Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST) Outstanding Freshman Scholarship

About the university

Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST), also known as "Nanxinda," is a university jointly established by the central government and local authorities under the administration of Jiangsu Province. It is a national "Double First-Class" construction university, a member of the National High-Level University Public-Sponsored Graduate Program, a university under the Ministry of Education's "Excellent Engineer Education and Training Program," one of the first pilot institutions for the Ministry of Education's Emergency Management Safety Smart Learning Workshop, a Class A construction university under the Jiangsu High-Level University Construction Peak Plan, and one of the first batch of national demonstration universities for deepening innovation and entrepreneurship education reform. The university's predecessor was the Nanjing Institute of Meteorology, founded in 1960 under the former Central (Military) Meteorological Bureau. It was the first meteorological undergraduate institution established by the People's Republic of China. In 1978, it was designated as a national key university. In 2000, it was transferred from the China Meteorological Administration to the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government. In 2004, it was renamed Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. In 2007, it was jointly established by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and the China Meteorological Administration. In 2012, it was jointly established by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, and the China Meteorological Administration. In 2014, it was jointly established by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and the State Oceanic Administration. In 2017, it was selected as one of the first batch of national "Double First-Class" first-class discipline construction universities. In 2018, it was selected as a key provincial university under the Jiangsu High-Level University Construction Plan. In 2021, it was selected as a Class A construction university under the Jiangsu High-Level University Construction Peak Plan. In 2022, it was selected for the second round of national "Double First-Class" construction. As of March 2025, the university has three campuses: the main campus, the Jinniu Lake New District, and the Wuxi campus, covering an area of over 2,000 mu. It has 25 professional schools, 86 undergraduate programs (excluding program directions), 11 first-level doctoral degree authorization points, 3 professional doctoral degree authorization categories, 28 first-level master's degree authorization points, 26 professional master's degree authorization categories, 6 postdoctoral research stations, over 2,400 full-time teachers, and approximately 39,700 full-time students. In 1920, Mr. Zhu Kezhen (Co-ching Chu) offered a meteorology course in the Department of Literature, History, and Geography at Nanjing Higher Normal School (renamed Central University in 1927, now Nanjing University). In 1921, Southeast University established the Department of Earth Sciences, with Mr. Zhu Kezhen as its chair. The department covered three disciplines: geology, geography, and meteorology. In January 1930, the Central University Senate resolved: "The Department of Earth Sciences shall be renamed the Department of Geology, and the Geography and Meteorology section shall be independently established as the Department of Geography." The Department of Geology was formally established (Note: In 1927, National Southeast University merged with eight other public schools and was renamed National Fourth Sun Yat-sen University. It was then renamed National Jiangsu University in February 1928, referred to simply as Jiangsu University from April 5, and on May 16, the Executive Yuan of the National Government resolved to rename Jiangsu University as National Central University). On August 25, 1954, Mr. Zhu Kezhen, then Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of the Chinese Meteorological Society, in his concluding speech at the Second National Congress of the Chinese Meteorological Society, first called on the education authorities to establish a hydrometeorological college. In July 1956, Tu Changwang stated in his speech at the Third Session of the First National People's Congress: "There is an extreme shortage of senior technical cadres. Only 104 university graduates are in the national meteorological service system. We hope the Ministry of Higher Education will expand enrollment in meteorology departments or establish a meteorological college."