Chongqing University celebrates 90 years
Chongqing University, a cradle of engineering research and education in Southwest China, is aiming to better serve domestic and global industrial development by further opening up its scientific and talent resources, its principal said ahead of the university’s 90th anniversary on Oct 12.
Founded in Chongqing, a traditional industrial hub in China, in 1929, the university supported improving old and outdated industries, said Zhang Zongyi, principal of the university.
Entering a new era, the university is continuing its plight to become a high-level comprehensive university with enhanced development across all disciplines — engineering, science, arts, social science, medicine, interdisciplines and emerging disciplines, he said.
Over the last 90 years, the university has been committed to its mission to “conduct research, cultivate talent, serve the community and promote social development”.
An inclusive and open environment is being created to boost disciplinary reform, optimize education and promote international communication, on the way to building a “world-class university” and “worldclass disciplines”, Zhang added.
With its strength in engineering, Chongqing University has educated numerous professionals serving the whole industrial chain of China — from mining, smelting, metallurgy, equipment manufacturing, operational control, to electrical and chemical engineering. The university has made significant contributions to the country’s development, Zhang said.
The university has many prestigious alumni. Li Xiaohong, who studied mining at the university during the 1970s and 1980s, is now president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Yi Jun, a graduate in civil engineering, is vice-minister of the Ministry of Housing and UrbanRural Development. Champa Phuntsok, a graduate in machinery manufacturing, is former chairman of the Tibet autonomous region.
Graduate Zhou Guofu is one of the inventors of electronic paper display, a digital surface which replicates the look of ink on paper, and has worked for Dutch technology giant Philips as senior scientist for about 20 years. Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Chinese tech giant Huawei, studied at the university in the 1960s.
Chongqing University is one of the largest talent pools for electrical and electronic engineering in southwestern China, many of whom have become senior employees at State Grid — China’s leading electricity supplier. Its graduates also work in major construction companies such as China State Construction and China Communications Construction, according to Zhang.
The university teaches three disciplines ranked in the world’s top 50 in terms of academic strength and resources, and they are instrumental science, metallurgy and mechanical engineering. It also has nine disciplines ranked in the world’s top 100, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities in June.
Three strong disciplines — electrical engineering, machinery and civil engineering — are on the way to entering the “world-class disciplines” list.
According to the university, high school students need to rank in the top 5 percent nationwide in their college entrance examination to be accepted.
Though the emerging digital and service economy have brought dramatic changes to the lives of modern Chinese people, Zhang believes the secondary industry is still of great importance, as “it is the cornerstone for creating social and economic value”.
With China becoming the world’s largest manufacturer, the university is working to adapt to new demands for engineering talent in a fast-changing market driven by technological revolution.
“It’s important for universities to provide the most advanced knowledge to students, so that they can be recognized and needed by society,” he said.
“The nature of a university is to continuously innovate while insisting on inheritance. Over the last nine decades, Chongqing University has retained its pioneering spirit and contributed to national rejuvenation. The goal is still the same, but the methods should keep up with the times.”
Chongqing University is working on disciplinary reform and optimization based on a complete educational network that serves new industrialization, urbanization and informatization development in China.
For example, the university is now working to upgrade disciplines by adopting cutting-edge technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, and using them to innovate in traditional subject areas like machinery and construction.
It is developing interdisciplinary subjects to expand the applications of technologies, such as those used in medical care and finance. It’s also eyeing up emerging disciplines which will have greater influence in the coming decades, according to Zhang.
Smart energy, advanced manufacturing and new urbanization are three major emerging segments. The university also plans to establish a big data and software school and a school for microelectronics and communications engineering, to support the development of intelligent industries in Chongqing.
With the Chongqing Cancer Hospital becoming a part of the university, it has plans to combine medical science and engineering. The medical school and faculty have also been founded.
Interdisciplinary platforms under construction include a neural intelligence center, a plant functional genomics research center and a composite semiconductor research center.
Equipment in China’s national key laboratories is generally only available to teachers and students, but some of Chongqing University’s labs and equipment are open to qualified researchers from outside the university.
Zhang said it’s building five to six public scientific platforms. An analysis and testing center, for example, is already open to researchers for appointment and usage.
The aim is to make more scientific breakthroughs by boosting academic exchanges across all aspects, he added. The university is also promoting globalization by cooperating with the world’s top universities in student exchange programs, teacher visits, building joint scientific institutes and joint schools.
It’s building an energy environment, technology and economy center with the University of California, and a sustainable industrial development research institute with the University of Cambridge.
The Joint Co-op Institute of Chongqing University and the University of Cincinnati, allows students to gain degrees from the two universities after studying at home and abroad, and receive work experience.
Zhang said the university is financing students to study overseas. And every school should have foreign teachers.
“A closed system is not advantageous, while an open system is full of vitality,” he said.
A graduate himself of Chongqing University back in 1988, Zhang has witnessed firsthand the changes at the university — Its area now covers 346.6 hectares. Its students number 46,000, including 1,800 foreign students. It has a faculty of about 5,200.
He said due to the difficulty in transportation, the mountainous Chongqing city and Chongqing University were once less open to the world outside. But as the nation attaches great importance to the development of its western regions, great future potential can be foreseen.
“The development of a city is not defined by the height of skyscrapers, but the depth of thoughts from the greatest men and women. And universities play a key role,” Zhang added.
CHONGQING UNIVERSITY MILESTONES