Chongqing Normal University

Chongqing Normal University was founded in 1954 as one of the earliest higher teacher education institutions established in the People’s Republic of China. Its history can be traced to the government-run East Sichuan Normal School founded in 1906. It was approved to award master’s degrees in 1986, to recommend students for examination-exempt master’s admission in 2017 and to award doctoral degrees in 2018. It has three campuses covering 2688 mu, 17 second-level schools and 5 directly affiliated schools. It has over 34000 students, including over 25000 full-time undergraduates, over 8100 doctoral and master’s students and nearly 500 international students.

Carrying forward the spirit of teaching and renewing its approach. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the university upholds the Party’s comprehensive leadership over education, its philosophy of “education without discrimination and cultivating people through culture,” and its motto of “Virtue, Diligent Learning, Aspiration and Innovation.” It coordinates teacher and non-teacher education, continually highlighting its educational characteristics and strengths. Its distinctive “2-3-3” structure combines the “two driving wheels” of teacher and non-teacher education; the “three engines” of basic education, vocational education and international Chinese language education; and integrated development of the “three new areas” of New Liberal Arts, New Engineering and New Agriculture.

Reform and innovation for educational excellence. Remaining committed to educating people for the Party and cultivating talent for the country, it fulfills the fundamental task of fostering virtue and educating people. It actively builds a high-quality training system advancing moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and practical education together, deepens educational evaluation reform in the new era, innovates talent training models and continually stimulates teaching reform. It has received 11 National Teaching Achievement Awards, 48 national teaching quality project approvals, 77 provincial or ministerial teaching achievement awards and 252 teaching quality project approvals. These include 13 national courses, 10 nationally planned textbooks and 25 national distinctive program development sites, first-class program sites, comprehensive program reform pilots and excellent teacher training reform projects. Fifteen teacher education programs have passed second-level accreditation. It has received the title of National Advanced Primary-Level Party Organization in the Campaign for Excellence and approval for a national research and training base under the Young Marxists Training Project and a Ministry of Education Innovation and Development Center for University Ideological and Political Work. It is a national university with exemplary graduate employment practices and has received the title of Advanced Unit in the National Summer “Three Visits to the Countryside” Social Practice Program for University and Secondary Vocational Student Volunteers for 30 consecutive years. In the past 5 years, students have won over 1200 national and international awards in major competitions.

Discipline-led development and continued achievement. The university implements an integrated strategy linking disciplines, research and talent, with “disciplinary development as the guide, clusters of landmark research achievements as the key, and cultivation and recruitment of high-level talent as the core.” It has a complete discipline development system, with first-level disciplines across 12 categories, including philosophy, law, economics, education, literature, science and interdisciplinary studies. It has 4 first-level doctoral degree authorizations, 24 first-level master’s degree authorizations, 20 professional master’s degree authorizations and 74 undergraduate programs. It has 1 Chongqing first-class discipline, 18 key disciplines under the 14th Five-Year Plan and 4 “Artificial Intelligence+” discipline clusters. Its 6 strong discipline clusters include mathematics and information science and teacher education. Four disciplines rank in the global ESI top 1%. It received 3 projects in the first national group of New Liberal Arts research and reform practice projects.

Innovation-driven development and abundant results. Over the past 10 years, it has obtained approval for over 470 national projects, including 21 major or key projects. It has published over 3900 high-quality papers, including over 70 ESI hot or highly cited papers, and over 270 high-level scholarly books. It has received over 110 research awards at provincial or ministerial level and above, including a second prize in the National Natural Science Awards, a first prize in the Ministry of Education Natural Science Awards and a second prize in the Ministry of Education Outstanding Humanities and Social Science Achievement Awards for Higher Education Institutions. It has 59 research platforms at provincial or ministerial level and above, including one of the first national applied mathematics centers and an optimization and control discipline innovation and talent introduction base under the “111 Program,” as well as 28 municipal research teams. Its think tanks include the Chongqing University Party-Building Research and Policy Advice Center and the Chongqing Development Research Institute. Their policy advice has repeatedly received affirmative written comments from principal Party and state leaders.

