5.1 Faculty and staff
5.1.1 Staff composition
The chemistry discipline of Hujiang University in Shanghai, the predecessor of USST, was established in 1910. It was famous at home and abroad because of Dai Lixin, Wang Erkang, Shen Zhiquan, and other well-known academicians and scholars who once studied here. The USST resumed its undergraduate recruitment in Applied Chemistry in 2008. Currently, we have a team of highly qualified teachers. There are currently 33 faculty members, including 30 full-time teachers, 3 administrative and laboratory technicians; 6 with senior titles, 10 with deputy senior titles, 16 with intermediate titles and and one with primary title; age structure: 8 teachers over 45 years old, 25 teachers under 45 years old. There are 11 teachers with overseas study and exchange background (see Appendix M), and all teachers engaged in professional teaching have doctoral degrees. The Staff Handbook of Applied Chemistry is shown in Appendix J.
5.1.2 Teaching and research development of staff
The Department of Chemistry offers over 30 professional courses, not only for undergraduate program in Applied Chemistry but also for students of the whole university. In recent years, chemistry teachers have published more than 30 teaching and research papers and edited 4 textbooks. Teachers have conducted more than 10 teaching research projects. The courses of General Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry and Physical Chemistry have become the key construction courses of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission; General Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry have been cultivated in school-level high-quality online courses.
In the past five years, professional teachers have obtained 12 national invention patents and published nearly 200 scientific research papers (see Appendix K for details); granted 45 funding for various scientific research projects (see Appendix L for details).
Young teachers have also made remarkable achievements in various teaching and research competitive activities. They have won provincial, municipal and university-level important awards in various teaching competitions, multimedia courseware production, Shanghai University Chemistry New Experiment Exhibition, Shanghai University Experiment Teaching Seminar, and Shanghai College Student Chemistry Experiment Competition many times (see Appendix K for details). Teachers have guided chemistry undergraduate students to participate in more than 50 college students’ innovation and entrepreneurship practice projects (see Appendix C for details). Students have achieved excellent results in various discipline competitions at all levels and won many awards in the National College Student Mathematics Competition and the Shanghai College Student Chemistry Experiment Competition. The details are shown in Appendix E.
5.1.3 Rated workload of staff
The related undergraduate teaching workload of each professional teachers is 300 course hours per year. Moreover, besides essential theoretical teaching, the university actively implements the undergraduate teaching incentive plan proposed by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. All teachers strictly implement the requirements of answering questions in class and self-study tutoring to improve the quality of teaching and educating people in all aspects. Teachers of a course shall complete the class and answer questions once a week, totally 32 hours. Teachers are required to complete 10-16 self-study tutorials every semester, two hours each. Each staff shall provide sufficient guidance to students, act as student mentors, and guide them to carry out Shanghai and university-level innovation and entrepreneurship training programs for college students. Scientific and innovative guidance for students in the courses to be accredited is regarded as an essential reference for employee promotion.
These measures ensure that every student of the programs to be accredited can receive adequate guidance on curricular and extracurricular assignments, which helps them complete the courses required by the Curriculum, acquire the various capabilities required for the program to be accredited, and achieve the training objectives prescribed in the Curriculum.
In order to cultivate students' international communication capability, the program to be accredited is staffed with many teachers capable of lecturing in English to offer some bilingual and full-English courses, so as to create excellent professional English learning and communication environment for students.
5.2 Staff development
5.2.1 Relevant training
To strengthen the building of a young teacher team, USST arranges one-month pre-job training for new teachers every year. Meanwhile, organized by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, USST has also arranged a three-month comprehensive training program for newly recruited young teachers to improve their professional ethics, teamwork spirit, and professional skills. USST has implemented the “Young Teacher Guidance Program” to assign mentors to young staff under the age of 35 who have just joined the university without senior professional and technical positions to facilitate their rapid growth.
To strengthen the building of a high-quality faculty team with international vision, USST has established a teacher training program. All teachers have the opportunity to apply for the funding of the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission for overseas visiting studies, domestic visiting scholar and industry-university-research practice programs. They can receive training and study abroad for more than 1 year, pursue further studies in domestic universities and research institutes for 1 year, accumulate scientific research experience at home and abroad, have one-year internship in an enterprise, build an experimental team, learn advanced engineering practical experience from enterprises, and continuously improve their scientific research and practical ability to give back to teaching, which has effectively improved the professional abilities and professional skills of teachers. In recent years, several professional teachers have been granted funds by the State Education Commission or the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.
Appendix J lists the names of teachers with overseas experience in the program to be accredited in recent years, and the names of teachers who cooperated with and got trained in enterprises.
5.2.2 Relevant funding
USST provides professional teachers with multi-level and various forms of funding to enhance their professional academic research and teaching capabilities.
China Scholarship Council (CSC) or Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and the USST provide funding for professional staff to study abroad. The funding amount is about 150,000 Yuan/person per year, and 2-3 teachers of the program will be subsidized.
