Shou-Fei Zhu has been deeply engaged in frontline teaching for 20 years, and has long taught undergraduate courses such as "Organic Chemistry", "Innovative Research and Training", and "Introduction to Materials Science and Sustainable Development", as well as postgraduate courses including "Organic Stereochemistry" and "General Education". During his tenure as Dean of the College of Chemistry, he took the lead in promoting two key teaching reforms, opening up new paths for the cultivation of chemical talents.

To address the challenges in the cultivation of top-tier innovative undergraduate talents—such as "insufficient sense of responsibility and mission among students, restricted personalized development, weak innovation awareness and capabilities, and lack of institutional guarantees for educational experience"—Shou-Fei Zhu proposed the educational philosophy of "integrating integrity and competence, prioritizing innovation, and encouraging personalized development", and constructed a unique new "4×3 Matrix" cultivation model. He established a system of "Party building leadership, inspiration from masters, and guidance from mentors", created a model of "independent selection, interdisciplinary integration, and connection between undergraduate and postgraduate education", implemented a program of "mentor team system, collaborative education, and open communication", and built a mechanism of "system priority, comprehensive supervision, and promotion through evaluation". This reform achieved remarkable results: the Chemistry major was awarded the title of one of the first national first-class undergraduate major construction sites, and was selected into the "Top-tier Undergraduate Program 2.0" and the "Strong Foundation Program". The relevant achievements won the Second Prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award.

To solve the problems of "single training model, single knowledge structure, and single research method" for postgraduates, relying on the Large-Scale Instrument Platform for New Substance Creation, Shou-Fei Zhu established a full-chain training model of "top-level design by discipline leaders, guidance by high-end instrument professionals, and independent practice by postgraduates". He promoted initiatives such as "bringing instruments into the classroom", "gathering talents through instruments", and "driving scientific research with instruments", integrating instrument practice into curriculum-based ideological and political education to cultivate students' scientific literacy and craftsmanship spirit. Through these reforms, postgraduates' innovation capabilities have been significantly enhanced, leading to continuous important scientific research breakthroughs and honors such as the National Challenge Cup and the China Youth Science and Technology Innovation Award. The relevant achievements also won the Second Prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award. For his outstanding contributions to postgraduate training, he received the first "Excellent Young Postgraduate Tutor Fund".

Shou-Fei Zhu attaches great importance to talent cultivation through scientific research, and has constructed an innovative talent training path of "driven by sense of mission and curiosity, guided by important issues, supported by professional knowledge, and verified by practice". He has led students in in-depth research on the theme of catalytic organic synthesis, undertaken a number of national major and key projects, and proposed the concept of "chiral proton shuttle catalysts", which solved the century-old problem of asymmetric catalysis and has been applied by more than 30 research groups worldwide. He discovered a new catalytic B-H bond insertion reaction, which has become a new generation of C-B bond formation reactions and has been followed up by more than 40 research groups globally. He developed a series of iron catalysts and their catalytic new reactions, revealed a new mechanism of spin affecting catalysis, and opened up a new direction of "spin-responsive catalysis". Some of these catalysts have been named "Zhu's Iron Catalysts" by international peers and have been commercialized. Part of his achievements have been successfully transformed and applied by well-known domestic and foreign enterprises in the production of pharmaceuticals and fragrances. The relevant achievements have been published in more than 160 high-level papers in authoritative journals such as Science, and he has obtained more than 20 invention patents. He has also won academic awards including the First Prize of the National Natural Science Award and the Science Exploration Prize. A total of more than 70 of his guided undergraduates and postgraduates have won academic honors such as the National Scholarship, Tianjin Outstanding Undergraduate Graduation Thesis, and Tianjin Outstanding Doctoral Thesis. Many of his graduates have grown into national "Four Youths" talents (a collective term for young talents supported by four national talent programs) and technical leaders in key enterprises.

The Baosteel Education Award originated from the Baosteel Scholarship established in 1990 and is operated by the Baosteel Education Foundation. It covers 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government in China, involving 77 review universities and 2 review institutions (Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and China Metallurgical Education Association), with a total of more than 120 universities included. It is widely recognized as one of the national awards in China's higher education institutions with wide coverage, a large total reward amount, high prestige, and great importance attached by teachers and students.

Initially, the Baosteel Education Award set up 5 categories: Baosteel Outstanding Teacher Special Award, Baosteel Outstanding Teacher Special Award Nomination, Baosteel Outstanding Teacher Award, Baosteel Outstanding Student Special Award, and Baosteel Outstanding Student Award. In 2010, the Baosteel Outstanding Student Award (for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan regions) was added. The award is evaluated and presented annually. Its purpose is to recognize outstanding talents, practice respect for teachers and emphasis on education, promote industry-university cooperation, and support the development of education.