Harbin Institute of Technology

Harbin Institute of Technology
哈尔滨工业大学/哈爾濱工業大學
Motto 规格严格，功夫到家[1]
Motto in English
 Being strict in qualifications for graduates; making every endeavor in educating students[2]
Established 1920
Type Public
President Zhou Yu (周玉)
Undergraduates 25,002
Postgraduates 12,710
Location Harbin, Weihai, Shenzhen, China
Campus Urban, 4.293 square kilometres (1.658 sq mi)
Affiliations C9 League
Website www.hit.edu.cn
Harbin Institute of Technology
Simplified Chinese 哈尔滨工业大学
Traditional Chinese 哈爾濱工業大學

The Harbin Institute of Technology (abbreviation: HIT, known colloquially in Chinese as Hā GōngDà) is a research university and a member of the C9 League in China consisting of three campuses, which nearly span the country from north to south: the Harbin campus in Heilongjiang Province, the Weihai campus in Shandong Province and the Shenzhen graduate school in Guangdong Province.

HIT undertakes research and numerous projects covered by official secrets (e.g. in space science and defense-related technologies)[3][4] which may have a bearing on its international ranking, although it is widely recognized as one of the top universities in the country,[5] especially when it comes to local science and engineering league tables.[6][7][8] HIT was ranked 10th in the Best Global Universities for Engineering by U.S.News, 2015.[9] HIT is one of only ten universities in the world that have designed, built, and launched their own satellites (in 2004, 2008 and 2013). It made the largest contribution to the success of the Shenzhou series spacecraft and Kuaizhou series spacecraft.[10][11] One minor planet (#55838) is named after the Harbin Institute of Technology and nicknamed "Hagongda Star" by the International Astronomical Union for HIT's achievements in science and engineering.[12][13]


National position

Greater HIT structure

The new Greater HIT structure

In 1985 HIT opened a new campus in Weihai then in 2000 Harbin University of Architecture merged into HIT in Harbin. In 2002 HIT opened a new graduate school in Shenzhen. These three campuses form the Great HIT structure.

History

The main building of the Harbin Institute of Technology, said to resemble that of Moscow University.

The Harbin Institute of Technology was originally established in 1920 as the Harbin Sino-Russian School for Industry to educate railway engineers via a Russian method of instruction. Students could select from two majors at the time: Railway Construction or Electric Mechanic Engineering. On April 2, 1922, the school was renamed the Sino-Russian Industrial University. The original two majors eventually developed into two major departments: the Railway Construction Department and the Electric Engineering Department. Between 1925 and 1928 the University's Rector was Leonid Aleksandrovich Ustrugov, the Russian Deputy Minister of Railways under Nicholas II before the Russian Revolution and a key figure in the development of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

On February 4, 1928, the institution came under the leadership of the Northeastern Provincial Special Administrative Region of the Republic of China, and was renamed the Industrial University of the Northeastern Provincial Special Administrative Region. On October 20, 1928, the Law College and College of Commerce were incorporated, and the institution was officially named the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), co-managed by China and the USSR, with General Zhang Xueliang as the President of the School Board. Postgraduate students were enrolled from the spring of 1931.

During the Japanese invasion of China in 1935, the university fell under Japanese control. At that time, classes were taught in Japanese only. Furthermore, only Chinese and Japanese students were permitted to enroll. On January 1, 1936, the name of the institution was changed yet again to the National Harbin Polytechnic. By January 1937, the entire educational system had been altered to reflect traditional Japanese instruction. However, on January 1, 1938, the name Harbin Institute of Technology was reinstated, which it has retained up until the present.

After the Allied defeat of Japan in World War II, HIT came under the joint management of the Chinese and Soviet governments through the China Changchun Railway Administration.

In June 1950, the administration of HIT was taken over by the Chinese government, which started a period of full-scale reform and growth. In 1951, HIT was approved by the central government to become one of the two institutions of higher learning to learn advanced techniques from the USSR. HIT then became an important base for learning from the USSR and training students for universities throughout the country. HIT enjoyed a reputation as the 'Cradle for Engineers'.

In 1958, HIT expanded the variety of academic disciplines in which it offered majors such that by 1962 it had fundamentally transformed from a trade based school to a fully-fledged multidisciplinary university, credited with aiding in the construction of a national economy and making important contributions to national defense science and technology.

