How to Promote Postgraduates’ Innovation Capability: The Crucial Role of Association Branding

Cultivating postgraduates’ innovation capability is essential for universities to fulfill their function as a social service in this innovation-driven era. Graduate student associations serve as vital carriers for this purpose, yet their potential remains underexplored. This study explores how excellent teachers, particularly graduate supervisors with strong research innovation and resource integration capabilities, contribute to association branding and the cultivation of student innovation capability. We construct a mechanism model based on a dual-leader system with high-level supervisors as key leaders, association branding as the primary approach, and innovation capability cultivation as the core objective. The model’s effectiveness is validated through iterative practice at Northeast Electric Power University’s Management and Research Association, one of China’s 100 model graduate associations. The results demonstrate that influential associations enhance cohesion, facilitate resource pooling through “association + business” integration, and significantly improve postgraduates’ capability for scientific innovation. This work contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) through conceptual and applied alignment by promoting sustainable higher education management mechanisms that enhance long-term educational effectiveness and institutional capacity to cultivate innovation.