Northeastern University

Northeastern University (NEU) was founded on April 26, 1923. In its history of over 90 years, the university has formed its unique spirit: “Striving constantly for improvement and behaving in conformity with truth”. It has gained a number of high-level scientific research achievements, such as the first analog computer, the first domestically produced CT, the first piece of super steel, the new technology of smelting vanadium titanium magnetite, the energy-saving theory and technology of steel industry, the controlled rolling and controlled cooling technique, and the mixed intelligent optimization control technology. By establishing the first university science park in China, it has established a series of high-tech enterprises, such as the Neusoft Corporation and the Neunn Technology Inc., and formed its unique characteristics in the areas of technological innovation, technological transfer and industry-university cooperation.

The university is situated in Shenyang, the central city of the Northeastern China, and it also has a campus in Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province. The university occupies a total area of 2,550,000 square meters, of which the architectural area amounts to 1,680,000 square meters. It has 4,538 faculty members, among whom 2,711 are full-time teachers. The university has 4 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 4 foreign academicians, 22 scholars who are selected into “National Thousand Talents Program”, 10 scholars who are selected into “Thousand Talents Program for Young Scholars”, 8 scholars who are selected into “National High-level Personnel of Special Support Program”, 27 distinguished and Chair Professors of “Changjiang Scholars Program”, 23 winners of “The National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars”, 16 winners of the “Joint Research Fund for Overseas Chinese Scholars and Scholars in Hong Kong and Macao”, 102 who are selected into the “New Century Excellent Talents Support Project”, and 14 who are selected into “the National Outstanding Talents Project”. The university has 4 innovation groups of the National Natural Science Foundation and 3 innovation teams of the Ministry of Education. It has more than 100 research institutes including 3 national key laboratories, 4 national engineering (technology) research centers and 3 national engineering laboratories. Besides, it has 2 national collaborative innovation centers and 3 collaborative innovation centers of Liaoning province.

NEU has formed a multi-disciplinary system which covers philosophy, economics, law, pedagogy, literature, science, engineering, management, art and other disciplines. The university has 68 undergraduate programs. 179 programs are entitled to the conferment of Master’s degrees (with another 10 professional degree conferring entitlements) and 109 programs are entitled to the conferment of Doctoral degrees. In addition, it has 17 post-doctoral research stations. The university has 3 primary national key disciplines, 4 secondary national key disciplines and 1 national key (nurture) discipline. They cover 16 secondary disciplines in total.

NEU has a complete education system for undergraduates, graduates on master's and doctoral programs and post-doctoral researchers. Currently, the university has a total enrollment of more than 45,000 students, including 29,872 undergraduate students, 11,364 master's candidates, and 3,850 doctoral candidates. Adhering to the fundamental task of cultivating students with good morals, the university has gained fruitful achievements in cultivating top-notch innovative personnel and reforming teaching modes and methods. Since 2011, NEU has won 3 “National Teaching Achievements”, opened 11 “National Excellent Video Demonstration Courses”, 15 “National Excellent Resource Sharing and Construction Courses” and 6 “National Excellent Open Online Courses (MOOC)” and completed 18 “National Teaching Materials of the Twelfth Five-year Plan”. Besides, 5 doctoral dissertations have been nominated to the “National Excellent Doctoral Dissertations”. Till now, the students have won 497 international awards for contest of innovation, 1,967 national awards as well as 1,580 innovation and entrepreneurship awards of excellence, obtained 384 patents, and established 56 start-up companies. In addition to the quality of enrolling students, the employment rates and quality of graduates also remain at a higher level.

The university sticks to the scientific research direction of serving national strategies and regional development. It encourages academic researches and explorations, and promotes collaborative innovations. The basic researches have been steadily improved, and the university’s competitiveness in technological innovations has been continuously enhanced. Since 2011, NEU has undertaken 6,387 scientific and technological projects of various types and has won 279 scientific and technological awards, including 14 national awards and 58 provincial and ministerial first prizes. It has also obtained 1,499 national patents, including 1,127 invention patents. In addition, 14,644 academic papers were included in the major science and technology literature retrieval systems of SCI, EI and ISTP. Up to now, it has hosted and organized 161 international and domestic academic conferences, of which 65 are international conferences.

NEU has a unique comparative advantage in technological innovation and transformation of scientific and technological achievements. It has explored an effective way to combine the policy, production, education, research and application so that it has achieved a sound interactive development of academic disciplines, personnel cultivation, scientific research and industry development. Focusing on the new IT technology, new materials, bio-science, and other edge-cutting fields, the university established Cloud Computing Science and Technology Industrial Park, New Materials Industrial Park, and Health Industrial Park. These have greatly promoted the development of the cloud computing and big data industry, improved the innovation and upgrading of equipment manufacturing industry in Shenyang, and laid a new foundation to serve the national economic construction and the revitalization of the old industrial bases of Northeastern China.

Opening up to the world, NEU has established long-term academic cooperation with 219 universities and institutions in 36 countries and regions. To bring in more overseas talents of various disciplines, the university has established 4 National Innovation Centers. Besides, more than 300 overseas well-known experts are invited to give lectures or participate in cooperative scientific research projects each year. In order to enhance students’ international vision and academic capability, the university actively expands overseas exchange programs including state-funded study abroad, joint training, exchange study, short-term exchange visits and overseas internships. Every year, NEU sends more than 600 students for overseas study and exchange. NEU has been increasing the number of foreign students and improving the training quality. And in 2017, there are 1,500 international students from 97 countries and regions coming to NEU for academic exchange.

Sticking to the principle of “cultivating outstanding personnel” and the path of “innovation, distinctiveness and openness”, NEU will stride forward unremittingly to build itself into a world-class university with Chinese characteristics, playing a leading role in the new industrialization progress in China.