Wuhan Polytechnic University, located in Wuhan City of Hubei Province known as a “thoroughfare to 9 provinces”, was founded in 1951. This earliest school that was to cultivate professional personnel for the grain sector was built into an undergraduate institution approved by the State Council in 1980. It had been successively affiliated with the former State Ministry of Food, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Domestic Trade. In 1998, the pattern of co-construction by the central and local governments was practised and now the University is managed mainly by Hubei Province.

In the past 60 years’ practice, the University operates on the principle of “Basing itself on education, taking quality as the means of development, strengthening itself with talents, and highlighting its unique features.” Now the University has been developed into an influential multiversity at home, with the authority to grant master’s degrees. Engineering and Business are its main body. Technology, Management and Science constitute its main disciplines. Besides, Agro-product Processing and Transformation and other related disciplines in the field of commerce and trade circulation have distinct characteristics. Engineering, Management, Science, Humanities, Economics, Agriculture, Art and Law support one another and develop in coordination. Thanks to its outstanding achievements, the University passed the national assessment of undergraduate teaching by the Ministry of Education in December 2006.

The University now covers an area of over 900,000 square meters, with the building area of over 500,000 square meters. The library of the University, a provincial research-level unit of documentary collection, holds over 1.17 million volumes of paper literature, including 26 Chinese and foreign language electronic databases and 6 featured databases created by itself. The total value of the University’s teaching equipment is 130 million yuan. 6 provincial-level experimental teaching demonstration centres have been built in the University and 120 practice bases built outside the University.

The University is divided into 13 shcools, 2 departments, and 1 Continued Education College, with 54 undergraduate specialties, including 4 state-level featured specialties and 7 provincial-level brand specialties. 8 first-class and 43 second-class disciplines are authorized to grant master’s degree, 4 fields authorized to grant Specialized Master’s degree of Engineering, 5 fields authorized to grant Specialized Master’s degree of Agrotechnical Extension, 3 disciplines authorized to build Doctor’s degree programs. Currently the number of full-time undergraduate and graduate students is over 13,400. There are 9 key disciplines, 1 innovative discipline with remarkable achievements, 1 superior discipline, and 3 featured disciplines in Hubei Province. There is also 1 key lab and 1 engineering research center respectively in the Ministry of Education, 2 key labs in Hubei Province, 2 provincial research bases for Humanities and Social Sciences, and 13 engineering technology research centers of the provincial (ministerial) level granted by National Ministry of Agriculture, National Ministry of Food and so on.

The teachers of the University are faithful to their educational tasks, fond of their students, and devoted to their studies. The full-time teaching staff is over 800, more than half of them with senior academic titles, 80% of them with doctor’s or master’s degrees. There are 29 state-level and provincial (ministerial)-level experts, 1 candidate for the National New Century BaiQianWan Talents Project, 1 selectee into the New Century Excellent Talents Support Plan in the Ministry of Education, 1 winner of Science and Technology Prize for Youth in Hubei Province, 7 candidates for provincial New Century High-level Talents Project, 1 national teaching master, 4 national excellent teachers, 3 teaching masters in Hubei Province, 4 provincial (ministerial)-level teachers of excellence. Now 11 positions are open to specially-appointed professors of the Hubei “Chutian Scholars program,” and 24 Chutian Scholars have been engaged. A group of influential experts and scholars at home and abroad, including Chen Huanchun, Guan Chunyun and other academicians, have assumed positions for visiting professors.

The University has made remarkable progress in scientific research. In recent 5 years, it has undertaken over 70 state-level projects, which include National 973-project, 863-project, National Natural Science foundation and National Social Science foundation, and more than 500 provincial (ministerial)-level scientific research projects. It has won over 40 prizes of provincial (ministerial)-level or above, including 5 prizes of national scientific and technological advancement and 3 prizes of outstanding achievements in Humanities and Social Sciences. It has published over 300 monographs and textbooks, and over 4500 academic theses, among which 960 have entered into “Three Major Indices” (SCI, EI and ISTP). The number of patents is 30 and the total amount of funding for scientific research is 240 million yuan. “Advanced Unit of Serving Hubei in Science and Technology” has been awarded to the University by Hubei Provincial Party Committee and Hubei Provincial Government.

The University emphasizes the quality of personnel training，actively exploring ways to reform the training modes. Based on general education, specialty education of broad caliber is adopted for cultivating application-oriented talents with reasonable knowledge structure，sharp practical skills, high comprehensive quality, strong pioneering spirit and enterprising consciousness. The University also actively develops students’ extracurricular activities about science and technology by hosting events such as “Evergreen Science, Technology, Culture and Arts Festival”, College Students’ Entrepreneurial Competition, etc. In the last 5 years, 2 courses have been built into superior-quality courses of the state level, 17 courses into superior-quality courses of the provincial level, and 2 teaching teams into teaching teams of the provincial level successively. 12 projects have won Hubei Province Excellent teaching Achievement Prize. 140 students have been commended at the provincial (ministerial) level or above. Prizes of the provincial (ministerial) level or above, such as college students “Challenge Cup,” Mathematical Modeling and so on, add up to more than 260. The first employment rate of undergraduates has topped the table of provincial universities and colleges for many years running. They have received the enthusiastic approval from the society for their distinguished features of being able to bear hardships, to get things done and to carve out their way.

Through opening doors to the outside world, the University has established relations with over 20 universities，colleges and academies from over 10 countries, including the United States of America, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Australia and Italy, in the aspects of personnel training, academic exchange and scientific research cooperation.

In order to create a fine educational environment, the University pays much attention to the Party’s style of working, lets the Party’s style of working promote the style of teaching, and uses the style of teaching as an impetus to the style of learning. In recent 5 years, “National Leading Elementary Party Organization” has been awarded to the Party committee of the University by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, and various titles have been conferred to the University successively, such as “National Civilized Unit,” “National Model Teachers’ Home,” “Leading Institution of Higher Learning on College Students’ Ideological and Political Education in Hubei Province,” “Advanced Unit of College Students’ Employment in Hubei Province,” and “Model University of Governing School by Law in Hubei Province.”

By constantly keeping up with the pace of the development of our country, Wuhan Polytechnic University has gone through thick and thin and scored splendid achievements. In the new era，the University will take Scientific Outlook on Development as its guidance, adhere to the school motto of “following moral norms rigorously, pursuing academic studies diligently, strengthening willpowers constantly and undertaking tasks perseveringly,” carry forward its fine tradition of “Being dedicated to work, loving the University, blazing the way through difficulties, advocating solidarity and combatant spirit, and pursuing excellence,” and try to build the University into a multiversity with distinctive features, domestically well known, internationally influential in some disciplines.