Southeast University
Southeast University (SEU), located in Nanjing, the ancient capital of six dynasties, is a prestigious university with an outstanding reputation both at home and abroad.
As a National Key University administered directly by the Ministry of Education of China and jointly supported by the Ministry of Education and the People’s Government of Jiangsu Province, SEU is also designated as a key university under China’s national “Project 985 “ and “ Project 211”. In 2017, SEU was selected as a Class A university for the Construction of World-class Universities in China. Twelve disciplines have been selected for China’s national “Double First Class” construction list, placing SEU 8th among universities nationwide.
Southeast University is a comprehensive research university distinguished by its strength in engineering, covering a full spectrum of disciplines including philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, science, medicine, management, art, and history. Seventeen disciplines rank among the top 1% globally in ESI. Among them, Engineering places 13th and Computer Science 4th worldwide, both sitting within the top 0.01% globally. Additionally, Materials Science and Chemistry rank among the top 0.1% globally in ESI.
SEU operates a wide range of top-tier research platforms, including 8 National Key Laboratories, 3 National Technology Innovation Centres, 1 National Engineering Research Centre, 2 National Engineering Technology Research Centres, 3 National & Local Joint Engineering Research Centres, 1 National Platform for Industry-Education Integration and Innovation, 1 Frontier Science Centre, and 1 National Collaborative Innovation Centre for the China 2011 Project. The university also hosts 1 Belt and Road Joint Laboratory of the Ministry of Science and Technology, 2 Joint International Research Laboratories of the Ministry of Education, 14 Key Laboratories of the Ministry of Education, 7 Engineering Research Centres of the Ministry of Education, and 1 Medical and Pharmaceutical Basic Research Innovation Centre of Ministry of Education. Furthermore, SEU has 39 Postdoctoral Research Stations, 3 National-Level Liberal Arts Platforms, 2 Jiangsu Provincial Key High-End Think Tanks, and 1 Jiangsu Provincial Key Nurturing Think Tank.
SEU boasts a high-caliber faculty team. Currently, the university has 2,669 faculty members with senior or associate senior titles, as well as 1,967 doctoral supervisors. Its distinguished faculty includes 20 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, along with approximately 700 leading scholars with significant global academic influence. SEU is now deepening the strategy of “Strengthening the University through Talent” and fully implementing the “Top Priority Project” for Talent Development, striving to build a world-class faculty team.
UK-China Intelligent Mobility Research Centre (UCIMRC)
The UK-China Intelligent Mobility Research Centre (UCIMRC) of Southeast University, established in 2025, serves as a high-level platform and international window for academic exchange and scientific collaboration between China and the United Kingdom (Europe) in intelligent mobility. In response to national strategic needs, the centre focuses on frontier areas of mutual interest to China and the UK, promotes joint research on key scientific and technological challenges, and builds international exchange and training channels for young scholars and interdisciplinary talents.
By inviting distinguished scholars from the UK and Europe to China for academic lectures and collaborative research, as well as supporting outstanding young scholars and PhD students to undertake study and research at leading UK universities, the centre is committed to cultivating high-level, interdisciplinary talents with a global vision, innovative capability, and interdisciplinary backgrounds, thereby nurturing future leaders in intelligent mobility for China. The centre has three key features and strengths:
1. International High-Level Collaboration Platform
The centre has established close and sustained partnerships with world-leading universities, including Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Oxford. It has formed interdisciplinary and internationally integrated research teams, offering extensive opportunities for overseas exchange, joint training, and collaborative innovation.
2. Focus on Core Research Directions in Intelligent Mobility
Addressing major national demands in intelligent mobility, the centre conducts cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and technological innovation in three key areas: cooperative vehicle–infrastructure systems and unmanned systems, intelligent operation and maintenance of infrastructure, and brain-inspired navigation and intelligent perception, promoting coordinated development of fundamental research and engineering applications.
3. Industry–Academia–Research Integration and Technology Transfer
Leveraging Southeast University’s strong disciplinary strengths and the innovation ecosystem of the Yangtze River Delta, the centre advances the engineering implementation and industrial application of key technologies in satellite navigation and positioning, intelligent transportation, and infrastructure monitoring. It aims to facilitate technology transfer and international dissemination, with significant application potential and the capacity to drive industrial development.
Through high-level international exchange and collaboration, the centre actively attracts world-class talent and advanced research concepts, accelerates the development of key disciplines and technological innovation, and continuously enhances China’s international influence and technological competitiveness in the field of intelligent mobility.
School of Instrument Science and Engineering, Southeast University
The discipline of Instrument Science and Technology at the School of Instrument Science and Engineering, Southeast University, was established in 1960, and is one of the long-standing and top-ranked disciplines in Southeast University. The school has offered doctoral and master’s programmes since 1961. In 1981 and 1984, it was authorised to confer master’s degrees in two areas: “Precision Instrument and Machinery”, and “Testing Measurement Technology and Instrument”. In 1990, it was authorised to confer doctoral degrees in “Precision Instrument and Machinery”. In May 1992, in order to meet the needs of the development of the discipline, the department of Instrument Science and Engineering was established from the department of Automatic Control, and the School of Instrument Science and Engineering was established in September 2006.
The discipline ranks among the leading disciplines of its kind in China in terms of academic standards, research achievements, and talent cultivation. In the 2016 national discipline evaluation organised by the Ministry of Education, the discipline of “Instrument Science and Technology” received an A−rating and ranked third in China. In December 2015, the “Instrument Science and Technology” discipline of the School was rated as excellent out of 153 participating disciplines in Jiangsu Province (only nine disciplines in Jiangsu Province received an “Excellent” rating).
Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping
The Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping (CASM), founded in 1959, is a well-known multidisciplinary research institution in China specializing in spatiotemporal information. CASM has obtained ISO quality management system certification and has made a number of major scientific and technological advances, and has contributed to significant advances in spatiotemporal information technology.
The Academy’s research fields cover geodesy and navigation, photogrammetry and remote sensing, geographic information systems and cartography, geospatial big data, natural resources survey and monitoring, etc. CASM has established a number of research institutes and centres, including the Institute of Geodesy and Geodynamics, the Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, the Institute of Cartography and Geographic Information Systems, the Research Centre for Geospatial Big Data Applications, and the Research Centre for Natural Resources Survey and Monitoring. It has invested in five science and technology enterprises. It has also established the International Joint Research Centre for Surveying and Mapping Geographic Information. CASM has developed a mature scientific and technological innovation system consisting of non-profit research institutes, high-tech enterprises, and collaborative innovation platforms.