Harbin Institute of Technology

The Harbin Institute of Technology (simplified Chinese: 哈尔滨工业大学; traditional Chinese: 哈爾濱工業大學; pinyin: Hāerbīn Gōngyè Dàxué), or HIT, colloquially known as Hagongda (哈工大, Hāgōngdà). It is a technical university in the city of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China, similar to Georgia Tech, MIT or Carnegie Mellon in the United States. Harbin Institute of Technology is widely recognized as one of the top 10 universities in China.

History

Founded in 1920, the Harbin Institute of Technology has developed into an important research university focusing on engineering with supporting faculties in the sciences, management, humanities and the social sciences. In 1954, it was named one of the first official institutions of higher education in the People's Republic of China and has subsequently enjoyed government sponsorship. In 1984, it was listed in the top 15 universities receiving financial support. In 1999, the Chinese government chose HIT as one of nine universities to receive special financing to transform them into world-class institutions. The institute is geared to the needs of the development of China's economy and defense. Its faculty and students have invented many 'firsts' in China: the first analog computer, the first intelligent chess computer, the first arc welding robot, the first world-class new system radar, the first IC CMOS chip with its own copyright, the first superway computer real-time 3D image creation system, and the first high-performance computer controlled fiber twister. HIT was able to complete the Large-Size Vacuum Container Ground Simulation Equipment, an important national scientific research project, in only three years. HIT ranked No. 2 in the 10-year comprehensive evaluation of the state of research projects of the National 863 High-Tech Programs.

Present

Harbin Institute of Technology is comprised of 20 full-time schools, 73 bachelor's degree programs, 143 master degree programs, 81 doctorate degree programs. It has 18 national key disciplines granted by the Ministry of Education P.R.C. At present, it has 10 national key laboratories and 30 provincial ministerial-level key laboratories. Currently, Harbin Institute of Technology enrolls over 39,000, including full-time students and students in continuing education and online education. Additionally, there are nearly 760 overseas students. Harbin Institute of Technology has a high-level research faculty of over 2,900 full-time teachers and researchers, including 1,950 professors and associate professors, 22 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, nearly 640 doctoral supervisors. It has 12 principal scientists of Project 973 and 13 “Young Experts with Prominent Contributions to the Country.”

Research

With a strong emphasis in scientific research. HIT has been bold and innovative in its scientific research and has consistently undertaken large-scale and highly sophisticated national projects. Because of this, the funding for research increases yearly. In 2006, research funding from the government, industry, and business sectors reached 1.13 billion yuan (US $145million ),ranked No.2 in China. HIT is known to have close links to the People's Liberation Army and the space program of China is usually regarded as the main university in China for space and defence-related research. HIT made great contribution to the Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft project. As reported, most of the key technology of National internet information security management system and Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China were developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology. The institute's main building, named Zhu-Lou, is a smaller version of the main building of the Moscow State University, and the majority of the buildings were built during the time of Sino-Soviet friendship from 1949 to 1959 when the Soviets were very active in helping to develop Northeast China.

Academics

Satellite Campus

HIT has a satellite campus in Weihai, Shandong Province and Shenzhen Graduate School ,Guangdong Province. See also: List of universities in Mainland China

External links

• Official website (in English)
• Official website (in Chinese)
• [1] (in English)