A new wave of small, specialist research universities are gaining ground in China, offering alternative models for the country’s increasingly dominant higher education sector.
After emerging as a concept in the mid-2010s, the number of new research-focused institutions – usually heavily geared towards science and technology subjects – now numbers eight, with more in the pipeline.
Enjoying close ties to local government and strong industry partnerships, the universities operate under both public and private models and promise more hands-on opportunities for students, including more time in the lab and more exposure to research.
Enrolment sizes are small compared with traditional universities (standing at about 50 to several hundred students per year) and they attract students who are not entirely satisfied with the path offered by more established institutions.
Christopher Clarke, senior manager for global communications at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), the first research university of its kind in China, said it was focused on doing things differently.
