• Universities

Zhejiang University -- Seeking Truth and Pursuing InnovationZhejiang University (ZJU) is one of China’s leading higher education institutions, as well as one of its oldest; its roots can be traced back to 1897 and the founding of the Qiushi Academy.Located in Hangzhou – one of China’s most picturesque cities – the university is organised across seven faculties and 36 schools. It is home to 3,500 full-time academic members of staff and around 45,000 students undergraduates, of which around 60 per cent opt to pursue further studies. More facts and figures here. High AmbitionsLaying claim to several areas of research strength, ZJU currently ranks within the top 100 universities in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings.The institution prides itself on a culture of innovation and creativity and has significantly invested in the development of cutting-edge specialisms in order to encourage both. Manned spaceflight, assembly technology for large aircraft, clean energy, marine technology, industrial control technology, and global public health initiatives related to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, have all benefitted from the recent investment.ZJU is also renowned for the number of business start-ups it gives rise to. Over 100 of its alumni sit at the helm of domestic or overseas listed companies, while a further 200 have been elected members of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, making Zhejiang University synonymous with entrepreneurship and leadership.Other innovative developments include the creation of a high-level platform for intellectual property exchange, as well as the formation of a number of think-tanks, including the China Academy of Western Region Development, the National Research Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, and the Institute for Public Policy, which exists to extend the scope of ZJU’s social sciences’ research. Global OutlookZhejiang University has strategic partnerships in place with 140 overseas institutions from more than 30 countries worldwide. Included among them are such leading institutions as Imperial College London, Princeton University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.With a cohort of 6,000 international students, and around 8,000 teachers and students who participate annually in its various overseas exchange programmes, ZJU prides itself on the strength of its global outlook.In collaboration with the Universities of Edinburgh and Illinois, it has also established the ZJU-UoE and ZJU-UIUC Institutes on the international Haining Campus, and boasts an overseas presence at Imperial College London, with future plans to establish a China-US Business School with the University of Pennsylvania.Chief among Zhejiang’s aims is the aspiration to become a world-class university, one that simultaneously retains a distinctively Chinese character, where tradition and modernity are successfully combined.