China, Tianjin

Since its founding in 1919, Nankai University has forged a strong academic reputation. Known as the ‘North Star’ among China’s higher education institutions, it has gathered many academic leaders over the years, and inspired generations of students, building a model for higher education in China. Aimed at making an impact on society, the university has produced many results that have brought significant socio-economic benefits.
Nankai University (NKU) was founded in 1919, by the famous patriotic educators Zhang Boling and Yan Xiu, when the thunder of the May Fourth Movement was just about to explode and the whole China had fallen into a life–and–death crisis. During WWII (1937-1945), NKU trekked thousands of miles southwest across the country in order to ensure its survival. At Kunming (Yunnan Province), Japanese gunfire notwithstanding, it merged with Peking and Tsinghua Universities, and formed the renowned Southwest Associated University. Thanks to the concentration of luminaries among their faculty, the three universities, produced a great number of noted scientists and patriotic revolutionaries.
In 1946, with the war, now ended, NKU returned to Tianjin and was reformed into a national university by the government. Zhang Boling held the post of president and up to the 1980s, became a fully-fledged university of liberal arts and sciences. It maintained a nine-department configuration, with schools of mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, Chinese, foreign languages, philosophy, politics and economics, and history.



After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, supported by both the Ministry of Education and Tianjin Municipal People’s Government, Nankai University developed into a research-oriented university, listed in the key construction projects of “985” and “211”.



In September 2015, the new campus was opened and the university formed for the first time the “three-campus” layout comprised of Balitai, Jinnan and TEDA, with a combined area of 4,451,900m²



In September 2017, Nankai University was selected as one of the 36 tier A national universities and along with 41 other Chinese universities was ranked among the world’s first-class universities.



Over the past century, NKU has always been closely linked with the fate of the nation, advancing together with the progress of society. “We emphasize public values, capabilities, and innovation,” says Cao Xuetao, the university’s current president. “These are integral to our Nankai spirit.” Now, under the ‘Make Nankai Excellent’ plan, these core ideas guide Nankai University toward further greatness.



CULTIVATING CAPABLE TALENT



The emphasis on public values, capabilities and innovation is at the core of education at Nankai. It provides a quality environment for 30,000-plus students, with the widest range of disciplines, allowing them ample freedom for academic exploration, including interdisciplinary innovation, which is a fundamental remit at Nankai. The university encourages its world-class researchers to participate in undergraduate teaching, leading to many popular, well-received classes. With 26 colleges and 92 undergraduate programs, 28 Post-Doctoral research stations and 31 authorized primary Doctoral programs, Nankai has one of the most comprehensive academic programs in the country. While the university was elected into the national ‘double first-class’ initiative, its chemistry, material science and engineering, mathematics, statistics and world history programs were also designated as ‘double first-class’ subject areas.

Being able to participate in research innovations, Nankai’s undergraduates have won many competitions. They are also encouraged in entrepreneurship, and given opportunities to win funding for their startups.