China University of Petroleum (Beijing)

China University of Petroleum (Beijing) was founded in 1953 as Beijing Petroleum Institute, based on Tsinghua University’s departments of chemical engineering and petroleum engineering and drawing faculty from Tianjin University, Peking University and other institutions. It was the People’s Republic’s first petroleum higher education institution and laid the foundation for exploring and developing Chinese higher petroleum education. It operates in two locations. The Beijing main campus lies at the scenic southern foot of the Jundu Mountains in Changping District and covers over 700 mu. Karamay Campus, developed and opened in 2015, is in Karamay, the “Oil City” of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and covers over 7000 mu.

Since its founding, it has been a nationally supported leading university in its industry. In the 1960s, it became one of 64 national key higher education institutions. After restoration of the degree system in the 1980s, it was among the first universities authorized to award master’s degrees. Since the 1990s, it has joined the national “211 Project” and Innovation Platform for Advantageous Disciplines initiatives. It became a national “Double First-Class” university in 2017.

The university remains rooted in China and has contributed significantly to the petroleum and petrochemical industries and a strong national energy sector. It has trained over 300000 outstanding professionals and is known as “the cradle of petroleum talent.” In July 2020 and May 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping replied to letters from its Karamay graduates and Central Asian international students respectively, affirming its educational aspirations, achievements and contributions.

Distinctive, strong disciplines. Following “strengthen advantages, expand new fields and create first-class disciplines,” it has built an energy-focused system led by first-class disciplines with coordinated supporting and basic disciplines. Its programs cover the entire oil and gas industry chain. It has 2 national “Double First-Class” disciplines and 2 Beijing advanced and sophisticated disciplines. It has clear strengths in oil and gas science and engineering and oil and gas conversion science and engineering, and is developing clean, low-carbon and intelligent clusters in carbon-neutral engineering and technology and oil and gas artificial intelligence. Nine fields—engineering, chemistry, geosciences, materials science, computer science, environment/ecology, general social sciences, mathematics and physics—rank in the global ESI top 1%. Engineering, chemistry and geosciences are in the top 1‰.

Industry-education integration and comprehensive education. The main campus has over 9000 full-time undergraduates, over 8000 master’s students, over 2000 doctoral students and over 700 international degree students. Karamay has over 8000 full-time undergraduates and over 600 master’s students. The university fosters virtue and talent through an all-round moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and practical system featuring “moral cultivation, combined general and specialized education, intelligence and green development, and unity of knowledge and action.” It has 21 national and 20 provincial or ministerial first-class undergraduate program sites, 5 national engineering practice education centers and 2 national virtual teaching and research office pilots. It has built a first-class cluster of energy subject competitions represented by the China Petroleum Engineering Design Competition, pioneering national science and technology innovation competitions in oil and gas. It is a Ministry of Science and Technology National Demonstration Base for Innovative Talent Cultivation and a Ministry of Education National University Practical Education Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base. Drawing on industry-education-research partnerships, it uses distinctive integrated undergraduate-doctoral training for top innovative talent and full-spectrum industry-education integration for high-level professional talent. It was among the first national pilots for comprehensive professional postgraduate education reform and engineering master’s and doctoral training reform, and the first energy-sector university developing a National School of Elite Engineers. It was selected for a National Industry-Education Integration Innovation Platform for Energy Storage Technology, and 3 bases were named National Industry-Education Integration Demonstration Bases. It became the first chair institution of the Energy and Power Industry Employment and Entrepreneurship Guidance Committee. Graduates are widely welcomed by society and employers, and graduate placement remains high.

Strength through talent and distinguished teachers. Treating talent as its primary resource, the university implements a talent strategy and has built a high-level faculty and national concentration of oil and gas expertise. The main campus has over 1500 faculty and staff, including over 1000 full-time teachers, of whom 68% have senior titles and 85% doctorates. Karamay has over 700 faculty and staff, including over 600 full-time teachers, of whom 52% have senior titles and 54% doctorates. Its faculty is anchored by 5 academicians of China’s two academies, supported by 57 instances of national leading talent recognition and 58 instances of national young talent recognition. High-level talent appointments represent 11% of all full-time teachers. It has 2 national Huang Danian-style university teaching teams, 3 National Natural Science Foundation innovative research groups and 3 national teaching teams.