During this era, enrollment in the university's programs increased dramatically with the largest enrollment exceeding 8000 students. The number of teachers also increased at this time and by 1957 there were roughly 800 teachers responsible for all of the teaching and research duties of the university, each of them on average only 27.5 years old. Their skill and determination, however, earned them the moniker the '800 warriors' of HIT. During this period the research capabilities of HIT greatly expanded and improved. Departments actively sought cooperation agreements with factories and other national research institutes, laying a solid foundation for the integration of teaching, research, and production on a national level.

The Cultural Revolution, which started in 1966, drastically affected the normal teaching capabilities and research activities of HIT.

In Spring 1970, by government order, a small number of HIT personnel and most of the university's research equipment were moved south to Chongqing, and, together with Department 2 of the PLA Military Engineering Institute, established the Chongqing Institute of Technology. The rest of HIT combined with the Heilongjiang Institute of Technology and the Harbin Institute of Electrotechnics to form the new HIT. In August 1973, the State Council and the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee decided that the Chongqing Institute of Technology should again move back north to Harbin.

In 1977, the undergraduate programs reopened with graduate programs following in 1978 then in 1982 doctoral programs were offered for the first time. In 1984, HIT appeared in the list of 15 favorably built universities. That same year, HIT became one of the first 22 universities to establish a graduate school. In 1992, HIT High-and-New Tech Park was founded. In 1996, HIT was in the first batch of universities to enter the list of Project 211. In November 1999, HIT was appointed by the Central Government as one of the nine best universities to be preferentially built according to the standards of internationally renowned universities.

Campuses

HIT Weihai
The night scene of the main building at the Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai Campus)
HITSGS was set up in 2002 as graduate school of the Harbin Institute of Technology in Shenzhen, China.

Harbin Campus

The institute's main building is a smaller version of the main building of the Lomonosov Moscow State University with the majority of the buildings constructed during the time of Sino-Soviet friendship from 1949 to 1959 when the Soviets were actively involved in the development of Northeast China. The School of Architecture is located on No.66 of West Dazhi Street, near the Main Building. It originally belonged to HIT, however, when HIT was divided into three institutes in 1959, it was used by the Harbin Architectural and Civil Engineering Institute. After the integration of Harbin University of Architecture (formerly Harbin Architectural and Civil engineering Institute) into HIT, the building was renamed the "Civil Building", although it houses the school of architecture.

The No.2 campus in Harbin was originally a campus of the Harbin University of Architecture. All undergraduate students have spent their first year at this campus since 2003. School buses are provided free of charge.

Weihai Campus

Weihai campus is located in Weihai's (Torch Hi-Tech Science Park), a scenic seaside city on the Jiaodong Peninsula. Weihai has twice been awarded the Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment by the UN, the UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award. It was the first city awarded China's National Clean City, the first National Model City Cluster for Environmental Protection, the first National Excellent Tourist City Cluster, the first National Garden City Cluster in Northern China, Top 40 China Investment Environment and Top 50 Comprehensive Economic Strength City in China, ranked 15th in the China City Public Civilization Index.[14]

The campus, along with the picturesque scenery and mild climate, adjoins the sea (Golden Beach) and is surrounded by mountains. It is ranked in the best 50 universities in satisfaction degree in China.[15] It now covers totally 1,560,000 square metres (16,800,000 sq ft), with a construction area of 383,000 m2 (4,120,000 sq ft).

Shenzhen Campus

Along with the graduate schools of Tsinghua University and Peking University, the HIT Shenzhen Graduate School occupies 0.17 square kilometres (0.066 sq mi) of space within Shenzhen University Town. The Shenzhen Campus covers a total floor space of 73,700 square metres (793,000 sq ft) including teaching, research, administration, conference centers, student housing and cafeteria. Additional space of approximately 53,500 square metres (576,000 sq ft) is under construction.

Administration and organization

Harbin Institute of Technology is organized into 20 full-time schools, which hold 73 undergraduate degree programs, 143 master programs and 81 doctorate programs. Though most of HIT’s schools focus on science and engineering, it also has several schools offering course in humanities, social sciences, and management. HIT does not have an agriculture or medical school. A school may have several departments and research institutes (or research centers), however, the Department of Media Technology and Art does not belong to any of the schools.

Schools of HIT (Science, Engineering, and Architecture)
School of Astronautics
 School of Mechatronics Engineering
School of Material Science and Engineering School of Energy Science and Engineering School of Electrical Engineering and Automation School of Civil Engineering School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering
School of Architecture School of Transportation Science and Engineering School of Computer Science and Technology School of Life Science and Technology School of Software School of Electronics and Information Technology
School of Science Dept. of Media Technology and Art
Schools of HIT (Humanity, social science, and management)
School of Management
 School of Humanities and Social Sciences
 School of International Relations of Economics and Trade
 School of Law
 School of Foreign Languages

Academics

As one of the leading universities in China, HIT has historically been highly selective in its admissions process. In a typical admission cycle, only students who have attained the highest scores in the National Higher Education Entrance Examination are accepted into the undergraduate program. Admission into the graduate school, likewise, is also very competitive.

