Structure Optimization of Academic Disciplines for Universities Featuring Energy under the Roadmap towards Carbon Neutrality: Results from a Hybrid Fuzzy-Based Method

Abstract

The goal of carbon neutrality is an extensive and profound economic and social change, which will have far-reaching impacts on industrial structure, energy structure, and social consumption structure. Energy sectors will face in-depth adjustment, and it is essential to optimize major structures consequently due to the foresight of talent training. This research first employs Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis, Analytic Network Process (ANP), and the weighted fuzzy Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solutions (TOPSIS) to formulate and analyze the structure optimization of academic disciplines, and finally, the universities featuring mining are taken as an example to verify the feasibility of the method. Results reveal that the integration of ANP, SWOT, and the fuzzy TOPSIS evaluation method is able to qualify the assessment for academic discipline optimization. The specialty structure optimization results should focus on clean, intelligent, and sustainable development of the coal industry. The first priority is to increase relevant research on sustainable development of the mining industry, with a priority value of 0.0435. The modern coal chemistry and intelligent coal mining are also highly valued as the options for achieving carbon neutrality. Adding natural gas-related majors is underestimated as the least recognized priority, with a priority value of 0.0133. Suggestions and implications are provided for structure optimization of academic disciplines in universities featuring energy.