USST offers scientific research start-up funding for the newly recruited teachers who have just entered the university, RMB 30,000/person for young teachers with a doctoral degree and within RMB 500,000/person for teachers with the professional title of professor after approval. USST also provides support to teachers in some scientific research and cultivation projects. The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and USST will also provide teachers with funds to conduct teaching and research projects such as curriculum construction each year, with varying amounts in tens of thousands of yuan each.
The Shanghai Municipal Government has launched the “Shanghai University Young Teacher Training Subsidy Program” to provide funding for scientific research activities of outstanding young teachers with doctoral and master’s degrees, with RMB 50,000/project.
To help professional teachers strengthen the combination of theory and practice, USST encourages young and middle-aged employees to practice regularly in relevant enterprises or scientific research institutions and offers RMB 30,000 per person per year.
The State or Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and USST provide funds for professionals to study abroad, with an annual subsidy of about RMB 150,000 per person. Many chemistry teachers have benefited from these projects.
Teachers can also apply for scientific research projects to the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai Municipality, and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. Once approved, they can obtain funds in hundreds of thousands of yuan.
5.3 Institutional environment, financial and physical resources
5.3.1 About USST
USST is a key applied research university in Shanghai that focuses on engineering and has coordinated development of engineering, science, economics, management, literature, law, art, and other disciplines. Since July 2016, the USST has become a national defence focused university with support from State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence and Shanghai Municipal Government. In 2018, it became a pilot unit for the construction of “high-level local colleges and universities” in Shanghai.
The school-running context can be traced back to the Shanghai University founded in 1906 and the German Medical Engineering School founded in 1907. With more than one hundred years of history and a unique and outstanding educational style, it is the cradle of many patriotic youths. It has also trained a large number of academic elites, engineering experts, and social leaders. Moreover, the USST has trained more than 100,000 outstanding professionals for the country and society, with a high reputation in China’s manufacturing industry.
Currently, USST has two campuses, Yangpu and Fuxing Road, covering an area of nearly 1,000 mu or about 670, 000 square meters. There are 17 schools (departments) and more than 27,000 full-time students, including more than 18,000 undergraduates and more than 9,000 postgraduates. USST has 2,900 faculty members, including 9 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering (including double appointments), 75 national talents, 189 provincial and ministerial talents, 859 senior professional title teachers, and 260 doctoral supervisors.
Serving and leading the industry development for a long time, USST has become a core university in the equipment manufacturing, medical equipment, publishing and printing industries. Our power engineering and engineering thermophysics, optical engineering, management science and engineering, and other disciplines have long occupied a leading position in China, with a profound industry foundation in the fields of medical equipment and publishing. In recent years, the discipline layout of USST has been continuously optimized. There are currently 60 undergraduate program, 8 first-level disciplines for doctoral degree authorization, 6 post-doctoral research stations, 27 first-level disciplines for master’s degree authorization, and 18 master’s degree categories. USST has 19 national teaching platforms and 51 provincial and ministerial platforms, 7 national scientific research platforms and 34 provincial and ministerial platforms. Four disciplines (engineering, materials science, chemistry and computer science) rank among the top 1% by Essential Science Indicators (ESI) worldwide. USST has taken the initiative to meet the strategic demand of the state and Shanghai, and use 3 international laboratories of future optics, intelligent manufacturing, medical equipment and rehabilitation engineering and 1 characteristic platform of system management as the carrier to build five first-class disciplines: optical engineering, system science, power engineering and engineering thermophysics, mechanical engineering, and biomedical engineering, and the plateau discipline of management science, continue to support the development of various supporting disciplines, and accelerate the construction of high-level universities.
USST has always adhered to the tradition of relying on the industry, combining production, education and research to train high-quality talents of “engineering, innovation and internationalization”. USST continues to implement the concept of “connecting industries, transforming program, and guiding employment”. Undergraduate education focuses on “sound foundation, wide range, and strong practice”; graduate education focuses on “interdisciplinary, innovative, and industry-oriented”. USST has been awarded the “Excellent Engineer Education and Training Program University”, “National College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program Implementation University”, “National Talent Training Model Innovation Experimental Zone”, “National Innovative Talent Training Demonstration Base”, “National Demonstration University for Deepening Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Reform” and “National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Typical Experience University” by the Ministry of Education.
