Jimei University (JMU), located in Xiamen, Fujian Province, is a “Double First-class” university and a provincial university jointly constructed by the Fujian Ministry of Transport, the Fujian Ministry of Natural Resources, and other organizations in the province and the city of Xiamen. It offers doctorate degree programs and master’s degree programs exempted from admission examinations, and is the only qualified institution on the mainland identified by the Maritime Bureau of the Ministry of Transport to train Taiwan seafarers.

With a long history of 104 years, the origin of JMU can be traced back to Teachers’ Department of Jimei School (1918) and the Aquatic and Business Departments of Jimei School (1920), both of which were founded by Chen Jiageng (Tan Kah Kee), a renowned overseas Chinese patriotic leader. In 1994, Jimei Teachers College, Jimei Navigation College, Jimei College of Finance and Economics, Xiamen College of Fisheries and Fujian College of Physical Education merged into JMU. In 2004 the Xiamen School of Industry was also included in the merge. JMU is committed to “establishing a school with the spirit of Chen Jiageng and fostering talents with the Sincerity and Perseverance.”

After the founding of the Board of Jimei University in 1996, Xi Jinping, He Guoqiang, Chen Mingyi, Lu Zhangong and Huang Xiaojing have served as the university’s Chairmen respectively. The current Chairman of the Board is Wang Yifu, with Jia Qinglin and Chen Yongzai as the consultants. During the period from 1999 to 2002, when serving as Chairman of the Board during his term as Governor of Fujian Province, General Secretary Xi Jinping paid seven visits to JMU, providing invaluable guidance which laid a solid foundation for the development of the university and its future.

With 20 colleges and schools, JMU boasts a total enrolment of more than 29,400 students: over 26,400 full-time undergraduates，2,800 postgraduates and nearly 200 international students. It currently has a faculty of about 1,500 full-time teachers, including 13 academicians (2 full-time), 33 national top-level talents, 156 high-level talents at both the provincial and ministerial levels, and 226 talents at the municipal and departmental levels.

JMU has a wide range of disciplines, covering Economics, Law, Education, Literature, Science, Engineering, Agriculture, Management, Arts etc., among which 3 disciplines, Botany and Zoology, Engineering and Agricultural Science rank the top 1% of ESI（Essential Science Indicators）. It offers 4 first-class doctorate degree programs, 15 first-class master’s degree programs and 18 master’s degree programs. There are 8 key disciplines in Fujian Province (including 2 specialized key disciplines) and 1 postdoctoral research station in aquatic discipline. The Shipping and Ocean Engineering and Aquatic Sciences were selected as “double first-class” construction disciplines in Fujian Province. The Shipping and Ocean Engineering Discipline Group and Aquatic and Food Engineering Discipline Group entered the list of “peak disciplines” in Fujian Province. Shipping and Port Logistics Discipline Group, Regional Economy and Management Discipline Group, Fujian-Taiwan Sports and Culture Discipline Group, and Mathematics and Science Discipline Group have also been enlisted as “plateau disciplines” of Fujian Province.

There are 76 undergraduate programs, including 4 state-level specialty majors, 25 state-level first-rate undergraduate programs, 6 state-level “excellence” talent training programs, 3 state-level professional comprehensive reform pilot projects, 3 engineering education programs certified by the Ministry of Education, 3 level 2 teaching education programs accreditated by the Ministry of Education, 24 provincial first-class major programs, 11 provincial specialty major programs and 11 provincial comprehensive reform pilot major programs, 8 provincial specialty major programs with service industry characteristics, and 6 provincial innovation and entrepreneurship education reform pilot major programs. There is 1 national teaching team, 2 national experimental teaching demonstration centers, 1 national virtual simulation experimental teaching center, 1 national practical education base for college students, 12 provincial teaching teams, 16 provincial experimental teaching demonstration centers, and 4 provincial virtual simulation experimental teaching centers. As an important base for cultivating senior maritime professionals in China, JMU boasts the world’s largest vessel for training and practice, “Yude” weighing 64,000 tons.

JMU has 2 national and local joint engineering research centers, 17 research innovation platforms and humanities and social science research bases at the provincial (ministerial) level, 4 provincial-level collaborative innovation centers, 2 provincial-level new think tanks, 18 provincial-level university innovation platforms/research bases, and 9 provincial-level science and technology innovation teams of universities. JMU has undertaken a number of key projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology (including the former National 973 Project, National 863 Project, National Key R&D Program, etc.), key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, key projects of the National Social Science Foundation, and other national subjects. As their research achievements, their research papers have won 136 scientific and technological awards at and above the provincial and ministerial levels. With the advantage of the characteristics of “engineering integrated with marine science”, JMU has expanded public social services, contributing greatly to the development of national and local social construction. JMU has collaborated with nearly 1,000 enterprises and institutions in industry, academia and research.

JMU has engaged in further expanding education. Located in Xiamen, the core area of the “Maritime Silk Road”, it has been devoted to serving “The Belt and Road” initiative and the construction of the innovation base of the BRICS New Industrial Revolution Partnership. JMU has established partnerships with more than 130 famous universities and research institutions around the world, carrying out academic exchanges and cooperation with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU) and the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). ASEAN Education Center of JMU in Bangkok, Thailand has been set up as well. Since two Sino-foreign cooperation programs were approved, more than 6,000 graduates of 16 classes have been trained so far. JMU has innovatively launched joint training project of international talents of “The Belt and Road” between the University and some enterprises. As a result, the first cooperative training program for African (Angola) talents has successfully implemented. As a strategic partner of the Ministry of Education (China) Service Center for Studying Abroad, JMU is one of the earliest institutions certified by the Ministry of Education to admit students from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, overseas Chinese and foreign students. It also enrolls the winners of “Fujian Provincial Government Scholarship for International Students” and “The Xiamen Tan Kah Kee Scholarship”. Furthermore, it has been set up as a study tour base for Taiwanese youths in Fujian Province and Jimei District, a subsidized school of the “Double Exchange Program for Youth on the Mainland” by The Government of the Hong Kong SAR, as well as one of the first “Overseas Chinese Education Bases” in Fujian Province.

JMU covers a total area of 1.57 million square meters (2300 acres) with a building area of 1.03 million square meters. Eight buildings in honor of Tan Kah Kee with their distinctive architectural features have been rated as national cultural relics. The architecture complex of the new campus was awarded as one of the “100 Classic and Top-quality projects for the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of People’s Republic of China”. JMU has access to a 10 Gigabit high-speed campus network. The library houses a collection of more than 3.33 million volumes of documents and nearly 1,000 journals in Chinese and foreign languages, more than 13 million e-books and 30,000 e-journals. 65 databases in Chinese and foreign languages have been introduced and 5 databases have been set up to meet the needs of teaching and research.

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s congratulation letter to the Centennial Celebration of JMU will continue to guide and instruct JMU to make unremitting endeavor to reform and innovate, and accelerate the construction of a first-class university with an emphasis on “engineering integrated with marine science.” This will further the construction of a modern socialist country, making further contributions to the realization of the Chinese dream: the rejuvenation of the nation.

Updated data: Nov., 2022