Advancing Innovative Talent Cultivation in New-Quality Productive Forces: A Synergistic Model Integrating University Funding with Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration

In the context of globalization and the emerging wave of scientific and technological transformation, the strategic integration of higher-education funding mechanisms with industry-academia-research collaboration is increasingly recognized as a pivotal driver in cultivating innovative talents for new-quality productive forces. University funding serves not merely to optimize resource allocation and strengthen faculty and research infrastructure, but also to facilitate cross-sectoral collaboration, thereby fostering an innovation ecosystem underpinned by multi-stakeholder benefit-sharing. This study investigates the current state of funding-driven industry-academia-research synergy in China, elucidates the conceptual framework and defining attributes of innovative talents in new-quality productive forces, and proposes a collaborative training model grounded in synergy theory. The proposed framework is operationalized through an application mechanism tailored to the higher-education sector. Empirical evidence, derived from case analyses, confirms the effectiveness of the integrated approach in improving talent-training quality, accelerating the translation of research outcomes, and bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. Notable challenges—including uneven funding distribution, interest misalignments, and mismatch between talent supply and market demand—are addressed through targeted policy recommendations: refining the funding architecture, strengthening cooperative governance mechanisms, and aligning training programs with evolving industrial needs.