Xidian University

Xidian University is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education, specializing in information and electronics with coordinated development in engineering, science, management and literature. It is a key university under the national Project 211 and a participating university in the Project 985 Innovation Platforms for Advantageous Disciplines. In 2014, the Collaborative Innovation Center of Information Sensing Technology, established under its leadership, was recognized under the national Plan 2011. It was selected for both rounds of the national Double First-Class initiative in 2017 and 2022. It is among the first 9 universities to establish national demonstration schools of microelectronics, the first 9 with national integrated circuit talent training bases, the first 2 with national pilot bases for cybersecurity talent training, the first 7 with first-class cybersecurity schools, and the first 33 with distinctive demonstration schools of software. It is also one of 8 universities with national integrated circuit innovation platforms integrating industry and education, and one of 5 responsible for developing national cryptographic research experimental platforms. It has a National School of Excellence in Engineering and a Ministry of Education platform for integrated research on major challenges.

The university was among the first in China to establish programs in information theory, information systems engineering, radar, microwave antennas, electromechanical engineering and electronic countermeasures, pioneering the country’s IT disciplines and developing clear strengths and distinctive characteristics in electronics and information. Focusing on these fields, it is building a first-class disciplinary system with solid foundations, strong capabilities, sustained potential and distinctive features. It has 29 second-level teaching and research units; 2 national Double First-Class disciplines, information and communication engineering and computer science and technology; 2 national first-level key disciplines; and 38 provincial or ministerial key disciplines. It offers doctoral degrees in 19 first-level disciplines, master’s degrees in 30 first-level disciplines, 15 postdoctoral research stations and 70 undergraduate programs. It made progress across the board in the fifth round of the national first-level discipline evaluation, with its information-related disciplines among the strongest in China.

To meet the pressing need to create value both internationally and domestically, the university draws on China’s advantageous resources—strong disciplines and leading enterprises—and employment needs in students’ home countries to offer a tailored, demand-driven talent development model covering recruitment, education and employment. The school uses diverse, distinctive teaching methods and approaches, gradually forming a self-directed, interactive “four-in-one” teaching model that emphasizes theoretical foundations, strengthens practical components, develops skills and cultivates innovation. In classroom teaching, it focuses on four core elements: situational teaching, problem-based teaching, discussion-based teaching and encouraging assessment. These approaches develop international students’ initiative in learning and strengthen their comprehensive design and innovative practical abilities.

The university places considerable importance on building supervisory teams for advanced international students and has established a rigorous selection system for master’s and doctoral supervisors of international students in China. For their education, it uses a team supervision model, with research practice organized by supervisory groups. It promotes innovative practical activities and encourages international students to participate actively in their supervisors’ research projects, developing the advanced innovative talent needed by enterprises.
The university implements the requirements for educational openness in the new era, serves the country’s diplomatic strategy and actively responds to the Belt and Road Initiative. It has signed institutional cooperation and exchange agreements with 194 renowned universities in 46 countries and regions, and established 68 joint laboratories with prominent overseas universities, multinational companies and other partners. It operates 3 Confucius Institutes or Classrooms in Germany, Dominica and Malaysia, and runs 4 Chinese-foreign cooperative education programs with prominent universities in the United States, the United Kingdom and France. In 2013, it was selected as one of the Ministry of Education’s first demonstration bases for international education in China. In 2016, it passed the first round of national quality accreditation for international education in China. To date, nearly 5000 international students from more than 100 countries and regions have completed their studies at the university.