As one of the first universities in China that offered international cooperative education, USST has nearly 1,000 international students, established cooperative relationship with more than 172 institutions of higher learning in more than 31 countries and regions, including the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada, Japan, Australia, and Ireland, and established two Sino-foreign cooperative education institutions, the Sino-British International School and the Sino-German International School. USST is China’s first project to obtain ASIIN certification in 2004. One project passed the ASIIN certification in 2014, two projects in 2015, and one project in 2019 as well. So far, a total of 11 USST teaching programs have obtained ASIIN international certification. USST has always adhered to the school-running strategy of coordinated development. For example, the jointly established “Higher Engineering Education Alliance in the Yangtze Delta” with Nanjing University of Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Jiangsu University, and Anhui University of Technology. the co-established “Medical-industrial Interdisciplinary Innovation Research Institute” and “Medical-Industrial Interdisciplinary Graduate School” with the School of Medicine of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. as well as “Shanghai Research Institute of Mechanical Industry Generic Technology” and “Shanghai Graduate School of Mechanical Industry” collaboratively built with Shanghai Industrial Automation Instrumentation Research Institute, Shanghai Power Equipment Design and Research Institute, Shanghai Electric Apparatus Research Institute, Shanghai Cable Research Institute, Shanghai Materials Research Institute, Shanghai Electric Tool Research Institute, Shanghai Industrial Boiler Research Institute, Shanghai Electric Group Central Research Institute. USST also has entered into comprehensive strategic cooperation with COMAC, Huawei, Shanghai Electric, Bright Food Group, and other companies. Based on the National University Science Park built by USST and nearly 30 technology transfer workstations distributed in the Yangtze River Delta, USST has proactively carried out the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and industrial incubation.
With the vigorous support of the Shanghai Municipal Government in peak and plateau discipline construction, USST has improved scientific and technological competitiveness and actively served the national innovation-driven strategy. In the past few years, USST has won 2 “Second Prizes of China National Science and Technology Progress Award” and 44 provincial and ministerial science and technology awards; secured more than 230 national scientific research projects; published more than 40 ESI papers; obtained over 600 authorized invention patents. In the 2011 National University Science and Technology Park Evaluation Activity, the National University Science and Technology Park of USST was rated class A (excellent) and ranked 6th nationwide. In the 2015 National Technology Transfer Demonstration Organization Evaluation Activity, School Science and Technology Transfer Co., Ltd. ranked 21st nationwide and 2nd in Shanghai.
USST has adhered to the motto of “integrity, justice, diligence, love, thinking, learning, aspiration and ambition” and cultivated qualified citizens with aspirations and knowledge. USST has built a university international cultural park to enhance the international vision of students and demonstrate our unique cultural connotation and profound historical background. USST has a student development center, an engineering training center, a sports center, a public service center and a university student leadership research and training base. These facilities have improved the overall quality of students comprehensively and provided quality assurance and efficient services for student training.
At a new starting point, USST will firmly seize the historic opportunity of “double first-class” (world-class university and first-class disciplines) construction by the state and Shanghai, carry out reform and innovation, forge ahead with determination, strive to build the school into an innovative university leading the advancement of industrial technology as soon as possible, and develop into a first-class university of science and technology with remarkable characteristics.
5.3.2 Introduction of School of Materials and Chemistry
New materials are one of the most potential fields in the 21st century, and one of the emerging strategic industries determined by the state. Chemistry is the important foundation of new materials. Together with material science and technology, it has been widely used in many fields such as daily chemical industry, biomedical industry, mechanical electronics, equipment manufacturing and energy environment.
The school of materials and chemistry is engaged in the research of materials and chemistry and the cultivation of undergraduate and graduate students at all levels. Currently, there are three undergraduate majors in material science and engineering, material forming and control engineering and applied chemistry. These majors are excellent engineer training programs of the Ministry of Education, equivalent certification majors of China Engineering Education Accreditation Association and "Washington Agreement" international engineering education mutual recognition, Shanghai excellent engineering education and Shanghai undergraduate specialty comprehensive reform pilot majors. The major of material science and engineering is a national first-class undergraduate construction major, and the major of material forming and control engineering is a Shanghai first-class undergraduate construction major. The school has formed a special discipline professional direction of new energy materials, electrical functional materials, biomedical materials, environmental materials chemistry, advanced material forming technology and equipment, nano science and technology, chemical engineering and biomedical chemistry. It has three second level doctoral programs in new energy materials, electromechanical functional materials and biomedical chemistry and sensing, two first level master programs in materials science and engineering and chemistry, and one master program in materials and chemical engineering. Materials and chemistry entered the top 1% of the ESI in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The school ranked first for eight consecutive years in terms of employment rate, signing rate and high-quality employment rate.
The school aims to cultivate senior engineering and management talents with solid theoretical foundation, strong practical ability, innovative ability and international vision in new materials, chemical industry and related fields, and has established good cooperative relations with domestic enterprises in various industries. It has maintained extensive academic exchanges and friendly exchanges with universities and enterprises in the United States, Canada, Germany, Britain, Australia and other countries, and established various forms of international exchange and cooperation in running schools.
This school put focus on undergraduate teaching quality and is implementing "teaching students according to their aptitudes" strategy by the different levels of teaching modes so as to cultivate innovative engineering talents, and strives to expand students' international perspective by established various international cooperative relations with oversea universities such as University of Waterloo (Canada), Okayama university (Japan), University of Tartu (Estonia ). Each year some students and teachers are sent to study abroad in foreign colleges. This school will continue to adhere to the "people-oriented and harmonious development" education philosophy, focus on the construction of scientific research and teaching objectives, strengthen college connotation construction, unite school characteristics, and promote excellence in scientific education and international education, and further promote the development of students, and steadily enhance the overall strength of the school.