Tackling challenges and strengthening scientific self-reliance. As a high-level research university, it treats scientific innovation as its primary development driver and service to major national strategic needs as its highest pursuit. Through “major platforms, major projects, strong teams, major results and major contributions,” it develops national strategic scientific strength and supports the national innovation system. Research projects and funding per person, and especially research awards, rank among China’s leading universities. It has 3 state key laboratories, in oil and gas resources and engineering, heavy oil, and mechanisms of deep geothermal enrichment and efficient development. It participates in 13 national scientific innovation platforms, including the National Technology Innovation Center for Oil and Gas Geophysical Exploration and National Technology Innovation Center for Mine Safety. It has 25 provincial or ministerial innovation platforms, including the Key Laboratory for Oil and Gas Production Safety and Emergency Technology and International Joint Laboratory for Unconventional Oil and Gas, plus 20 branches of CNPC key laboratories. It has strong oil and gas research, continuously producing major results in unconventional resources, deep water, the deep subsurface, clean energy and pipeline safety, and rapidly developing oil and gas intelligence, hydrogen, energy storage and CCUS. It was selected for a National Industry-Education Integration Innovation Platform for Energy Storage Technology. During the 13th Five-Year Plan, it received 18 national science and technology awards, including 6 second prizes in the National Technological Invention Awards as the lead institution, tied for eighth among Chinese universities. Its journals Petroleum Science and Journal of Palaeogeography were selected as national leading and key journals respectively and have repeatedly been named among China’s most internationally influential academic journals.

Open education connecting China and the world. Focusing on value and contribution, the university strengthens its service to national strategies, industry, regional and local economies and its participation in global innovation networks. It has comprehensive strategic partnerships with energy leaders including CNPC, Sinopec, CNOOC and PipeChina, jointly developing industry-education communities and innovation consortia. It participates in Beijing’s “four centers” development and new industrial clusters. Its joint research institute in the Future Science City’s Energy Valley was selected as an exemplary case in the China Education Expo’s university-enterprise Double Hundred Plan. It initiated the Worldwide Energy University Network, involving 32 energy-focused universities in 17 countries on five continents. It was elected to chair the university and youth working group of the Belt and Road Energy Partnership Cooperation Network. It has the world’s first chair in “Carbon Neutrality and Climate Change-Driven Green Transformation” and established China’s first overseas School of Elite Engineers. It has joint institutions in Portugal, Malaysia, Turkmenistan and other countries. The BRICS Youth Energy Summit and International Youth Energy Conference were included in the Beijing Declaration of the 14th BRICS Summit. It was selected among Beijing’s first Belt and Road country talent training bases and is developing a Belt and Road energy education community, taking an active leading role in global energy education cooperation.

Education through culture and inherited traditions. Carrying forward its revolutionary heritage, the university integrates the Daqing Spirit, or Iron Man Spirit, throughout education and governance. It cultivates contemporary values of strengthening and serving the nation through energy and uses its distinctive culture to advance the university and society. Its cultural symbols include the university ethos of “Seek Truth from Facts and Work Hard”; learning ethos of “Diligence, Rigor, Truth-Seeking and Innovation”; teaching ethos of “Learning and Teaching, Cultivating Virtue and Contributing Ideas”; motto “Build Deep Foundations and Put Knowledge into Practice”; anthem I Contribute Petroleum to the Motherland; and spirit of “Truth-Seeking, Hard Work, Patriotism and Dedication, and Pioneering Innovation.” “Go where the country needs you most” has become a conscious commitment among teachers and students. Since the 13th Five-Year Plan, it has received a first prize for National Outstanding Party-Building Achievements, recognition for distinctive Beijing university Party-building and ideological and political projects, a special prize for effectiveness in capital university student ideological and political work, and 9 Ministry of Education ideological and political development projects. It has been selected for 19 national university Party-building “Double Innovation” and “Double Hundred” projects and repeatedly named a Capital Civilized Campus.

A new era and new mission. New demands in building a strong education nation and transforming the energy industry bring greater opportunities. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the university will study and implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, the National Education Conference and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important reply letters. It will uphold and strengthen comprehensive Party leadership and integrate educational development, scientific innovation and talent cultivation. It will implement four strategies—distinctive development, innovation-driven growth, open integration and strength through talent—and three driving forces: green development, intelligence and governance. It will advance toward a world-class research university with distinctive energy strengths and contribute to national strength and rejuvenation.

Address: 18 Fuxue Road, Changping District, Beijing
Postal code: 102249

Contact details:

Telephone: 86-10-89733796/3979

Fax: 86-10-89730622

Email: admission@cup.edu.cn

Website: http://www.cup.edu.cn/

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