Southwest University of Science and Technology is a full-time, multi-disciplinary national university with over 50 years. The university is supported by the central, provincial and municipal government in common. But it is mainly under the supervision of Sichuan provincial government. The university is one of 14 universities, which are the key universities in the western part of China approved by the Ministry of Education. It is one of 67 experimental universities offering distance education program. The university has qualifications such as recommending its excellent graduates to study for master degree with no examination, offering master degree program for applicants with education background equivalent to college graduates for master’s degree, enrolling international students.

       The university is located in Mianyang city, Sichuan Province, which is called as the city of science and technology in China. Originally the campus was Mianyang branch of Tsinghua University. The floor space accounts for 900, 000 square meters. The campus is surrounded with green trees and clear streams. The scenery is pleasant all the year around. Students in our university do have a study and living environment.

      The university has 14 colleges and physical education department, offering 53 undergraduate programs and 19 postgraduate programs in the fields of engineering, science, economics, law, art, agriculture and management. The enrollment of all programs is taken all over the country and the graduates obtain employment across the country. At present there are over 24,000 postgraduate and undergraduate students, 9 key disciplines and laboratories at the provincial and ministerial level and 20 research institutes. There is a staff of over 2000 people, including 1400 teachers, more than 600 of which have acquired senior academic positions. 22 academicians are invited as guest professors from the board-member units. It has a group of supervisors of doctoral candidates and postgraduates, leading researchers in the areas of science and technology in Sichuan province.

       The university strengthens the system reform of running school and makes its efforts to promote cooperatively running school with enterprises and research institutions. The board-governors of the university is administered by the provincial, municipal government, China Academy of Engineering Physics, China Air-Dynamic Research and Development Center, China Gas Turbine Research Institute, Southwest Automation Research Institute, Southwest Applied Magnetics Research Institute, Sichuan Changhong Electronics Group Corporation, Jiuzhou Group Corporation, etc. A group of high-level experts are invited as guest professors or associated professors from the board-member units. A stable high-level concurrent teaching group has been formed. 14 labs of the university are funded and shared with the board-member units. It cost over 200 million RMB yuan. The university takes fully advantage of talents, equipments and research projects resources of the board-member units to cooperatively run school with enterprises and research institutes and accelerate its fast-growing development and level of running school.

     The university is taking an active part in international exchange with overseas colleges and universities. It has cooperative relationship with more than 10 overseas higher education and research institutions. A Distance Education Center in the west of China was founded by the university and Laurentian University in Canada.

       We place teaching at the center of the university, meanwhile it is promoted by scientific research. We dedicate to developing research activities. At present over 290 projects are funded, like “National Tenth Five-Year-Plan Key Project”, “863 Project”, “National Nature Science Funding”, “National Social Sciences Fund”, “Funding of National Defense Commission of Science and Technology”, “National Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Innovation Fund” and projects at the ministerial level, provincial level, including some projects of international cooperation. 210 projects have got national and ministerial awards.

       The Student Robot Team won the championship and best technology award in the Third National Robot Competition of College Students on TV in July 2004. Meanwhile this team won second place and best technology award in the Asia-Pacific Robot Contest of College Students in September 2004 on behalf of Chinese college students. Our students have achieved good results in series competitions such as “Challenge Cup of National College Students, Extracurricular Scientific & Technological Work Competition, Electronic Design Contest, Mathematical Modeling Contest, Innovative Mechanical Design Competition, Pilliples Football Matches for Chinese College Students etc.
The university has got a lot of attentions and supports from central, provincial and municipal governments and leaders. The former standing member of Central Political Bureau of CPC, vice-Premier Li Lanqing made special trips to the university for inspecting and supervising the development of the university in 2001, 2002.

      Now grasping the historical opportunity of West Development strategy and Mianyang Science and Technology City Construction strategy, Southwest University of Science and Technology perseveres in conceptual innovation, system innovation and mechanism innovation. The university adheres to take discipline development as a dominant factor, quality improvement as a center, personnel development as a basic, system innovation as a driving force in running school. It will gradually deepen the common support system by the central, provincial and municipal governments in common. To be moral, learned, practical and innovative is our motto. Being based on Sichuan province, facing the western part of China, serving the whole country, we will make our efforts to build the university into a high-level multi-disciplinary university in China.