Xia Wang is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Economics and Management at Taiyuan Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on university scientific and technological innovation efficiency, regional high-quality development, and quantitative evaluation methods. She has a particular interest in the measurement and decomposition of innovation efficiency, the construction of composite development indicators, and the empirical identification of transmission mechanisms linking academic innovation to regional economic and social outcomes. Her recent work pays special attention to architecture- and engineering-related disciplines, exploring how innovation inputs and outputs are transformed into regional development performance through efficiency improvement, structural upgrading, and policy-relevant mechanism pathways. Her research aims to provide empirical evidence and methodological support for innovation-driven development strategies and regional sustainability policies.

Jingqi Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Construction Management at Dalian University of Technology. His research focuses on the efficiency of scientific and technological innovation in universities, regional high-quality development, and the role of architecture-related disciplines in sustainable growth. He applies quantitative approaches such as DEA–SBM efficiency measurement, multi-criteria evaluation, and panel econometric analysis to examine how innovation processes within architecture and engineering fields contribute to regional transformation and development quality. His recent work explores input–output efficiency, regional disparities in innovation systems, and mechanism pathways linking university-based research to regional sustainability outcomes.