New quality productive forces serve as a crucial indicator of national competitiveness, reflecting a country’s core innovation capacity, industrial structure, and resource allocation efficiency. Developed countries excel in advancing these forces by formulating forward-looking strategic plans and scientific policies, occupying high-value segments of the value chain. They also establish long-term support and incentive mechanisms for basic and cutting-edge research, leading to continuous improvement in the transformation of research achievements and scientific cooperation. Additionally, they promote applied scientific research within universities. The valuable experiences of developed nations in fostering new quality productive forces in universities offer insightful lessons for our own institutions.