Hebei University of Economics and Business

Hebei University of Economics and Business is a major backbone university receiving priority development in Hebei Province. It is a multidisciplinary university of finance and economics centered on economics, management and law, alongside literature, science, engineering and arts. Formed through the merger of Hebei College of Finance and Economics, Hebei Institute of Economics and Trade and Hebei Commercial College, it has a history of over 60 years. Located beside the Hutuo River in the waterfront scenic belt of Shijiazhuang’s western ecological zone, it covers over 2950 mu, with green space covering at least 40%, and is known as a garden-style campus. It operates on North, South and West campuses. The main university, based at North Campus, provides primarily undergraduate, postgraduate and international student education. South and West campuses house its independent School of Economics and Management. Under a two-tier management system, it has 15 undergraduate schools, 4 teaching departments or centers, a graduate school, and schools of Marxism, Continuing Education, Economics and Management as an independent college, International Education, and Central and Eastern European International Business Studies. Its 46 substantive and non-substantive research bodies include the Institute of Economics, Collaborative Innovation Center for Moral and Law-Based Social Governance, Collaborative Innovation Center for Integrated Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Development, Research Center for Moral Culture and Social Development, Institute of Regional Green and Low-Carbon Development, and Xiong’an Development Research Institute.

The university has consistently been guided by Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Focusing on the Hebei provincial Party committee and government’s goal of “an economically strong province and a beautiful Hebei,” it gives full play to its leadership’s central role, works diligently and progressively, and prioritizes major tasks and development. Its activities have advanced effectively and rapidly, with continual improvements in educational capability, standards, visibility and reputation. Its Party committee received the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee’s title of “National Advanced Primary-Level Party Organization in the Campaign for Excellence.” The university received an “Excellent” rating in the Ministry of Education’s undergraduate teaching evaluation and honors including the National May 1 Labor Certificate, National Advanced Unit in Open Workplace Affairs and Democratic Management, One of 50 National Universities with Exemplary Graduate Employment Practices, and Hebei Advanced Primary-Level Party Organization.

It has 1964 faculty and staff, including 1110 full-time teachers. Among teachers, 614 hold senior titles, and 407 hold or are pursuing doctorates, representing 36.7% of full-time teachers. Its teachers have received 137 instances of recognition, including State Council special government allowances, Ministry of Education New Century Excellent Talent Support Program selections, provincially administered outstanding experts, young and middle-aged experts with outstanding contributions, and outstanding young provincial social science experts.

It has 10 provincial key disciplines and 1 provincial key development discipline. Industrial economics is a Hebei outstanding key discipline. It has 9 first-level master’s degree authorizations, 55 master’s degree authorizations, 12 professional master’s authorizations and 60 undergraduate programs. In Hebei’s “Double First-Class” development, it was included in the second tier of first-class university development, while applied economics, law and Marxist theory were included in national first-class discipline development projects. It recruits from 24 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions and has over 31600 full-time undergraduates, master’s students and international students, including 10160 students in its independent college, plus over 29600 continuing education participants. Admissions and employment are strong, with recruitment and employment rates among the province’s leaders.

The university pursues substantive development and the cultivation of virtue and talent, firmly places teaching at the center, advances educational reform and improves quality, achieving substantial results. It fully implements a credit system, with flexible 3-6-year study, dual degrees, honors degrees and major-minor study. It integrates innovation and entrepreneurship education into talent cultivation, connects science with education and industry with education, and has created a new “university-enterprise cooperation and collaborative development” training mechanism. It cultivates high-quality applied professionals with social responsibility, innovative minds and practical abilities. Postgraduate reform continues to deepen, with separate training models for professional and academic master’s students and systems of “innovation credits” and “credits substituted by professional or vocational qualification certificates.” Reforms in postgraduate admissions, training, scholarships and aid, and supervisor assessment and appointment have produced substantive results. Students’ innovation and professional abilities continue to improve, and postgraduate education quality rises each year.

It has over 30 national teaching reform and quality projects, including national experimental teaching demonstration centers, virtual simulation experimental teaching centers, distinctive program development sites, teaching teams, quality open video courses and bilingual teaching demonstration course development projects. It has over 130 provincial teaching reform and quality projects. In recent years, it has received 2 second prizes in the National Teaching Achievement Awards and over 30 provincial teaching achievement awards. It has established national, provincial and university-level support systems for undergraduate innovation and entrepreneurship training projects and science and technology competitions. Students have performed excellently in national events such as the “Internet+” Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition and the “Challenge Cup,” with award totals among the highest in Hebei.

Over the past five years, the university has undertaken 58 National Social Science Fund, National Natural Science Foundation and Ministry of Education projects and over 1500 other projects, with research funding reaching RMB 88 million. The quantity, quality and level of approved research and outputs have steadily increased each year. It actively uses research innovation to support local economic development, investigating major issues in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration and Hebei’s economic and social development. It provides decision-making advice and technical services for Party and government bodies, enterprises and institutions and promotes commercialization of research. Sixty-eight outputs received written comments from national leaders including Yu Zhengsheng and Zhang Gaoli, principal Hebei Party and government leaders, and other provincial or ministerial leaders.

The university values international exchanges and cooperation and maintains long-term relationships with universities and other educational institutions in over 40 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Australia and South Korea. Sino-foreign cooperative education has progressed well. Since 2013, it has jointly offered human resource management and marketing programs with Concordia University Chicago in the United States. Both programs have recruited successfully, and graduates have been recognized by the U.S. partner and wider society. It has made notable achievements in spreading Chinese culture and promoting Chinese language learning and has jointly established 2 Confucius Institutes with Kathmandu University and the University of Zambia. The Zambia Confucius Institute has received “Advanced Confucius Institute” and “Global Model Confucius Institute” titles. The university hosts Chinese Government Scholarship and Confucius Institute Scholarship students. It currently has nearly 200 international students from over 40 countries. Its School of Central and Eastern European International Business Studies provides strong intellectual support for the Belt and Road Initiative and exchanges with Central and Eastern European countries.