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Center for World-Class Universities ( CWCU )

Research Fields: World-Class Universities, University ranking and evaluation, University planning, Institutional research
Director: Professor Nian Cai Liu
Executive Director (Contact): Dr. Ying Cheng
Tel: 86-21-3420 5429 extension 22
E-mail: cwcu at sjtu.edu.cn
Address: Graduate School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240, China

The history of the study of world-class universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University began with the founding of Institute of Higher Education (IHE) in 1985. The first book (in Chinese) on world-class universities, Research on World-Class Universities edited by then director, Professor Ai Zhu Tao, was published in 1993. In 2007, the first text in English, titled World-Class University and Ranking: Aiming Beyond Status, was published. It was edited by Professor Nian Cai Liu, the director of IHE and by Dr. Jan Sadlak, the director of UNESCO - European Centre for Higher Education.

In 2005, the Center for World-Class Universities (CWCU) was named as a strategic research unit by the Chinese Ministry of Education. This acknowledgment was made in recognition of its long tradition of providing high-quality consultation reports to the Chinese government on strategies for building world-class universities and other S&T policies. Many of these reports have attracted the attention of national leadership, government officials, university leaders and the general public.

The center began to publish the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) in 2003 and updated it annually. Although the initial purpose of ARWU was to find the global standing of Chinese top universities, it has attracted a great deal of attention all over the world. A survey on higher education published by The Economist in 2005 commented ARWU as "the most widely used annual ranking of the world's research universities". Burton Bollag, a reporter at Chronicle of Higher Education wrote that ARWU "is considered the most influential international ranking".

The center initiated and organized the First International Conference on World-Class Universities (WCU-1) in June 2005. The second and third International Conference on World-Class Universities (WCU-2 and WCU-3) were convened in 2007 and 2009 respectively. These conferences have attracted hundreds of participants, including university presidents, government officials, top scholars and policy researchers, from more than 40 countries. Now the WCU conference is recognized as an important global platform for those who are interested in the topic of WCU. Contributions to previous WCU conferences are indexed in Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Social Science and Humanities (CPCI-SSH) by Web of Science.

The building up of world-class universities is currently a hot issue in many countries. The CWCU will continue to be devoted to developing a database and a clearinghouse on WCU, carrying out academic studies and providing consultation reports in order to preserve, organize and generate knowledge on WCU and facilitate the application of the insights gained.

Center for the Study of Graduate Education ( CSGE )

After 30 years of development, China's degree and postgraduate education systems have made considerable progress. China currently has the largest postgraduate education system in the world. Many issues have been encountered as the size of China's postgraduate education system has expanded. To achieve a coordinated development of postgraduate education, systematic, in-depth research by dedicated research institutions and professional research groups are required. The Center for the Study of Graduate Education (CSGE) of GSE at Shanghai Jiao Tong University was founded in such a context.

In this area, CSGE has conducted the following projects:

1. Research of The Subject Catalogue Revision Plan, funded by Degree Office of the State Council
2. Research of the Subject Settings in Universities, supported by Ministry of Education Higher Education Department.
3. Research of World-class University Series (One to Seven), funded by Ministry of Education Science and Technology Committee: (2001-2008).
4. Significant Special Topics: Research of Innovation-oriented Country's Scientific and Technological Innovation Capacity--Building of a University, supported by Ministry of Education Science and Technology Committee (2006).
5. Significant Special Topics: Research of Innovation-oriented Country's Research University Building, Ministry of Education Science and Technology Committee (2007).
6. The Present Situation and Question of International Postgraduate Education, supported by Degree Committee of State Council.
7. Research of Consummating and Promoting the Development of Non-full-time Postgraduate Education, supported by Degree and Postgraduate Education Development Center.

CSGE aims to become a research centre of graduate education with international influence. The center strives to become a research information center, a policy document center and a policy consultancy center for postgraduate education reform and development in China.

Center for Science & Technology Policy ( CSTP )

In the knowledge economy, national competitiveness depends largely on the country's capacity for developing science and technology. Increasing expenditures on science and technology (S&T), quickening the development of new technologies, and transforming research knowledge into productivity have been primary strategies for many countries. To improve China's competitiveness also depends on the nation's capacity of innovation. The Center for Science and Technology Policy (CSTP) was formed in such a context to conduct systematic, in-depth research on S&T policy.

CSTP's research focuses on the improvement of personal and national innovation capacities. It examines important issues, such as the impacts of macro- and micro reforms in S&T management on its development, the influence of reforms on the delivery of S&T resources, and how industries incorporate newly developed technologies into their production. CSTP's projects and publications include

1. Evaluation of the Research of World Research Universities, by Discipline, Based on Scientometric Indicators, a project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 2007.
2. Building Research Universities for Achieving the Goal of an Innovative Country, a key project on studies of strategic planning supported by the Science & Technology Commission of Ministry of Education (2007).
3. Building the Innovation Capacity of Chinese Universities for Achieving the Goal of an Innovative Country, a key project on strategic studies supported by the Science & Technology Commission of Ministry of Education (2005).
4. Research on the Indicators and Methodology for the Evaluation of Evaluation of the Research of World Research Universities, by Discipline, Based on Scientometric Indicators, a project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 2007.

CSTP aims to be a world-class center for research on S&T, a think tank advising central and local government regarding the development of S&T policy, and a consultancy on the relationship between technology innovation and industry development.