A key multidisciplinary and research-oriented university directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Nankai University,located in Tianjin on the border of the sea of Bohai, is also the alma mater of our beloved late Premier Zhou Enlai.
Nankai University was founded in 1919 by the famous patriotic educators, Mr. Zhang Boling and Mr. Yan Xiu. During the Anti-Japanese war (1937-1945), Nankai University, Peking University (Beijng University) and Tsinghua University (Qinghua University) united in Kunming to form the renowned Southwest Associated University. It was compared to be "The North Star of Higher Learning". In accordance with its motto of "dedication to the public interests, acquisition of all-round capability and aspiration for daily progress", the University has produced batches of prominent talents such as late Premier Zhou Enlai, Dr. Shiing -shen Chern, Dr. Ta-you Wu and playwright Cao Yu. On December 25th, 2000 the State Ministry of Education signed an agreement with Tianjin Municipal Government on jointly establishing and developing Nankai University. Since then, Nankai University has been listed among universities for priority development in the 21st century.
Nankai University now occupies an area of 1,620,000 m² with a floor space up to 1,170,000 m². The total collection of the University library reaches 3,290,000 volumes. Besides its main campus located in Balitai, Nankai University also has campuses in Yingshui Road, TEDA College in Tianjin Economic Development Area, Financial Engineering College in the city of Shenzhen, Research Institute in Yunnan Province, and the first American Confucius College in the University of Maryland, all of which reasonably form a multi-campuses pattern for comprehensive development. On the principle of "independent school-running and close cooperation", Nankai University does not hesitate to seek after cooperation with Tianjin University.
Nankai University is considered to be one of comprehensive universities with the widest scan of disciplines. It features a balance between the Humanities and the Sciences, a solid foundation and a combination of application and creativity. The University has 22 academic colleges, together with Graduate School, China APEC Institute, School for Continuing Education, Advanced Vocational School, Modern Distance Education School and Binhai School (independently financed). Nankai University offers 71 undergraduate specialties, 206 Master's programs, 117 Doctoral programs, 17 Post-Doctoral research stations and 16 authorized primary Doctoral specialties. Besides, there are 18 national key specialties, 48 provincial and municipal key specialties, 1 national key lab, 14 provincial and municipal key labs, 1 national engineering center, 8 national bases for basic science research and talents cultivation, 1 base for cultural quality education and 6 key research bases for humanities and social sciences, together with 7 innovation bases in philosophy and social sciences and 4 science and technology innovation platforms included in 985 Project.
Equipped with top academic capability and creative spirit, Nankai University has a well-balanced faculty team in age and specialties. Among the 1,696 faculties, there are 607 Doctoral supervisors, 650 professors and 664 associate professors, 8 academicians of Chinese Academy of Science and Chinese Academy of Engineering, 4 academicians of The 3rd World Academy of Science, 10 members of the Subject Assessment Division, Degree Appraisal Committee of the State Council, 13 nationally accredited experts with outstanding contributions, 19 chair professors and 9 lecture professors invited on "Yangtse River Scholar Award program", 4 chair professors invited by Tianjin municipality, 25 recipients of National Outstanding Talent Foundation, 58 recipients of Excellent Young Teachers Prize supported by Ministry of Education (including the former Cross Century Talents Foundation under Ministry of Education), 16 teachers selected by national "Millions of Talents Program", 11 teachers awarded by the Ministry of Education with the honor of "Outstanding College Lecturers" and 3 national famous masters of higher education.
Nankai University has a full-fledged education system for producing undergraduates, postgraduates on master's and doctoral programs and post-doctoral researchers. Currently, the University has the total enrollments of 21,905 students, including 12,499 undergraduate students, 6,357 master's candidates, 3,049 doctoral candidates, 1,048 foreign students, 6,754 part-time adult students and 8,095 students on distance education program.
Nankai University is the center for both education and academic research. A large number of academic achievements have been made and acknowledged home and abroad. The number of SCI theses ranked the top eighth among Chinese universities and in 2005 the number was up to 839. The number of national social science projects and those under the Ministry of Education, the funds allocated and the awarded achievements all rank high among the universities of China. In the eighth Election for 100 Excellent Doctoral Dissertations, two of them came from Nankai University. In 2005, three research fruits won the National Second Prize of natural science and one National Second Prize for science and technology progress. Professor and academician Rao Zihe was awarded Chen Jiageng Life Sciences Prize and Trieste Science Prize. Professor Xu Jingjun won Chinese Young Scientist Prize, Li Zhengming won the National Invention Prize and Professor Pang Jinju was awarded the National Outstanding Professional Talent. In the field of natural sciences, the University boasts one First Prize, three Second Prizes, one Third Prize, 4 Second Prizes of Technological Invention, 1 First Prize of Science and Technology Progress, one Second Prize and 2 Third Prizes of the same category. Besides, for the Tenth Tianjin Excellent Social Sciences Fruit Prize, 10 of its First Prize, 24 Second Prizes and 35 Third Prizes went to Nankai University. The "Star of Nankai" supercomputer cluster designed and made mutually by Nankai University and IBM of America has got through the testing by experts with a running speed of 3.231TFlops, the fastest speed by far in China. Nankai University actively takes the advantages of disciplines, technology, talents and information to enhance the industrialization and commercialization of research fruits serving the national and local economy and social development. Some research institutes like China APEC Institute and School of Economic & Social Development have become the "Think Tank" and "Talents Cradle" for central and local governments.
Nankai University focuses on the students' all-round capability and creativity in teaching and education. Under its educational philosophy of "art to regulate the country, science to strengthen the country and business to richen the country", the University leaders point out a teaching guideline of "paying attention to quality education, cultivating capability, consolidating knowledge foundation and widening disciplinary spheres, strictly administrating and ensuring high quality". It establishes a complete educational system by connecting class teaching, scientific experiments, academic activities and social practice. A flexible educational system has been set up, including the system of credits, system of "major plus minor" education and double degrees. The late Premier Zhou Enlai, Nankai's prominent alumni, has been the model for all students to form a healthy disposition with high morality, spirit of creativity and the practical capability.
The University is well known for its healthy environment. By attaching great importance to students' overall development in virtue, intelligence, sporting and art, the University has successfully created a colorful campus cultural atmosphere of elegance and aspiration for the benefit of the students' healthy growth. As a result, being equipped with strong basic knowledge, all-round capability, creativity and practical ability, graduates from Nankai University are extraordinarily popular with employers from all fields.
Nankai University has broad international communications by establishing exchanging and collaborative relationships with more than 100 international universities and academic institutions. Nobel Laureates Chen Ning Yang, Tsung-Dao Lee, Samuel Chao Chung Ting, Robert A. Mundell, and Reinhard Selton as well as former President of Korea Kim Dae Jung and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were all conferred Honorary Professors of Nankai University. Many other world-known scholars and entrepreneurs have been invited as Visiting Professors of Nankai University.