The faculty of the school is excellent, with more than 100 full-time teachers, 100% of whom have doctor's degrees, more than 65% of whom have overseas experience, and 42 high-level talents, such as national talents of the Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Project, national excellent teachers, special allowance experts of the State Council, talents of 100 Talents Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai excellent academic leaders, Pujiang talents, science and technology stars and dawning scholars. The school has a high-level experimental research center, which undertakes the platform construction tasks such as thecentral-local joint aviation composite material R&D platform, Shanghai high performance medical device material engineering technology research center, Shanghai powder metallurgy automobile material engineering center, Shanghai university advanced power materials key laboratory, and Shanghai material science and engineering experimental teaching demonstration center. In recent years, the faculty has undertaken more than 100 national, provincial and ministerial level research projects, such as the national 973 project, key projects of NSFC and national support plan projects, and won more than 10 national, provincial and ministerial level science and technology awards.
5.3.3 Laboratories
5.3.3.1 Laboratory management agency
Laboratory management institution: USST Laboratory Management and Service Centre is an administrative institution directly led by USST. Under the direct leadership of the principal in charge, such Centre is responsible for the planning and construction of all laboratories of USST, the purchase and operation management of teaching, research equipment and so on, and the organization of experimental teaching of the USST.
5.3.3.2 Laboratory safety management and education
1) Laboratory safety management: The USST attaches great importance to laboratory safety, and has taken a series of measures to strengthen laboratory safety awareness of all staff and students of USST. On the basis of "Higher Education Institutions Laboratory Work Specifications", USST has formulated safety operation specifications for the laboratories of each program, including: " Regulations for Laboratory Operation of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology ", "Administrative Measures for Laboratory Settings of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology", "Post Responsibilities of Laboratory Staff in University of Shanghai for Science and Technology ", "Regulations on Opening of Laboratories in University of Shanghai for Science and Technology", "Operational Safety Regulations on Laboratories of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology", "Safety Administrative Measures on the Dangerous Chemicals in Laboratories of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology", "Interim Provisions on Recycling of Chemical Wastes in Laboratories of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology", and "Safety Administrative Measures on the Special Equipment in Laboratories of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology".
USST strictly manages precursor and explosive chemical reagents, which shall be purchased through the school platform and distributed by the staff every Tuesday and Thursday; meanwhile, the hazardous waste generated at the laboratory will be recycled and handed over to specialized companies for processing in a centralized manner.
The School of Materials and Chemistry has established the “Working Committee for Work Safety (Laboratory Safety) at the School of Materials and Chemistry” and set a safety column on the college website to publish safety-related work dynamics, regulations, safety information, etc. The School of Materials and Chemistry also issued the Laboratory Safety Violation Score Inspection Measures of the College of Science for weekly safety inspections of all chemical laboratories. Before the launch of each experimental course, the safety risk assessment of the experiment content is first carried out. Before the start of classes, students are required to receive safety education with the laboratory safety regulations clarified. Students are personally protected during the experiment by wearing goggles, protective gloves, lab coats, and other personal protective equipment.
2) Laboratory safety education
For freshmen, the notice about “training and examination about safety education” is included in the orientation instructions, and the university admission office will send it along with the student’s admission notice. Freshmen are required to complete and pass safety education examination online before registration. Existing students are required to complete laboratory safety education and training and online laboratory safety access exams before entering the laboratory. Students who fail the laboratory safety access exams are not allowed to enter the laboratory for any experiment.
5.3.3.3 Laboratory layout
The USST has established a Public Experimental Centre carrying basic experiments (such as physical experiment). Professional basic experiments and professional experiments are conducted at the Chemical Experiment Center which was set up by the College of Science, and will be transferred to School of Materials and Chemistry after July 2021, a new school from the amalgamation of the Department of Chemistry and the School of Materials and Engineering of USST. Under the leadership of the dean of the school, the center shall be responsible for the planning and construction of all chemical laboratories of the school, the procurement and operation management of teaching and scientific research equipment, and the organization of all chemical experimental teaching at the university.
At present, the Chemical Experiment Center consists of 9 undergraduate experiment teaching laboratories providing chemistry experiment teaching for students from both the Analytical Chemistry Program and other programs of USST. The brief description of each laboratory is provided as follows and more details of those laboratories could be found in Appendix N.
1) Basic laboratories
The general chemical laboratory has instruments and equipment such as spectrophotometer, conductivity meter, pH meter, balance, DC stabilized power supply, water purifier, reagent cabinet, ventilation system, etc. It mainly offers basic, necessary, practical and interesting basic chemistry experiments to all students at USST.
