Under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China, the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) is a comprehensive research university. In 1959, it was designated as one of the 20 key universities in China. As one of the first institutions of higher learning authorized to offer master and doctoral programs, it established College of Graduate after receiving approval with other 21 universities as the first batch of pilot units. The NUDT is also included in the major national higher education development projects, including the National Project 211, the National Project 985 and the national “Double First-Class” Initiative.
The NUDT has facilities in eight cities (Changsha, Nanjing, Wuhan, Hefei, Xi’an, Kunming, Beijing, and Suzhou). The NUDT has 15 colleges, research institutes and bases, offering 61 programs for undergraduates and authorized to grant master’s degrees under 27 first-level disciplines and doctoral degrees under 24 first-level disciplines. Moreover, the basic science indexes of 6 disciplines (Engineering Science, Physics, Computer Science, Materials Science, Geoscience, and Chemistry) have been within the first 1% around the world. In addition, 5 disciplines (Information and Communication Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, Aeronautical and Astronautical Science and Technology, Software Engineering, and Management Science and Engineering) have continually been included into the list of disciplines to be developed in the latest round of the “Double First-Class” Initiative. What’s more, the number of A-level disciplines of the NUDT has increased significantly in China’s latest round of overall evaluation of A-level disciplines.
The NUDT stresses cultivation and introduction of talents, and it has nurtured and attracted a faculty of high-level scholars and professionals, among whom nearly 400 are selected into national-level talent projects and commendation programs, and nearly 200 are National Famous Teachers, Distinguished National Teachers and Distinguished PLA-Wide Teachers. The NUDT has 1 group which has been awarded the title of Huang Danian-Style Faculty Group among China’s Institutions of Higher Learning, and one which has won the Advanced Group of National Innovation Award, 2 groups which have won the title of National Outstanding Professional Groups, 5 groups which have won the Science Fund for Creative Research Groups supported by the National Nature Science Fund Committee, 8 groups which have been awarded the title of National Teaching Group, 13 teams which have been awarded the title of National Innovation Team.
With focus on major national strategic needs and pressing global challenges, NUDT has been dedicated to carrying out fundamental theoretical explorations and pursuing breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields. Currently, the NUDT has 10 national-level key laboratories, 2 national-level 2011 coordination and innovation centers, and 3 state-local joint engineering research centers. So far, the NUDT has achieved a large number of self-reliant innovations represented by the “TianHe” series supercomputer systems, the “BeiDou” satellite positioning system, the “Tiantuo” series micro-nano satellites, superlaser, laser gyroscope, ultraprecision machining, maglev trains, etc., creating “China Speed”, “China Height” and “China Precision” in the history of humankind. The NUDT has made great contributions to China’s major projects including the “Two Bombs, One Satellite”, the “Beidou” navigation satellite system and the manned spaceflight program and has been an important force of China’s great self-reliance and strength in science and technology, thus playing an essential role in promoting national development and scientific and technological progress.