HIT operates on a year-round schedule that includes both a fall, a spring and a summer semester. Winter and summer holidays are scheduled to occur between semesters. During vacation periods, the dormitories and select dining halls remain open for students.

HIT has strict educational standards. Its motto, “Rigorous Standards, Excellent Efforts”, which is quite different from the motto of other universities, reflects the traditions of HIT. Both theory and application are emphasized. Instructors are required to make thorough preparation for lectures. Many engineering major courses have laboratory sections, and the students must do well in both exams and experiments to get credit.

Engineering Programs' National Ranking based on China Academic Degrees & Graduate Education Information evaluation reports (2012)

Research

Research at Harbin Institute of Technology spans a broad range of topics with a strong focus on engineering sciences. A 2009 analysis of research citations by Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators found HIT among the top 1% of institutions in the fields of Material Science, Chemistry, Engineering and Physics, and ninth in the number of theses published in the area of material science world wide.[16]

HIT has 40 national key disciplines granted by the Ministry of Education P.R.C. At present, it has ten state key laboratories and 30 provincial / ministerial-level key laboratories.

Harbin Institute of Technology has a high-level research faculty with over 2,900 full-time teachers and researchers, including 1,950 professors and associate professors, 22 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, nearly 640 doctoral supervisors. It has 12 principal scientists working on Projects 973 and 13 “Young Experts with Prominent Contributions to the Country.”

With a strong emphasis on scientific research, HIT has been bold and innovative in its scientific research and has consistently undertaken large-scale and highly sophisticated national projects. Because of this, funding for research increases yearly. In 2009, research funding from the government, industry, and business sectors reached 1.6 billion RMB yuan (US $233million ).

HIT is known to have close links to the People's Liberation Army and the space program of China as one of the main universities in China for space and defense-related research. HIT has made major contributions to the Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft project. In 2010, the Astronautics Innovation Research Center was established at HIT in conjunction with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The establishment is the biggest investment of this class in China.[17]


People

Liu Yongtan, Wang Guangyuan, Xie Lili, Huang Wenhu, Li Guibai, Liang Weiyan, Fu Hengzhi, Wang Zhongqi, Zhang Jie, Shen Shizhao, Chen Qingquan, Lei Tingquan, Cai Hegao, Du Shanyi, Zhang Naitong, Wang Zicai, Qin Yukun, Ou Jinping, Zhao Liancheng, Chen Yushu, Fang Binxing, Nanqi Ren

Liu Yongtan, Ma Zuguang

Honorary Professors

Professor Brian Norton, President, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland

References

  1. ↑ "学校标志". Retrieved 2014-06-26.
  2. ↑ "About HIT". Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Kuaizhou – China secretly launches new quick response rocket". Retrieved 2014-01-09. Built by the Harbin Institute of Technology, the new satellite will be used for emergency data monitoring and imaging...
  4. ↑ "Work at HIT as lecturer after graduation" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  5. ↑ "Chinese Universities Alumni & Association". Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  6. ↑ "NETBIG Chinese University Rankings". Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  7. ↑ "NETBIG China University Technology Rankings". Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  8. ↑ "China University Engineering Top 100". Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  9. ↑ "Best Global Universities for Engineering". Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  10. ↑ HIT News in Aerospace
  11. ↑ "NASA Spaceflight: Kuaizhou-China secretly launches new quick response rocket". Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  12. ↑ Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs): A Chronology of Milestones
  13. ↑ "News of ScienceNet: A minor planet named after Harbin Institute of Technology". Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "威海市政府门户网站 City Recognitions". Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "全国大学生满意度50强高校". Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  16. ↑ http://news.hit.edu.cn/articles/2010/06-03/06193910.htm
  17. ↑ http://news.hit.edu.cn/articles/2010/06-05/06141401.htm
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 http://english.cas.cn/Eng2003/page/home.asp
  19. ↑ http://www.neptunus.com/english/
  20. ↑ http://www.broad.com/english/include/en_index_com.htm
  21. ↑ "Index Li-Ll". Retrieved 15 September 2014.

External links

Coordinates: 45°44′49″N 126°37′50″E / 45.746998°N 126.630692°E