The inorganic chemistry laboratory has analytical balances, spectrophotometers, pH meters, water baths, heating devices, ventilation systems, and other equipment. It mainly offers confirmatory experiments for the identification of element properties and comprehensive experiments for compound preparation.
The analytical chemistry laboratory has analytical balances, spectrophotometers, ice machines, heating jackets, water baths, ovens, ventilation systems, reagent cabinets, and other equipment. It mainly offers comprehensive experiments for substance content analysis and determination.
The organic chemistry laboratory has synthesis equipment, distillation equipment, melting point tester, optical rotation tester, rotary evaporator, ultraviolet detector, heating devices, water bath, oven, ice maker, reagent cabinet, explosion-proof refrigerator, and ventilation system, and other equipment. It mainly offers basic experiments of separation and purification, comprehensive experiments of compound synthesis.
The physical chemistry laboratory has thermogravimetric analyzer, polarimeter, electrochemical analyzer, oxygen bomb calorimeter, surface tension meter, viscosity tester, centrifuge, vortex oscillator, water bath, reagent cabinet, ventilation system, steel cylinders, and other equipment. It is mainly used to measure the changes of combustion heat, viscosity, and surface tension in the process of physical and chemical changes of substances.
2）Basic professional laboratories
The instrument analysis laboratory has transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, plasma emission instrument, atomic absorption spectrometer, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer, gas chromatography-mass spectrometer, high pressure liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, electrochemical workstation, infrared spectrometer, ultraviolet spectrometer, fluorescence spectrometer, centrifuge, ventilation systems, steel cylinders, and other equipment. It mainly offers comprehensive experiments such as the actual use of equipment and instrumentrs, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of materials.
The biochemistry laboratory has spectrophotometers, fluorescent quantitation instrument for polymerase chain reaction, electron microscopes, centrifuges, heating devices, water baths, chromatography cylinders, water purifiers, ovens, fume hoods, reagent cabinets, and other equipment. It mainly offers comprehensive biochemical experiments.
The chemical engineering principle laboratory mainly has instruments and equipment for the determination of fluid flow patterns and critical Reynold’s number, the performance parameters of centrifugal pumps, the determination of the heat transfer coefficient and film coefficient of the gas-to-air heat exchange of the double-pipe heat exchanger, the absorption experiment of the packed tower, and the operation of the distillation column, the efficiency determination of the trays, the comprehensive operation of the atmospheric and vacuum reactors, and other experiments based on classical chemical principles.
3）Comprehensive professional laboratory
The professional comprehensive laboratory mainly offers comprehensive experiments of three professional courses (“Basic Comprehensive Experiments of Applied Chemistry”, “Professional Experiments of Applied Chemistry (1)”, and “Professional Experiments of Applied Chemistry (2)”), mainly including substance preparation, synthesis, analysis, and property determination.
5.3.4 Disciplinary Research Platform
The discipline of Applied Chemistry works on the theories, principles, methods, techniques, systems and applications in the field of applied chemistry, offers 1 doctoral program and 3 master programs and has established a research platform.
Degree awarding point
One first-class doctoral’s degree awarding point: biomedical chemistry and sensing
One first-class master’s degree awarding point: Chemistry (science)
Two professional master’s degree awarding points: Chemical Engineering and Green Chemistry Process and Resource Comprehensive Utilization
One undergraduate program: Applied Chemistry (science)
Research Facilities
Photoelectric catalysis Centre
Bismuth Science Centre
Green Chemistry Centre
This platform is well equipped with field emission transmission electron microscope, field emission scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, Laser Raman spectrometer, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, ICP-AES spectrometer, BET, fluorescence spectrometer, nanosecond time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy, femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy, FT-IR, PCR, etc. Currently, this platform is committed to the medical-Engineering Interdisciplinary projects cooperation.
5.3.5 International exchange and cooperation
USST runs and develops according to a “five-year plan”, where the internationalisation strategies about what and how to do the academic mobility are presented in details. USST has adequate guarantees for the international exchange and cooperation including organization guarantee, system guarantee and fund guarantee. 2021 is the first year of the 14th “five-year plan” of USST.
Organization guarantee: A leading group has been established for international exchange and cooperation with good working mechanism. The group (over 40 persons) consists of International Affairs, Committee of Communist Youth League, School of Undergraduate, School of Graduate, and leaders from each school of USST. Through the division of responsibilities and hierarchical management, we ensure the orderly progress of all kinds of international exchange programs so as to implement the full, whole-process and all-round education of students and serve the development of teachers as well at the same time, and finally helping the construction of disciplines.
System Guarantee: USST keeps improving a series of rules to ensure that international affairs activities, student exchanges and faculty visits are carried out in a standardized and effective manner, including the “Some opinions on the opening up of education in the new period”, “Business abroad (boundary) management method of USST”, “Work guide on business (boundary) before departure of USST”, “Implementing rules for the project management of the students to study and internship abroad”, “Measures for the foreign affairs of Hu Jiang International Cultural Park", "Contingency plans of USST for the international affairs work safety and emergency",”Recognition Method of the Scores and Credits Acquired from Other Universities for Undergraduates of USST” etc.
