Sanctioned by the Ministry of Education of China, Shenzhen University was founded in 1983. The Central Government, the Ministry of Education, and the local government attached great importance to higher education in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. The University has received support from Peking University for establishing the School of Chinese Language and the School of Foreign Languages, from Tsinghua University for establishing the College of Electronic Science and the College of Architecture, and from the Renmin University of China for establishing the College of Economics and the Law School. Since its inception, the University has been committed to education reforms with regards to developing scholarship programs and work-study programs, adopting a modern academic credit system, providing students with a wider range of job opportunities, improving the quality of student services, and introducing a modern tenure-track system. Many reform policies have been recognized as breaking new ground on the scene of Chinese higher education.
Since its foundation 36 years ago, Shenzhen University has closely followed the pace of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and has been committed to reform and rapid development. The Universityadheres to the motto of "self-reliance, self-discipline, self-improvement" and strives to become "the Special Economic Zone University, the Window University, and the Experimental University." The University is committed to high-quality social service in the pursuit of excellence in teaching, learning, and research. It is a comprehensive university which offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs and provides leading-edge facilities and excellent services to students, faculty and staff. As a unique institution of higher learning in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, the University promotes a distinctive and innovative campus culture. With the establishment of Chinese cultural and arts research centers such as the JaoTsung-I Institute of Culture Studies and the Liu Yuyi Institute of Fine Arts, the University seeks acute cultural self-awareness and cultural self-confidence, in the context of building a world-class university with Chinese characteristics that matches the international stature of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.
With four campuses in Yuehai, Canghai, Lihua and Luohu, Shenzhen University covers a total area of 2.72 square kilometres. The University provides students, faculty, and staff with rich teaching resources and scientific research facilities. The SZU Library has more than 4,120,000 books and 377 databases, which contain 2,580,000 full-text e-books and 119,000 full-text electronic journals. The University has a National Undergraduate Education Reform Center, a National Education Innovation Center, a National Teaching Practice Center, two National Teaching Demonstration Centers, a National Virtual Teaching Center, sixteen Provincial Teaching Demonstration Centers, and three Provincial Virtual Teaching Center. Additionally, there are three national engineering laboratories, one national engineering center, two key laboratories of the Ministry of Education, and 10 provincial key laboratories.
The University has been fully committed to supporting research excellence. In 2018, the University budgeted more than 1.1 billion yuan in research. There were 302 new projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, ranking 23rd in China and 2nd in Guangdong Province, and 33 new projects supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China, ranking 36th in the country and 4th in Guangdong Province. Our faculty published a total of 3,293 papers in SCI indexed journals and 238 papers in SSCI indexed journals, received 2,846 scientific research awards, and were granted 425 patents (including 229 invention patents). The Journal of Shenzhen University, Science and Engineering Edition has won the 2018 China University Science and Technology Periodical Excellence Award, and the Journal of Shenzhen University, Social Sciences Edition is ranked 13th in university journals in China with regards to the number of citations received.
The University proactively promotes "internationalization in talents training, research cooperation, faculty development, and cultural exchanges." It has worked with 256 overseas universities to provide high-quality student exchange programs, joint degree programs, research collaborations, and a variety of other forms of international collaboration and partnerships.
With the strong backing of Shenzhen municipality, SZU has evolved alongside socioeconomic development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. Facing the world, the University will foster high-quality innovative and entrepreneurial talents in the spirit of reform and innovation, strive for cultural leadership to realize innovative and qualitative development, and build the high-level Special Economic Zone University for the people.
