psychology, internet and computer science, among others—together forming a high-level, specialized, youthful, and well-structured research team.
2.Research Achievements
The research team excels in academic innovation and has produced substantial high-level achievements. Members of the Base have undertaken and led numerous research and practice projects commissioned by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ministry of Justice, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and the Jiangsu Provincial Youth League relating to juvenile justice, family adjudication, prevention of juvenile delinquency, and the protection of minors’ rights. These research findings have provided important theoretical guidance for the prevention of juvenile crime and protection of minors. Experts from the Base were invited to participate in the full legislative process of the Jiangsu Regulation on the Prevention of Juvenile Crime and its revisions, which have proven highly effective in practice. Team members have also continuously published influential articles on youth studies in core Chinese academic journals and authoritative media, driving theoretical research in related fields.
3.Service to Society
As a think tank, the Base submits decision-making consultation reports and legislative recommendations to government bodies at various levels. Many of these reports and proposals have been repeatedly adopted by provincial and ministerial authorities, and some achievements have been included in national-level think tank outputs or cited in relevant legislation. The Base is also active in conducting public legal education and outreach activities. Drawing on its strong academic resources, experts deliver numerous specialized lectures each year on youth rule of law, prevention of juvenile delinquency, and youth rights protection to judicial practitioners, educators, university students, primary and secondary school students, and parents—reaching tens of thousands of participants.
4.Talent Cultivation
The Base adheres to the fundamental mission of fostering virtue through education and promotes the integration of teaching and research to cultivate top-tier talent and enhance students’ comprehensive abilities. Relying on the Base’s platform, experts contribute their strengths across disciplines. Under their guidance, student teams have won the Special Prize in the 16th National “Challenge Cup” Competition, earning high praise and strong recommendations from leading experts in the field. The Base has also supported undergraduate students in undertaking multiple national and provincial SRTP research projects related to youth studies and has supervised more than a dozen master’s and doctoral students—successfully nurturing a cohort of specialized researchers. It organizes summer social practice programs to promote legal literacy in schools and communities and has received honors such as “Outstanding Team” and “Excellent Practice Base” in Jiangsu’s summer “Sanxiaxiang” social practice activities.