Fund Guarantee: Shanghai Municipal Education Commission annually provides USST financial support to carry out various kinds of international programs mainly including international exchange and cooperation, international accreditation and the construction of Hu Jiang International Cultural Park. USST makes overall arrangements of the funds within the prescribed scope of use to ensure strengthening the substantive cooperation with world-class universities and academic institutions for the development of teachers and students, the construction of international joint laboratories, as well as the development of disciplines.
Based on the Guarantees, for example, USST spent about 6 million EUR for the international higher education in 2018. There was 633 full-time teacher including 63 foreigner teachers, 160 teachers receiving their PhD degrees abroad and 408 teachers with at least one year oversea study or visiting experiences. 987 students of USST went abroad for both further study and exchange and 480 students were invited to USST for study. Over 200 full-time teachers went abroad for long- and short-term exchange and international cooperation. Also, 55 foreign teachers and students were invited for a short-term exchange or cooperation (one month or longer) and USST top leaders received 28 oversea visiting groups.
The Department of Chemistry at the School of Materials and Chemistry has many teachers who have studied abroad and received overseas training, and has maintained close contact with foreign high-level universities and established scientific research cooperation, including Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse, Max Planck Institute of Polymer Research, Universidad de La Habana, University of Waterloo, North Dakota State University, Temple University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,The University of Kentucky, Kyoto University, Kanazawa University, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, University of Tartu, etc. The Department of Chemistry mainly carries out the international exchange and cooperation according to strategies of USST, including short- and long-term exchange program, Sino-foreign cooperative education, oversea visiting and international cooperation as well as further study abroad for students after graduation.
Usually, the undergraduates could apply for the international exchange programs offered by oversea universities through the International Affairs of USST, such as University of the Fraser Valley, Kanazawa University, University of Tartu, Okayama University, and Universidad de La Habana, etc. Undergraduates are sent to these universities for exchange and study once they succeed in the application and the credits they acquire abroad can be recognized according to Recognition Method of the Scores and Credits Acquired from Other Universities for Undergraduates of USST; On average, there was 5% students going abroad for international exchanges per year. The faculties with oversea backgrounds keeps doing international cooperation of research with about 5% students per year participating in and published high-level papers. Also, there were no less than 3.3% students going broad for further study with the highest percentage as high as 18.8% in the past five years. At the same time, undergraduates from foreign universities are invited to the Department of Chemistry for exchange as well. For example, in 2018 and 2019, the visiting groups (about 15 students per group) from the Department of Chemistry of Okayama University were invited for the short-term exchange. Besides, we are working on the discussion of Sino-foreign cooperative education with University of North Dakota, so that undergraduates can have a 2-year study in University of North Dakota and receive two bachelor degrees from both universities.
In addition, massive work has been conducted in this program to cultivate the international vision of students. Firstly, foreign teachers and teachers with a background of studying abroad are engaged to give lectures and academic reports to undergraduates. Secondly, full English and bilingual professional courses are offered.
On the other hand, USST has signed long-term cooperation agreements with domestic famous universities and research institutions such as Tsinghua University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tongji University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Harbin Institute of Technology and Chinese Academy of Sciences, to carry out cooperation and exchange. In addition, USST has established corresponding cooperation mechanism, achieved inter-university exam-exemption postgraduate recommendation and exchange of visiting scholars, and made active exploration in such aspects as mutual recognition of credits, exchange of university students, principal communication and distant education resource sharing, etc. Furthermore, USST has also cooperated with enterprises and research institutes to give full play to the resources advantages of the University, enterprises and research institutions. Under the collaborative support of government and financial institutions, the USST has carried out technical development, and production-university-research collaborative innovation.
5.3.6 Enterprise practice platform
In the past four years, we have entered into cooperation with some famous enterprises in the Science Park of Shanghai University of Science and Technology, Yanji University Student Entrepreneurship District, Shanghai Materials Research Institute, Dean Diagnostics, Shanghai Bidepharm, Shanghai Huayi Group Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Yangnong Chemical Co., Ltd., Huayi Group Technology Research Institute, the Testing Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, Jiangsu Lianhuan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai Shuangou Printing and Dyeing Water Treatment Co., Ltd., Silicate Research Institute, and Shanghai Huahuan Testing Technology Co., Ltd. successively. Among these enterprises, Huayi Group is one of China's top 500 enterprises. These companies or research institutions are essential places for the understanding, research, and graduate internships of students to broaden their horizons, improve their practical training level, enhance their ability to handle practical problems, and improve their comprehensive capabilities. The contracts signed for enterprise practice bases of the are listed in Appendix O.
