East China Institute of Technology

East China Institute of Technology

East China Institute of Technology (formerly East China Geological Institute) is located in Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province, known as the "Home of Talents." The campus covers an area of 2,000 acres, with a total building area of 720,000 square meters. After nearly 50 years of development, East China Institute of Technology has grown into a multi-disciplinary institution of higher learning with engineering as its core, integrating science and technology, as well as offering programs in the humanities, management, economics, and law.

Following the 1999 reform of the management system for military-affiliated institutions, the administration of East China Institute of Technology was adjusted from being under the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense to being primarily managed by the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Government. A joint management system was implemented, jointly supported by the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Government and the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. In 2001, an agreement on the joint provincial-ministerial (commission) support for East China Institute of Technology was signed, marking the first instance in China of substantial provincial-ministerial (commission) co-management following the adjustment of a ministry-affiliated university's administrative structure. The university comprises various teaching units and secondary colleges, including the School of Earth Sciences and Geomatics Engineering, School of Nuclear Engineering Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Information Engineering, School of Chemistry, Biology and Materials Science, School of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, School of Economics and Management, School of Humanities, Law and Arts, School of Foreign Languages, School of Mathematics and Information Science, Graduate School, Department of Physical Education, Higher Vocational Technical College, Adult Education College, Teaching Department of Educational Psychology, as well as the secondary college—Yangtze River College (Nanchang) and MOS Software College.

Currently, the main campus of East China Institute of Technology enrolls over 23,000 students at all levels. It was among the first universities in China to be authorized to confer bachelor’s degrees and one of the fourth batch authorized to confer master’s degrees. In 2000, the institute was approved to offer master’s degree programs for working professionals with equivalent qualifications, and in 2002, it was approved to offer engineering master’s degree programs. In recent years, it has also collaborated with institutions such as Nanjing University and China University of Geosciences to jointly train doctoral students in four disciplines. The university now has 30 master’s degree programs, 2 engineering master’s programs, 51 undergraduate majors (6 of which are among Jiangxi Province’s first batch of brand-name majors), 11 defense-related and military-industrial majors (including 5 nationally administered majors), 1 key national defense major, 12 provincial and ministerial-level key disciplines, and 14 brand-name majors in Jiangxi Province. This forms a multi-tiered educational structure with undergraduate education as the main body, graduate education as the leading force, supplemented by higher vocational, junior college, and adult education programs.

The institute is honored to have Academician Qian Qihu of the Chinese Academy of Engineering as its honorary president and boasts a highly qualified faculty with strong dedication. It has over 1,500 staff members, including more than 1,000 full-time teachers. Among them, there are 7 doctoral supervisors, over 400 teachers with senior or above professional titles, and over 340 with intermediate professional titles. More than 100 faculty members hold doctoral degrees, and over 400 hold master’s degrees. The institute also employs over 100 part-time professors, including 10 academicians.

The institute has 26 provincial-level academic leaders, 40 provincial-level key teachers, 4 middle-aged and young experts with outstanding contributions at the provincial or ministerial level, 22 recipients of government special allowances, 3 national outstanding teachers, 4 provincial or ministerial-level model workers, 4 provincial-level distinguished teaching faculty, and 1 top ten youth in Jiangxi Province. There are also 5 talents in the first and second tiers, and 43 in the third tier of the Jiangxi Province New Century Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand Talents Project.

East China Institute of Technology has been designated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as an advanced training center for uranium geology and isotope hydrology, as well as the host of the East Asia Isotope Hydrology Database. Its national-level “Analysis and Testing Research Center” has been recognized by the IAEA as a reference laboratory. The “Jiangxi Provincial Spatial Information and Digital Land Laboratory,” built upon the “Digital Engineering Experimental Center” and the “Geographic Information and Digital Imaging Technology Research Center,” was designated as a provincial key laboratory in February 2004. The institute owns 6 research institutes and 4 scientific research experimental centers.

In the past five years, the institute has undertaken 21 national-level research projects, 119 provincial and ministerial-level projects, and obtained 8 invention patents. It has published 3,540 research papers, with 150 indexed by international databases such as SCI, and has published 70 monographs. In 2005, the total amount of scientific and technological funding exceeded 50 million yuan.

East China Institute of Technology places great emphasis on international academic exchanges and Sino-foreign cooperative education. Over the past five years, it has sent experts and teachers abroad for inspections and to participate in international academic conferences, visiting over 20 countries in 40-plus batches, involving more than 170 person-times. Since 1999, it has dispatched 10 scientists to collaborate with Japan’s Science and Technology Agency on research concerning the geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste. In 2002, it co-founded the Netbig International College with Hong Kong Netbig Education Limited, which was renamed Yangtze River College in 2003 with approval from the Ministry of Education. It also collaborates with the U.S. Moore’s Institute of Technology to cultivate software engineering professionals. The institute has established long-term intercollegiate exchange and cooperation relationships with over 20 universities in the United States, Europe, Australia, Asia, and other regions. It also maintains long-term collaborative ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency in areas such as scientific research and talent cultivation. Furthermore, the institute regularly hires senior foreign experts to teach on campus.

The institute upholds the fine traditions of seeking truth from facts and hard work, adheres to a people-oriented educational philosophy, maintains rigorous teaching standards, and emphasizes the all-round development of students. Students have consistently achieved excellent results in various national and provincial competitions. The graduate employment rate has ranked among the top three in the province for several consecutive years. The institute’s Party building work has also been outstanding, earning it the honor of “Advanced Unit in Party Building Work at Institutions of Higher Learning for 2000–2003” awarded by the Jiangxi Provincial Education Working Committee.

Expert evaluations: Three Unexpecteds and Six Unexpecteds: Three Unexpecteds: Unexpected to find such a long-established school in such a remote location; unexpected to find so many doctoral and master’s degree holders gathered in such a remote place; unexpected to find such good educational facilities and beautiful campus environment in such a remote area. Six Unexpecteds from the 2004 teaching evaluation experts: Unexpected at how much the school has changed; unexpected at how good the educational facilities are; unexpected at how many teaching achievements there are; unexpected at how outstanding the contributions to the nation are; unexpected at how dedicated the teachers are; unexpected at how strong the atmosphere for evaluation and construction is.

The 2004 undergraduate teaching work level evaluation by the Ministry of Education achieved commendable results.

Since its establishment in 1956, East China Institute of Technology has, throughout its glorious yet challenging history, remained committed to its founding mission. It has formed, maintained, and developed the distinctive “East China Institute of Technology characteristics”: hard work, dedication to the country, and building strengths in nuclear and military-industrial disciplines. Along with the progress of China’s nuclear industry, the institute has been self-reliant, worked diligently, pursued excellence, and practiced frugal education, becoming the cradle for training talent in nuclear fuel cycle engineering—the pioneers of China’s nuclear industry. It has made significant contributions to China’s national defense science and technology industry and socio-economic development. Facing new challenges and opportunities, the institute firmly focuses on development as the top priority, remembers the “Two Musts,” and is guided by theory and important thought, advancing with the times, pioneering and innovating, striving for survival through quality and development through uniqueness, orienting itself toward social needs, proactively adapting to the transformation of higher education from elite to mass education, stabilizing expansion while emphasizing connotation development and sustainable growth, and making unremitting efforts to achieve the goals of “being first-class in the province, well-known nationwide, and having some advantage disciplines rank among the international forefront.”

Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province