Breaking into the Top 100 Globally! South China University of Technology Sets a Series of Educational Goals for the 15th Five-Year Plan

From April 2 to 3, South China University of Technology convened a high-quality development conference along with its annual work meeting. This is the first school development conference held after the appointments of its Party Secretary, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Tang Hongwu, and its president, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Yang Zhongmin.

Significant growth in all education and teaching indicators during the “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan”

Authoritative data show that South China University of Technology currently ranks 126th globally in the ESI Comprehensive Ranking, 129th in the ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, and 166th in the US News World University Rankings—each with a clear improvement over the previous academic year.

South China University of Technology has stated that by 2030, when completing the “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan,” its university of world-class standing with distinctive SCUT characteristics will achieve substantive breakthroughs: entering the 1–2 global top-100 university lists, having 3–5 disciplines reach the world’s top-tier level, and more disciplines entering the ranks of world-class disciplines.

By 2035, when China has fully built an education powerhouse, South China University of Technology will join the ranks of world-class universities, entering the 3–4 global top-100 university lists and securing steady placement in the world’s top 10 for 3–5 disciplines, with a number of disciplines firmly established among the world’s first-class tiers.

Regarding the expected outcomes during the “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan” period, South China University of Technology has formulated clear, measurable targets, such as: “Double First-Class” disciplines must reach more than 5; disciplines in the global ESI top 10,000 must increase from the current 3 to 4–5; the scale of doctoral student cultivation will reach 12,000, nearly doubling compared with the current figure; and annual research funding actually secured will also rise sharply to 35–4B yuan. In addition, the numbers of major national projects, national-level awards, and high-level papers will also double compared with the current level.

To this end, South China University of Technology will intensify efforts in talent introduction and cultivation. Compared with now, the number of full-time faculty will increase by nearly 20%; the number of doctoral postdocs in post will increase by more than 70%; and national-level flagship talents will also double.

Take out a genuine attitude and maintain a sprinting state

Tang Hongwu said that for South China University of Technology, learning and implementing education on establishing and practicing the correct view of political achievements must be carried out in a practical and down-to-earth way. That means working with real resolve, taking on responsibilities with determination, using tough measures, delivering hard results, and turning in hard performance. Looking ahead to the “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan,” South China University of Technology will adhere to “rules must be set in steel, academics come first, talent is of utmost importance, and management must be refined,” and advance the “Eight major campaigns” in areas including Party building, educating and nurturing students, discipline development, scientific research, and internationalization.

Yang Zhongmin systematically elaborated on the school’s education and teaching positioning and development goals during the “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan” period. He introduced in detail the development pathway of “one strategic layout, three key mechanisms, and five major reform initiatives,” and proposed the “Top Ten Key Work Priorities” for the 2026 fiscal year.

Deepen the integrated reform of admissions—training—employment

Regarding undergraduate admissions that many high-school seniors and their parents are paying close attention to, South China University of Technology also summarized and deployed the plan at the conference.

According to information, South China University of Technology adheres to the principle that “students are always in the C position.” In 2025, for undergraduate admissions, it implemented three 100% policies—“major satisfaction rate, intention satisfaction rate, and minor study satisfaction rate”—and all were fully achieved, with a historic leap in the quality of student intake. Among them, the lowest ranking for physics-track admissions in Guangdong Province improved by 2,685 places. Additionally, in 11 other provinces, the lowest ranking for physics-track admissions improved by more than 1,000 places. The “631” comprehensive evaluation admissions in Jiangsu Province saw the highest admitted ranking enter the top 730.

Guided by the philosophy of “cultivating future teachers, building future classrooms, building future schools, and building future learning centers,” in 2026 South China University of Technology will deepen the integrated reform of admissions—training—employment. Through optimized adjustments to majors, it will accelerate the formation of a discipline and major system that resonates in step with national strategies and future industries. Meanwhile, it will gather strength to cultivate urgently needed talents in key fields such as basic disciplines, integrated circuits, and artificial intelligence through a “project-based” approach.

In the near term, South China University of Technology will, via its official school WeChat account, successively release the admissions brochure for comprehensive evaluation admissions and the admissions brochure for the Strong Foundation Program.

By | Reporter Chen Liang

Photos | Provided by the school