5.3.7 Library information resources platform
5.3.7.1 Libraries, references and media supply
Currently, the USST libraries include the main library on 516 Jungong Road, and five sub-libraries at Yingkou Road Campus, Shuifeng Road Campus, 1100 Jungong Road Campus, Fuxing Road Campus and South Campus. Currently, the total floor area of the main library is 19,000 square meters, including seven differently functional reading rooms. The main library has set up seven departments such as office, editorial, circulation, periodicals, information, technical services, and reference reading, which can provide such services as borrow and return, reference and reading, literature information retrieval, sci-tech novelty retrieval commission, document delivery, document copying, etc, and also open “scientific literature search and utilization” workshop for higher-grade undergraduates and “literature information retrieval and thesis writing” course for postgraduates. There are more than 190 computers in the electronic reading room, which can provide such services as literature database retrieval and internet information retrieval for readers. In the main library, there are abundant books, journals, information, digital resources and information resource retrieving tools which can meet the teaching and scientific research needs of every program, as well as sound book circulation, electronic reading, reference, audio-visual materials, literature replication service system, etc. based on computer network. In order to accelerate the construction pace of modern library, we maintain the traditional characteristics, and strengthen the construction of new professional books and journals, as well as to increase the network construction of library and the purchase intensity of e-literature resources year by year. Especially since the implementation of connotation construction “085” Project for Shanghai Higher Education in 2012, the construction cost of library resources is increasing, and the construction of digital document resources will also enter the rapid growth period. As of February 2016, library website provides a variety of digital literature links of nearly 100, of which 74 full-text databases, 16 title index databases, and 10 various video databases. Moreover, our university library also self-built a “University Master and Doctoral theses Database”. In order to facilitate the readers to search data, the library divides the digital literature resources into 10 categories:
By December of 2015, the USST libraries have the following collections:
118318 bound volumes of periodicals in Chinese and foreign languages
More than 964 kinds of current Chinese periodicals
57 kinds of foreign periodicals
104 kinds of newspapers
Nearly 1.48 million bound volumes of paper books
7.49 million kinds of electronic books
32 foreign electronic databases
15 Chinese electronic databases
10 video databases
1 self-built database of master and doctoral thesis of the University
10,414 kinds and 35,782 pieces of CDs attached with books
Literature languages include Chinese, English, French, German, Russian and Japanese.
Among them, there are 376,772 types of chemistry books, a total of 1,398,775 volumes. Main professional reference books include: 449 books in inorganic chemistry, which have been borrowed 683 times; 704 books in organic chemistry, which have been borrowed 1,025 times; 885 books in analytical chemistry, which have been borrowed 1,396 times; 1,254 books in physical chemistry, which have been borrowed 2,660 times; 1,853 books in materials chemistry, which have been borrowed 3,216 times. The average number of chemistry books for undergraduate students in the Department of Chemistry is 235 books/person.
In addition to professional books, the library has ordered 19 paper-version chemical journals, which are displayed in the reading room, a total of 1625 volumes; 5 Chinese journal databases, including 191 chemical Chinese electronic journals; 4 English journal databases, 354 English periodicals of chemistry; 1 professional book database and 143 chemistry e-books. All e-books and periodicals can be inquired and read directly on the campus network. According to the above statistics, the university library and reading room can fully meet the reading demand of teachers and students.
5.3.7.2 Services provided at the library/reading room
The university library has a total construction area of about 30,000 m2, with 8 professional borrowing and reading rooms, a 400-seat multi-functional electronic reading room and audio-visual room, and an academic lecture hall, meeting room, etc., adopting an integrated management model for “collection, borrowing, reading, inquiry, and consulting”. The services provided by the university library and reading room generally include the following:
• Provide books and periodicals borrowing services for all teachers, students and staff at USST and other readers;
• Provide book reading services and conditions for all teachers, students and staff at USST and other readers. The teacher reading room provides book reading services for teachers and graduate students, and the student reading room provides book reading services for undergraduates;
• The online library offers online information query services;
• Offer reader guidance and carry out the teaching of “Document Retrieval and Utilization”;
• Online search services linked to domestic and foreign intelligence information agencies;
• Intelligence information services such as intelligence analysis, intelligence compilation, reference consultation, and project novelty search;
• Document copying, interlibrary loan, and document delivery services.
The services of the library and reading room can fully meet the demand of teachers and students. The library and reading room are open to the public on weekends and evenings. Most students of this program can study in the library.
5.3.7.2 Information resources platform
The University has established teaching information technology platform, through which students can select courses, evaluate teaching quality, and search course evaluation results. Through this platform, teachers can publish teaching calendar, get access to student information, and conduct examination score management. The platform features powerful and easy-to-use, and is the main platform to carry out teaching management. In early 2008, USST "course centre" website was built up and put into service. After more than nine years of construction and operation as well as twice version upgrade, this website has become an important platform of independent self-study for students. At present, all course resources of the programs to be accredited have been put on this website. The information technology and network environment platform provided by this website can facilitate teachers to transform their teaching ideas and education concepts, and promote them to promptly update teaching content and constantly improve teaching means, so as to promote the mutual exchange between teachers and students, between teachers and between students, improve students ability and interest in independent learning and research learning, and create the conditions for training more and better innovative talents. Through this platform, students can independently determine experiment time, experiment instructor and experiment content, look up experiment content, download experimental guidance data, upload experiment reports, and look up teachers marking and experiment course score. Teachers can, through this platform, get access to student information, mark reports, and conduct examination score management, etc. This platform is the main platform of experimental teaching management for the programs to be accredited.
