The College of Science and Technology Ningbo University is a full-time regular higher education university offering undergraduate education, established with the approval of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province. As a pioneer in higher education reform in Zhejiang, CST was established in April 1999 as the first state-owned, privately-run secondary college. In November 2004, it was recognized by the Ministry of Education as one of the first independent colleges in Zhejiang Province. In December of the same year, the college passed the Ministry of Education’s special inspection on educational facilities and teaching quality, receiving the highest evaluation rating. In 2010, the college was honored as one of the first “National Advanced Independent Colleges.” In July 2018, it successfully passed the standardization acceptance inspection for independent colleges in Zhejiang Province. In September 2019, the entire college relocated from Zhenhai District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, to Cixi City. In 2025, the college was ranked 3rd among all independent colleges in China according to the Alumni Association’s ranking.
The college designs its academic programs in alignment with the development trends of modern science and technology as well as the needs of the local economy and society. It comprises 10 subordinate schools: the School of Humanities, School of Information Engineering, School of Economics and Law/E-commerce, School of Management, School of Design and Art, School of Life Sciences and Materials Chemistry, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, School of Basic Education/Marxism, and School of Continuing Education. The college offers 45 undergraduate programs across nine major disciplines, including Economics, Law, Education, Literature, Management, Science, Engineering, Medicine, and Arts. This has established a comprehensive, well-structured, and complementary system of disciplines and majors.
Recruiting students nationwide, the college currently has over 15,000 full-time enrolled students. Adhering firmly to a “student-centered” educational philosophy, the college focuses on cultivating application-oriented undergraduate talents who excel both in autonomous learning and practical skills. To date, it has successfully contributed more than 40,000 outstanding graduates to social development. Over the years, the college’s graduate employment rate, achievements in various academic competitions, and one-time passing rate of the TEM-4 English proficiency test have consistently ranked among the top within similar institutions. The college has won gold medals in the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition for four consecutive years, leading all similar colleges nationwide. It was the only independent college in the province to win a gold medal in the first National College Students’ New Liberal Arts Practice and Innovation Competition. In the 2023 “Challenge Cup” National College Students’ Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition, the college won one special prize and one second prize.
The college adheres to a development path characterized by application-orientation, regional focus, and distinctive features. Since relocating to Cixi, it has actively integrated into the local economy and vigorously explored and implemented the “Two-Wheel Drive” model of industry-education integration. This approach leverages the construction of high-quality modern industrial colleges and advanced applied research institutes to drive the development of application-oriented education, while coordinating progress in teaching, talent cultivation, scientific research, and local community services. To date, the college has attracted nearly 300 million RMB in social donations and established 11 industrial colleges in partnership with leading regional enterprises, alongside 19 specialized industry classes—including 2 elite engineering classes—and 445 practical training bases. Additionally, it has founded 5 industry-focused industry-education integration alliances. These efforts have forged a distinctive path for industry-education integration, school-enterprise cooperation, and application-oriented transformation.
Since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the college has successfully obtained provincial approval for: 2 key modern industry colleges, 1 industry-education integration alliance, 2 industry-education integration demonstration bases, 2 industry-education integration engineering projects, and 4 provincial collaborative education projects, achieving a “Grand Slam” of provincial platform projects in the field of industry-education integration. Furthermore, the college has been approved for 70 projects by the Ministry of Education under industry-university collaborative education and employment-education integration initiatives, 3 typical cases recognized by the China Higher Education Association under the “University-Enterprise Cooperation - Double Hundred Plan” and 29 “Five-One Batch” platform projects supported by Ningbo City for industry-education integration. The college’s industry-college model and its achievements have been frequently featured by mainstream media including CCTV News, China Education Daily, and Zhejiang Daily, playing an exemplary and leading role across the region. Meanwhile, the college has established high-level research institutes such as the Institute of Applied Technology and the Institute of Regional Economy and Social Development. It has partnered with high-tech enterprises including Ningbo Zhongda Leader Intelligent Transmission Co., Ltd., Ningbo Tiansheng Sealing Packing Co., Ltd., Ningbo No.2 Hospital, and the College of Electromechanical Engineering at Harbin Engineering University to jointly establish six entities, including joint laboratories, a Medical-Engineering Intelligent Manufacturing Research Center, and collaborative innovation centers. Further collaborations include the co-construction of the Smart Home Science & Technology Education Innovation Park with the Home Appliance Specialty Town; development of the Ningbo Home Appliance Trusted Blockchain Platform in partnership with Alibaba; and the “Translation along the Silk Road - Translation Research & Language Service Center” in cooperation with the Gansu Provincial Foreign Affairs Office Translation Center. The college undertakes six major projects under Ningbo’s “Science & Technology Innovation 2025” initiative, nine projects under the “Science Innovation Yongjiang 2035” series, and two key research projects under the Priority Research & Development Plan (“Open Bidding for Selecting the Best Candidates”). It has also been approved for scientific innovation platforms including Zhejiang Province’s Intelligent Home Appliance Industry Brain, Zhejiang Province Soft Sciences Research Base, Ningbo University Collaborative Innovation Center, and Ningbo Industrial Internet Demonstration Platform. The college continues to deepen multi-dimensional and multi-level cooperation among academia, government, and industry to empower industrial development and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
The college actively promotes open education by optimizing its resource structure and expanding international exchange programs, steadily enhancing its global engagement and internationalization capacity. The undergraduate program in Advertising, jointly offered with Juniata College in the United States, has received official approval from the Ministry of Education. The college has jointly established the China-Thailand Silk Road College with Nanbang Technical College in Thailand; the Ningbo “Belt and Road” Spanish Language and Culture Center and the Ningbo “Belt and Road” Tourism Culture Communication and Research Center with the Hotel Management School of the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain; and Ningbo’s first International Chinese Language Proficiency Testing and Training Center in partnership with the China Language Resources Development and Application Center. To date, the college has established long-term cooperation relationships with more than 50 universities and institutions across countries and regions including the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand. These collaborations encompass various multi-level and diversified programs such as Sino-foreign joint education programs, bachelor-master degree pathways, and credit recognition schemes.
Currently, the college is at an important strategic phase of deep transformation and development. Moving forward, it will firmly root itself in Cixi, continue to pursue ambitious goals while staying grounded, and aims to become a high-level, application-oriented university with distinct regional characteristics.
(Data as of January 2025)