Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) welcomed the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education to campus to provide guidance for the development of SUSTech. SUSTech President Chen Shiyi led the SUSTech delegation along with Acting Vice President Zhao Yusheng, Director Wang Susheng of the Office of Major Projects and the Office of Planning & Development and Vice Provost Huang Kefu.

The group of experts from the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education was assisted by senior leaders from top universities around mainland China.

In November 2018, SUSTech entered the rank of high-level universities to focus on the development of higher education institutions. SUSTech was also commended for six key disciplines including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, mechanics, materials science and engineering.

SUSTech President Chen Shiyi reported on SUSTech’s development, pointing out the remarkable achievements SUSTech had made since entering the rank of high-level universities in Guangdong Province. He highlighted SUSTech’s high rankings among international university ranking organizations.

• In the 2019 ranking of mainland China’s best universities, according to ARWU, SUSTech ranked 35^th in mainland China, 3^rd in Guangdong Province and 1^st in China;
• The 2019 THE World University Rankings, released by Times Higher Education (THE), ranked SUSTech 8^th in mainland China, 1^st in mainland China for citation influence and 9^th for employment rate among mainland Chinese universities;
• The 2019 THE Asian Universities Rankings ranked SUSTech 10^th in mainland China and 41^st in Asia. SUSTech maintained its first position for the influence of our citations, while ranking 1^st for international outlook.
• QS ranked SUSTech 37^th in mainland China for 2017.
• Engineering joined chemistry and materials science in the top 1% in the world for Essential Science Indicators (ESI).

He hoped that in the next three years, SUSTech’s six key disciplines, includes mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, mechanics, materials science and engineering, will be recognized as the national level.

Following his speech, the heads of each of the six key disciplines talked about the development of their respective subjects, responding to the questions from the panel of experts.

Director Wang Susheng introduced how SUSTech is reforming and innovating in a range of different fields, and answered many queries from the experts.

Chairman of the expert group Professor Huang Daren interviewed President Chen Shiyi, while other members of the group visited specific departments to provide further guidance and discuss opportunities with the faculty.

Following the interviews and on-site guidance, the expert group provided specific feedback to senior leaders at SUSTech. Professor Huang Daren said that SUSTech has made significant achievements in a wide range of areas, and had already laid the solid foundation to be considered “first class”. SUSTech should also remember its original mission on the path towards its future development.

The expert group made specific recommendations to work towards becoming a “Double First-Class” university at the earliest possible date, taking into account national and provincial development needs. They suggested that the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government provide more support to SUSTech’s development in order to accelerate its development towards becoming a world-class research university as soon as possible.

President Chen Shiyi thanked the expert group for coming to SUSTech and providing constructive criticism towards its future development. The spirit of “Dare to try, be truthful and pragmatic, reform and innovation, in the pursuit of excellence,” is central to SUSTech’s drive to become a world-class university, rooted in China. President Chen Shiyi promised that SUSTech would continue to keep its original mission in mind while striving to develop itself into a world-class research university at the earliest possible date.