5.3.7.3 Other Information resources
The USST has a computer centre at Jungong Road Campus, which has a total of 16 computer rooms and 704 computers connected to Internet, realizing information sharing. The computer centre currently has 1036 experimental computers, more than 10 servers, and nearly 80 sets of network equipment, which are under management of School of OpticalElectrical and Computer Engineering. These facilities are open to 17 schools, 2 teaching departments, 60 undergraduate programs, 22 further education programs, more than 18,000 undergraduates, and more than 6,600 students of Evening University. At present, the basic tasks undertaken by the computer centre are described as follows:
Provide computing experiment facility for computer and related courses of the USST;
Provide computing voice experiment facility for public foreign language and related courses of the USST;
Provide computing experiment and design facility for information science and technology related courses;
Provide exam facility for national and municipal level computer grade examinations and other exams;
Undertake free computing task for off-class students of the USST.
The computer centre laboratory can be divided into three categories: open laboratory, special laboratory, and functional laboratory. Open laboratory consists of public computer lab and self-help computer laboratory, it uses an online reservation system and is open to teachers and students of the USST; special laboratory consists of computer discipline laboratory, language teaching laboratory, and computer assembly & maintenance laboratory, it is open to specific discipline and specific teachers & students; functional laboratory was established as computer exam room, computer experiment of new technology research room, and computer examination technology laboratory for completing specific tasks and innovative experimental teaching research.
The computer centre serves more than 200 courses, and provides computer facility for more than five hundred thousand hours and approximate three hundred thousand people on an average basis ever year.
The minimum PC configuration is CPU Intel Core i3, dominant frequency 2.4G, memory 4G, discrete graphics card, 500G hard drive and 17-inch LCD monitor.
Advanced PC configuration is CPU I5 750, dominant frequency 2.67G, memory 4G, discrete graphics card, 500G hard drive and 19-inch LCD monitor.
Laboratory computer network speed is up to 1000M
Computers are equipped with Windows systems which can adapt to different software platforms.
50% of the laboratories are equipped with multimedia equipment, projectors and wireless microphones, and 100% of the computers are equipped with multimedia educational software.
The number of computers and the opening hours.
Jungong Road Campus computer centre has a total of 16 rooms (401-410 and 501-510) and 704 computers.
Opening hours: 8:00-22:00 each day.
Accessibility facilities:
All offices, laboratories, lecture halls and libraries on Campus have achieved full wireless network coverage;
Computers in computer labs are updated annually according to actual needs, in order to meet the advanced needs;
Network and virtual reality technology can help to carry out remote operation of high-end computer-aided equipment easily;
All newly-built laboratories, classrooms, office buildings, etc. are equipped with accessibility facilities, to enable physically handicapped students to get access to these teaching sites smoothly.
5.3.8 Teaching and office conditions
In addition to the comprehensive teaching building that can be used for undergraduate teaching, the School of Materials and Chemistry has 3 specialized experimental teaching and office buildings with 230 rooms, totaling ~10,000 square meters, which are used to ensure each teacher's teaching, scientific research, foreign exchange and cooperation and service office space. At the same time, it has 5 small conference rooms for small conferences and academic reports of visiting scholars. Professional laboratories are open to students majoring in certification and are used by students to independently carry out academic exploration and experimental research.
An area of about 3,000 m2 is particularly used for chemical experimental teaching and scientific research. As mentioned above, there are 9 undergraduate teaching laboratories of inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, biochemistry, instrumental analysis, comprehensive experiments, chemical engineering principles, and general chemistry, and some other laboratories like testing room, heating room, preparation room, temporary storage, etc. There are also 7 full-time laboratory managers, with clear laboratory management tasks and division of work. Each experimental course has a dedicated teacher responsible for overall arrangement and a full-time experimental teacher for preparing the experiment to ensure the good operation of the laboratory and experimental teaching.
5.3.9 Investment in the past four years
The participated program for accreditation has sufficient teaching funds to meet the needs of routine teaching and program development. In the past four years, more than RMB 10 million Yuan has been invested in the construction of chemistry laboratories, including the equipment (see Appendix P for details); RMB 500,000 has been invested for the course construction and innovation projects of university students.
In last four years, the funding of the Chemistry Department for scientific research and purchase of equipment increased year by year. In 2018, RMB 6 million Yuan was invested. The School has established teaching research and innovation team, members of which may enjoy performance pay.
