Shenzhen University

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Shenzhen University (SZU) is a full-time comprehensive university accredited by the State Council of the People's Republic of China and is funded by Shenzhen local government. SZU was founded in 1983 and undertook its first enrollment the very same year at what Deng Xiaoping called "Shenzhen Speed".

Located on the picturesque coastline of Shenzhen Bay in South China, SZU's 1.44 square kilometer campus, which boasts its own lake, spreads across rolling hills covered with lichee trees, an abundance of green space and works of art.

China's Ministry of Education (MOE) attached great importance on the initial establishment of SZU in the Special Economic Zone, and appointed Professor Zhang Wei, the former vice-president of Tsinghua University, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as the first president of the university.

SZU has drawn much attention from domestic and overseas political, academic and business circles since its foundation. Deng Xiaoping gave his personal recommendation to the university and Jiang Zemin penned the university's characters in his own hand. Over the course of its young life, the university has received the visit of distinguished heads of state, scientists, researchers as well as that of Nobel Prize winner in Physics Dr. Yang Zhenning. Many celebrated figures have made donations to support the development of SZU and leading businesses and entrepreneurs have set up funds and scholarships in various disciplines.

In the last two decades, this dynamic university has made great strides. It has been at the forefront of many academic and administrative innovations and reforms and has widened its focus to include excellence in undergraduate teaching as well as research-intensive programs for graduate and post graduate degrees.

Indeed, in 1995, SZU passed the teaching evaluation for the undergraduate program accredited by MOE, and was among the first group of universities in China to have its undergraduate programs verified. In 1996, SZU was accredited by the Academic Degree Evaluation Committee of the State Council for Master's programs. In 1997, SZU implemented the faculty & college structure adopted a work-study program and committed to an integrated approach to teaching. Since 2000, the university has put great emphasis on research-orientated teaching and has invested heavily in providing state of the art research laboratories. In 2005 alone, the research budget totaled 61 million RMB. In 2006, three faculties were accredited to offer Ph.D degrees. Thus, SZU has surpassed all expectations in procuring a broad range of programs from the bachelor to the PhD levels in such a short time.

SZU now has 22 colleges, providing 54 undergraduate programs, 66 Master programs and doctorate degrees in three faculties spanning eight programs. It has seven key science and engineering laboratories and four humanities and social sciences research centers.

The university faculty is noted for its high qualifications, multi-academic background and innovative spirit. It comprises 1,100 teachers and researchers; 253 professors, 568 associate professors, of which 443 have doctorate degrees. It has one academician in the Chinese Academy of Engineering, six academicians in both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering and 37 supervisors of doctoral candidates.

An impressive 5713 research papers and journal articles have been published in the last five years, of which 414 papers are included in the indexes of SCI, EI, ISTP and 813 are indexed in CSSCI. During the same period, SZU's teaching and research faculty had 356 works published, 35 of which were translated into various languages. Also in the last five years, two technical inventions won the second prize in the National Technical Invention Competition, and one was awarded the first prize in the provincial invention competition. Some 26 research papers and projects received prizes for science & innovation awarded by the People's Liberation Army as well as various research achievement prizes above the provincial level. An impressive 48 inventions and innovations from SZU have been marketed and 281 inventions have been adopted.

SZU library proudly holds a collection of roughly 3.16 million items, comprising 2.12 million journals and books and 1.04 million e-books in Chinese and foreign languages. In addition, some 40,000 full-text e-journals, 189 academic CD-ROM databases as well as online databases are accessible via PC and Internet retrieval terminals. The campus boasts 30,000 Internet connections and 99% of its classrooms and lecture halls have been digitalized.

As well as an impressive teaching faculty, the university now boasts some of the brightest students, distinguished alumni which now form a global network. The on-campus student body is 20,000 strong and an additional 18,000 off-campus students are engaged in continuing education. There are 920 international students from over 40 countries sharing the SZU experience.

SZU benefits from a unique geographic location and is continually developing its international cooperation. It has granted diplomas to 2,000 graduates and trainees for the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administration Regions as well as for various positions in Taiwan. SZU has also established "dual-campus" joint-programs for undergraduate degrees with institutions in Great Britain and other foreign countries. 2,500 students have graduated from these joint programs since the university's inception, and the quality of programs has been ascertained by the British Council. SZU annually exchanges students and teachers with its sister universities in institutions of higher learning in the United States of America, Great Britain, Japan, and South Korea.

SZU places great importance on promoting students' extracurricular activities as well as providing a channel for their ideological pursuits. Therefore SZU cultivates a rich and colorful campus culture which includes an annual Arts Festival and Sports Meeting. An enviable range of sports and arts facilities dote the campus and students are encouraged to participate in a variety of social activities.