Jilin University

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Jilin University 吉林大学

Established:	1946
Type:	Public
President:	Zhou Qifeng (周其凤)
Staff:	15,626
Undergraduates:	40,373
Postgraduates:	19,679
Location:	Changchun, Jilin, People's Republic of China
Campus:	1,633 acres/6.61 km²
Website:	en.jlu.edu.cn (English)

Jilin University (JLU; simplified Chinese: 吉林大学; traditional Chinese: 吉林大學) is a leading national university under the direct jurisdiction of China's Ministry of Education^[1].

Founded in 1946 as the Northeast College of Administration in Harbin, Heilongjiang, Jilin University merged with many Universities and colleges and changed its name many times. In May 1948, the Northeast Administration College merged with the Harbin University and was renamed to Northeast Academy of Science. In November 1948, the Northeast Academy of Science moved to Shenyang, Liaoning and restored the name of Northeast Administration College. in 1950, it was renamed to the Northeast People's University. After the Korean War broke out, the Northeast People's University evacuated to Changchun, Jilin. in 1958, it was renamed to the present name Jilin University^[2]. In 2000, the Jilin University of Technology, the Bethune Medical University, the Changchun University of Science and Technology and the Changchun College of Posts and Communications merged with JLU. On August 29th, 2004, the University of Military Logistics became another campus of JLU. The Zhuhai campus established in 2003^[3].

Located in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin Province in Northeast China, the University has eight campuses in five districts which are home to thirty-nine colleges covering eleven academic disciplines, including philosophy, economics, law, literature, education, history, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, and management. The University boasts sixteen disciplinary areas,five national key laboratories, and eight national bases for the development of basic science. Other resources include five research bases for humanities and social sciences, seven key laboratories sponsored by the Ministry of Education and eleven by other ministries of Chinese government.

Jilin University is a comprehensive and national key university^[4].JLU offers a variety of degree programs. It has now 115 undergraduate programs, 192 Master's degree program, 105 doctoral degree programs, and seventeen post-doctoral programs. The year of 2003 saw the enrollment of a total of 59,000-odd full time students among whom more than 10,000 are graduate students. At present there are 5700 faculty members, with fourteen members of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, 1270 full Professors, and 1652 associate professors. This dedicated education community is a guarantee of excellence in teaching and research. For years, the University has been playing a major role in the educational, cultural and economic life of Northeast Region of China. In the beginning decade of the new century, the University is committed to achieving the status as one of the leading institutions for higher education well known in China and around the world.

1 Facilities
2 Life for International students
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Facilities

Facilities include, first of all, a fast gigabit computer network. Fiber optic cables connect all the campuses, and over 20,000 computers are hooked up to the network. Faculty, staff and students can have easy access to the internet/intranet anywhere - in classrooms, dormitories or at home, enjoying online education and office automation. But the university is yet to install a wireless network unlike most other universities of its size in China. Furthermore at peak times the network grinds to a halt as there isn't enough bandwidth to meet capacity, seriously hampering online education.

There are more than fifty multimedia classrooms and language learning audiovisual classrooms, ten of which are reserved for international students. Special attention has been paid to the construction of 20 basic science laboratories.

The University Library claims a collection of 5.26 million books and is designated as the library of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and World Bank. It also serves as the Comprehensive Information Center of Liberal Arts of the Education Ministry, the only Foreign Scientific Text Book Center in Northeast China, and the National Humanities and Social Science Higher Education Books Import Center. It is one of the seven centers of China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS) Center in Northeast China.

All campuses have gymnasiums, stadium, and arenas for basketball, volleyball, table tennis and artistic gymnastics. The Nanling Campus Stadium, with grass soccer field surrounded by standard synthetic racetracks, can seat 10,000 persons; there are also well-lit synthetic floored tennis courts.

Jilin University has established worldwide exchange and cooperation ties with more than 130 universities, colleges, and research institutes in 40 countries/districts. The faculty members have visited abroad thousands of times, while more than 500 foreign experts have been invited to attend international conferences, give lectures, or do joint researches on campus. Over 1200 foreign students are currently enrolled in Jilin University. However recently, Jilin University has gained somewhat of a reputation amongst foreign teachers In Changchun, over several contractual issues where the university failed to pay its foreign teachers. The total amount owed amounts to over 200,000 yuan.

[edit] Life for International students

Life for International students can be difficult. However, dormitory rooms are funished with nice furniture, TV-set, telephone and network terminals. There are reading rooms, Internet cafe, tearoom and fitness room in the building. But, the internet connection is terribly slow and often totally useless as webpages fail to even open. Each year, the University hosts many academic and cultural events including seminars, forums, speech competitions and, performances on various topics and subjecs. Apparently 150 student groups and organizations enrich campus life with colorful activities.