In 2020, the international influence of the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) reached a new level and SUSTech was listed in many renowned publications of world university rankings. Although the global community has been affected by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, SUSTech, with a focus on the situation at home and abroad, has engaged in international cooperation through online and other approaches.
SUSTech named in China’s top 10 universities for the third year in a row
The year 2020 witnessed the growing influence of SUSTech at home and abroad. In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2021, SUSTech ranks eighth in mainland China and it has been in the top ten for the third consecutive year. In the THE Young University Rankings 2020 (the top universities under 50) and QS Top 50 Under 50 2021, SUSTech ranks first in mainland China. In the QS World University Rankings 2021 and THE Emerging Economies University Rankings 2020, SUSTech ranks 14th in mainland China. In the THE Asian University Rankings 2020, SUSTech ranks eighth in mainland China and 33rd in Asia, with its paper citation and international vision ranked first and third in mainland China respectively.
In November 2020, the THE Asia Awards 2020 were announced, with SUSTech winning the International Strategy of the Year Award, SUSTech’s first THE Asia Award. The University was one of the two recipients from mainland China, along with Tsinghua University.
SUSTech was shortlisted for three awards (the joint-most of any Asian university). These included the International Strategy of the Year Award, the Student Recruitment Campaign of the Year Award, and the THE DataPoints Merit Award. Eight universities were nominated for each award from hundreds of entries submitted early in 2020. SUSTech won the award with the support of 11 new global research partnerships and international cooperation, such as the Joint Medical College Agreement with the King’s College London (KCL).
SUSTech attracts attention from home and abroad; University influence reaches new highs
On December 19, 2020, the People’s Daily Online University Presidents Forum was held in SUSTech with the theme of “Striving for the 14th Five-Year Plan targets, Education for a New Era: Achieving a High-Quality Development in China”. More than 60 university presidents from all over the country held discussions and exchanged opinions. In the forum, “Letter from March” was selected as a best new media work. The short film “Firm Choice” jointly produced by the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Communications and Public Relations (CPR) of SUSTech won the first prize. Another two articles on SUSTech’s official WeChat account won second prizes respectively.
SUSTech’s 10th-anniversary celebration attracted the attention of many media outlets both at home and abroad. These included Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, China Daily, China Education Daily, Nanfang Daily, and Shenzhen Special Economic Zone News, which reported on the progress and institutional innovation of the University. Xinhua News Agency had an exclusive interview with SUSTech’s President Qikun XUE, and published an article titled “Interview with Qikun XUE, President of SUSTech: Working towards the dreams, Looking upon the stars”. The Times, Phoenix Satellite TV, and other international media also made in-depth reports on SUSTech’s 10th anniversary.
President Qikun XUE speaking with Xinhua News Agency
In 2020, SUSTech’s official WeChat account released 542 articles, an increase of 180 articles compared with 2019. The total number of views exceeded 2.21 million, an increase of 59.96% compared with the previous year. The total number of likes in the whole year exceeded 10,000, an increase of 36.62% compared with the previous year. In addition, the year of 2020 saw the rapid development of SUSTech’s official video platform, where 105 videos were released on TikTok with 6.134 million view and 37,000 followers, an increase of 406% compared with 2019. SUSTech has 22,893 followers on the Bilibili platform with 376,000 views, an increase of 186% over the previous year.
SUSTech further expands international cooperation and embraces international students
The opening ceremony of the SUSTech-UQ Joint Center for Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
In 2020, SUSTech continued to broaden collaborations with 115 world-class universities around the world. These include Rice University (USA), Ritsumeikan University (Japan), Korea University (Korea), University of Southern California (USA).
In January 2020, SUSTech-UQ launched a Joint Center for Neuroscience and Neural Engineering. Then, in August, SUSTech and HEC Paris established a Joint Institute for Global Management and Entrepreneurship, which integrates knowledge bases of the two sides to develop academic projects with the support from the College of Business and the Department of Finance. In October, SUSTech and HEC Paris cooperated to officially launch a dual-degree program, which will offer a Master’s degree in Financial Management.
During the summer vacation in 2020, SUSTech welcomed two students from Toronto, Canada to the summer research project. They finished the research online and published their thesis collaboratively under the guidance of the University’s professors. In the autumn semester, SUSTech had 135 Chinese students coming from five of America’s collaborative universities, including Rice University, University of Southern California (USC), University of Notre Dame (ND), Temple University, and the Stony Brook University (SBU). Notably, students from SBU, ND, and Temple University could transfer course credits directly to their universities, and students from Rice University and USC could select both courses from their original school and SUSTech as well.
High-quality learning courses, enjoyable campus life, and equipped accommodations impressed international exchange students. These exchange projects have strengthened partnerships between SUSTech and overseas collaborative universities, which also helps to enhance the international reputation of SUSTech.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, these study-abroad courses and offline activities were temporarily suspended in2020. But SUSTech did announce a support scheme for online overseas learning projects. The University encouraged students to join the online projects and provided financial supports for students who attended online projects in the summer and autumn time. Additionally, SUSTech purchased related online resources so students could make the most out of the online classes.
In 2021, SUSTech will continue to develop and enhance its cooperation with world-class universities and make a greater impact in society, both nationally and globally.