Respected teachers and abundant talent. The university pursues a strategy of strengthening itself through talent and continually creates an environment that makes existing members content and attracts people from afar. It has nearly 2200 active faculty and staff, including over 900 with senior titles, nearly 1000 doctorate holders and over 1000 doctoral and master’s supervisors. Its personnel have received nearly 30 instances of national talent recognition, including membership of the International Academy of Systems and Control, the National Overseas High-Level Talent Recruitment Program, Changjiang Scholars Program, national “Ten Thousand Talents Plan,” national “New Century Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Project,” National Young and Middle-Aged Experts with Outstanding Contributions, National Outstanding Professional and Technical Talent, National Renowned Cultural Figures and “Four Groups” Theory Talent, National Excellent Young Scientists Fund recipients, and membership of the mathematics and physics division of the Ministry of Education’s Science and Technology Commission. It has received over 280 talent selections under key Ministry of Education and Chongqing programs, and over 100 instances of awards in teaching competitions at provincial or ministerial level and above, including first prizes in the National University Young Teachers Teaching Competition.

Education through culture and a lasting educational legacy. The university works to “nurture outstanding students, develop distinguished teachers and build its reputation.” It fosters a confident and harmonious environment of “appreciating one’s own beauty, appreciating others’ beauty and sharing beauty together,” creating a community united in progress. It tells Chongqing Normal University’s stories of teachers who “love their work, care for students like their children and value the university as their home”; students who “love the university, develop their talent and follow the Party”; and alumni who “love, care for and support Chongqing Normal University.” These continually demonstrate its culture. Its cultural development has received 4 first prizes in the National University Campus Culture Development Outstanding Achievement Awards and approval for 2 Ministry of Education quality projects in university ideological and political work. Its artistic works have received over 320 awards at provincial or ministerial level and above. It has been invited 7 times to perform in CCTV’s “Flowers of May” National University Campus Arts Gala. It is a Chongqing Civilized Unit and Civilized Campus, a National Advanced Unit in School Arts Education and a National Model Unit in Greening, and was selected as an advanced school in the campaign to establish National Civilized Campuses.

Open education and distinctive strengths. Serving national development strategies such as the Belt and Road, the university has 3 national bases: the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council’s Chinese Language and Culture Education Base, the Ministry of Education’s National Priority Development Base for Vocational Teacher Training, and the National Training Base for Teachers of International Chinese Language Promotion in Chongqing. It is also the national “China-Germany (Chongqing) Vocational Education Cooperation Demonstration Base” and a Chongqing university distinguished by Chinese-foreign people-to-people exchanges. It has friendly partnerships with educational institutions in over 30 countries and regions. It jointly established Chongqing Tchaikovsky Music College of Chongqing Normal University, a Sino-foreign cooperative institution without independent legal-person status, with the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia. It has established 5 Confucius Institutes and 1 Chinese language teacher education college across five continents and has received the honor of “Advanced Chinese Partner Institution of Confucius Institutes” 3 times. It has 3 Ministry of Education-registered country or regional studies centers.

Passing on its original commitment and pursuing its mission through action. Generations at Chongqing Normal University have strengthened their resolve to serve the country through education, promoted local economic and social development through education and actively supported the comprehensive revitalization of higher education in central and western China. Party and state leaders including Xi Jinping, Jia Qinglin, He Guoqiang, Liu Yandong, Chen Min’er, Yuan Jiajun, Xu Jialu, Peng Peiyun, Han Qide, Zhang Meiying, Zheng Wantong and Zhu Yongxin have visited, guiding and encouraging reform and accelerated development. Now and in the period ahead, the university will be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and implement the spirit of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, the plenary sessions of the sixth CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and the university’s fourth Party congress. It will carry out its “13649” development approach and unite in building a nationally first-class comprehensive normal university with distinctive teacher education and international influence!