About the Jinan University-University of Birmingham Joint Institute

Jinan University-University of Birmingham Joint Institute (the Joint Institute) was officially approved by the Ministry of Education in September, 2016. It is an important part of Jinan University's efforts in building itself into a world-class university and forging first-class disciplines. It is also a special and important project in consolidating the advancement of Jinan University's internationalized education system. The Joint Institute, sitting on the new and beautiful Jinan University (JNU) Panyu Campus, admitted its first cohort of undergraduate students from all parts of mainland China in 2017.

The Joint Institute is working on a new type of international college with integrated disciplines, distinctive features, an advanced educational system and it will set a new benchmark in education quality. The underlying teaching philosophy of the Joint Institute has been formulated by both JNU and the University of Birmingham (UoB). It brings in internationally leading educational ideas,  a forward-thinking curriculum and teaching management system, and it pools the quality educational resources of both universities to help students develop a solid mathematical foundation, outstanding ability in innovation, and team spirit, with a multilingual advantage, and international vision to become high-level and versatile professionals. Though the four programmes are designed with specific focuses, they are all highlighted by the integration of science and economics. They will enable students to excel respectively in applied mathematics, computing methods and program design, economics and actuary, economics and finance. Students that meet the academic requirements of both universities will be conferred degrees from both JNU and UoB.

About Jinan University 

Jinan University (JNU) was the first university established by the government for the Chinese community overseas. As one of the oldest universities in China, JNU was founded by the Qing Government as Jinan Academy in Nanjing in 1906. Now it is a “Double First-class” university under the direct management of United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, and under the joint efforts of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and the People’s Government of Guangdong Province.   

JNU has a full-range of disciplines including literature, history, philosophy, economics, management, law, sciences, engineering, medicine, education, and arts, with remarkable comprehensive features and great potential for cross-integration. It has arts, sciences, engineering, and medicine, with 37 schools, 58 departments and 18 directly-affiliated research institutes. It has 107 undergraduate majors, 26 tier-1 disciplines authorized to offer doctoral degree programs, 41 tier-1 disciplines authorized to offer master degree programs, 32 types of professional degree authorization, 2 post-doctoral mobile stations and 1 post-doctoral scientific research station.  

The University boasts a strong faculty team with an optimized structure. Since the implementation of the ‘strengthening the university with talents’ strategy in 2015, the number of high-level talents have increased substantially. Currently, 12% of the full-time teaching staff have obtained provincial and above talent projects.  It has 2766 full-time teaching staff, including 9 academicians of the China Academy of Science and China Academy of Engineering, 10 overseas foreign academicians, 65 national-level leading talents, and 75 national-level young talents. It has 857 professors, 1047 associate professors, 958 doctoral supervisors and 2315 master’s supervisors.   

Currently it has 48580 students, including 30180 full-time undergraduate students, 18400 graduate students, and 14621 students from foreign countries and regions including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan regions. It boasts a diversified and integrated campus culture, wonderful Association activities and a strong innovation and entrepreneurship atmosphere. Students have achieved many notable successes in high-level competitions at home and abroad. Athletes SU Bingtian, CHEN Aisen and XIE Siyi from Jinan University have won glory for China in major international events such as the Olympic Games. JNU has been selected as the first batch of national demonstration universities for deepening innovation and entrepreneurship education reform. Its graduates are highly praised by their employers at home and abroad, and its employment rate has always been among the top of its counterparts.   

The university vigorously promotes an internationalization development strategy with outstanding international characteristics. It has signed 749 academic exchange and cooperation agreements with 487 universities and institutions of cultural and scientific research from 67 countries as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions. As one of the enrollment universities for international students to study in China with Chinese Government Scholarships, JNU has set up 143 enrollment sites in 81 countries around the world. In 2023, it had 2,047 foreign students from 98 countries and regions, including 1,723 undergraduates and 209 graduate students. Its International School, which offers lessons that are all taught in English, has been in operation for more than two decades. Jinan University-University of Birmingham Joint Institute, which was officially approved by the Ministry of Education, cultivates high-quality talents. JNU Japan Campus, as the university’s window for overseas education, was recognized by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The university has jointly established two Confucius Institutes with the National University of Cordova in Argentina and Rhodes University in South Africa.

JNU has a vibrant academic culture, and has a number of illustrious and talented alumni from outside mainland China, especially in Hong Kong and Macao. These include Wu Xueqian and Li Lanqing, both former Vice Premiers of China; Lee Kong Chian, a respected overseas Chinese leader and first president of National University of Singapore; Xu Maodun, former Chairman of the Thai Parliament and Vice Premier; Tan Qixiang, Deng Ximing, Hou Fusheng and Zeng Yi, all academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering; Jiang Shangqing (martyr), Chen Zhenhe (overseas Chinese), Fu Baolu, and Fu Ke (overseas Chinese). In addition, numerous alumni have taken office in the government of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan or have become leaders of business, culture and education. 

（Source：Jinan University official website, updated in December 2023）

About the University of Birmingham 

The University of Birmingham received its royal charter in 1900, making it the first civic university in England.  The University’s founder and first Chancellor was the British statesman Joseph Chamberlain.  The University is a member of The Russell Group, an association of 24 prestigious British universities, and the Universitas 21 group of leading global research universities. It ranks among the top 100 world universities, and was awarded “Times UK University of the Year” in 2013/2014.

The University of Birmingham comprises five colleges, each of which is divided into a number of schools and departments. The five colleges are Medical and Dental Sciences, Engineering and Physical Sciences, Life and Environmental Sciences, Social Sciences and Arts and Law. The School of Mathematics is part of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, and was ranked in top 10 in The Guardian University Guide 2017.

The University has a number of notable alumni including British Prime Ministers Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain and Anthony Eden.  The University’s alumni also include a number of contributors to Chinese scientific culture including Li Siguang, the founder of Chinese geomechanics, and Yao Tongbin, founding father of China’s nuclear and satellite programmes. The University has a number of Nobel Laureates amongst its alumni and staff, including the most recent awards in 2016 in Physics (Professor David Thouless and Professor Mike Kosterlitz) and in Chemistry (Professor Sir J. Fraser Stoddart).