South China University of Technology (SCUT) is one of China's key universities operating under the direct leadership of the State Ministry of Education. The campus, which has a total area of over 200 hectares, is situated in Guangzhou, a southern metropolitan in China. The campus, named as "Civilized Campus" by the ministry of education, is a propound culture area in beautiful surroundings of lakes and mountains, bluish greenery and luxuriant flowers, traditional buildings and modern architecture.
South China University of Technology (SCUT), formerly known as the South China Institute of Technology, was established in 1952, through the amalgamation of the technical faculties of 12 universities in 5 provinces in central and southern China, including Sun Yat-sen University, Lingnan University, Hunan University, Guangxi University, etc. In 1960, SCUT was awarded ranked among the key universities of China. In 1981, it was authorized by the State Council to confer doctor degrees and master degrees，and was among the first universities in the country to do so. In 1995, it was selected as one of the universities into which China will make significant investment in the 21st century. In 1999, it was rated "excellent" during the Undergraduate Teaching Assessment, and was among the first "Excellent Universities of Undergraduate Education" in the country. In the same year, a national science park was established with the authorization of State Ministry of Technology and State Ministry of Education. In 2000, Graduate School was authorized to be established. In 2001, the new cooperative construction of State Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province was implemented in SCUT and it was listed among the top universities in the country.
After more than 50 years of development, SCUT has become a multidisciplinary university of high reputation in South China and in the whole country, focusing on engineering, combined with science, also promoting well coordinated development of management, economics, humanities and law. SCUT is presently made up of 28 colleges. Subjects currently offered in SCUT cover 6 national key disciplines, 9 significant investments in the 21st century, 67 bachelor's programs, 10 master's programs and doctoral programs in primary disciplines, 58 doctoral programs, 107 master's programs, master's programs of engineering (in 19 fields), master's programs of architecture, master's programs of business administration (MBA, EMBA), master's programs of public administration (MPA), and 11 stations for post-doctoral research.
The university has a favorable condition for education and a fine environment for teaching. At present, the university is in possession of 1380 million RMB fixed assets, including the cost of 620 million RMB equipments and devices. The schoolhouses have a cover area of 1.75 square kilometers. South China Network Center of China Education and Research Network, as well as Network Center of Guangdong Education and Research Network have been established in the university. The university has complete teaching and experimental devices. 1 national teaching base of engineering mathematic course, 1 national cultural diathesis education base for university students, 10 fundamental teaching experiment centers, and a batch of modern experimental centers have been established. The University library, with a total area of 45,000 square meters, has a collection of 2,000,000 volumes. The University library has its automatic management system. The University library, which is steadily being developed into a digital library, offers important national databases, such as Ei Village, PQDD, and so on. The university has built up complete physical facilities for students, including international standard sports ground, gymnasium, student entertainment and sports center as well as plastic tennis court. The track & field teem, the football teem, the basketball teem, the volleyball teem, the swimming teem and the ping pong teem of the students have attended national and provincial competitions time after time and have achieved excellent grades. The annual arts festival of science & culture for the students and the students' social practices have successfully integrated with society and enterprises, which has become an important process for the improvement of students' integrated diathesis.
The university has a batch of scientific research organizations and technology development bases with advanced standards. At present, there are 1 national key laboratory, 2 national engineering research centers, 3 key laboratories designated by the State Ministry of Education, 1 national first-grade architecture design and research institute, 1 national science park, 1 national teaching base of engineering mathematic course, 1 national cultural diathesis education base for university students and 5 key laboratories designed by Guangdong province. Besides, there are more than 10 engineering research and development centers designated by Guangdong province, Guangzhou city and SCUT. Relying on these centers, numerous key research bases have been formed, which are responsible for large numbers of research assignments designated by the State, the province and the city, and which have formed integrated key problem solving measures of multidiscipline and multi-field as well as a chain pattern of basic research, applied research and development research. The university pursues its scientific research by responding to requirement of the market and puts its scientific and technological achievements into the market through certain transformations. In 2003, the university has received 235 million RMB research expenditure allowances. The amount of patents applied by the university has ranked first among universities and colleges in China for years. The university is among the first universities in the country to be authorized as the pilot paten running organization of enterprises and institutions.
SCUT has a faculty of over 4,000, with 2,324 teaching and researching staff, 2 fellows of China Academy of Science, 2 fellows of China Academy of Engineering, 17 double appointed fellows (honored by two universities), 1 foreign fellow of Russian Academy of Science, 340 professors, 657 associate professors and 973 supervisors for postgraduates (including 200 supervisors for doctoral students). More than 73% teaching and researching staff has received master or higher degrees. In recent years, through the implement of "The Talent Project for China Development", the university emphasizes the construction of faculty and the optimization of its overall structure, which have considerably improved the disposition of the faculty.
The excellent faculty and good environment of the university have attracted a large number of students. Presently, SCUT has over 44,500 students, including 10,300 master's degrees candidates and doctoral candidates, 16,704 undergraduates, 5,341 continuing education students, 12,190 on-line education students and 120 international students, which have formed a complete talent cultivation system of bachelor degree, master degree and doctor degree. With precise knowledge pursuit, the school eminent spirit of comity and factualism has come into being. SCUT sticks to its educational guideline of "emphasizing moral character, building well-grounded base, strengthening ability and cultivating comprehensive adaptability". And this guideline has helped cultivating exclusive technological and management talents that are welcomed to the society. In recent years, the demand of graduate students has exceeded their supply. And the primary employment rate of its undergraduates is over 96%. Since its founding, the university has cultivated over 90,000 undergraduates, 7,000 graduates and 31,000 adult education undergraduates for the country. A large number of school fellows have become technological mainstays, distinguished entrepreneurs or leading cadres. SCUT is named by the society as "a cradle of engineers" and "a cradle of entrepreneurs".
Facing the new century, SCUT will take Marxism and Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and "Three Represents" as its guidelines, stick to the socialistic school running orientation, regard individual as its roots, take discipline constructions as pre-requisite, consider talent cultivation as its ultimate aim and highlight technological pursuit. SCUT intends to enlarge and extend its scale and realize the coordinated development of its scale, structure, quality and benefit. SCUT accelerates its education reform by gearing the university from multidiscipline-oriented to integration-oriented, from teaching research-oriented to research-oriented, and from partial open form to completely open form, so as to build SCUT into a top-ranking State university and a famous world-class university.
