Beijing Institute of Technology

About

The Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. It was originally established as the Yan'an Natural Science Academy in 1940 in Yan'an, Shaanxi. Since 2008, it has been administered by the MIIT.

Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) has its origins in the Yan'an Research Academy of Natural Sciences . BIT was established May 1939 in Yan'an, Shaanxi by the Chinese Communist Party with the aim of training science and engineering professionals. In January 1940 when China was undergoing the most difficult phase of the War of Resistance Against Japan the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party reformed the Yan'an Research Academy of Natural Sciences into the Yan'an Academy of Natural Sciences . The mission of the academy was to assist industrial development in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region. Opened on 1 September 1940 it was the first science and engineering university founded by the Chinese Communist Party. Li Fuchun, secretary of the CCP Committee for Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region, was appointed as the first president and was succeeded by educationist Xu Teli. During the founding period the Yan'an Academy of Natural Sciences received support from international organizations and individuals including Rewi Alley. In March 1943 the Yan'an Academy of Natural Sciences merged with the newly founded University of Yan'an and was named the School of Natural Sciences University of Yan'an . At the end of 1945 the University of Yan'an moved to the north of China.

In January 1946 the School of Natural Sciences moved to Zhangjiakou. The Central Bureau of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region decided to settle the School at Zhangjiakou and merged it with Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region College of Technology to form the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region College . At the end of the same year the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region Institute moved to Hebei and merged with the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region Academy of Railway to form the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region College of Industry and Transportation . One year later the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region Institute moved to Jingxing County and was renamed the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region Bureau of Industry College of Technology . In August 1948 it merged with the Institute of Technology Northern University to form the Institute of Technology North China University .

=== Institute of Technology North China University period (1949–1952) ===

The home campus of Sino-French University and its Departments of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry were merged into the Institute of Technology North China University in October 1950. During the Cultural Revolution most research at Beijing Institute of Technology came to a halt but quickly resumed after 1976.

BIT is traditionally strong in national defense and military technologies research, especially radar, missiles and armored combat vehicles but also maintained outstanding research strength in electrical engineering, automation, photonics, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, computer science and industrial design. As of 2015 BIT has established cooperation with more than 200 universities from 58 countries and implemented student exchange programs with more than 40 universities in the world including the Technical University of Munich, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, University of California and The Australian National University.

Zhongguangcun campus has an area of 920,700 square meters, including a floor space of 724,000 square meters. It is the oldest campus of BIT. Since the opening of Liangxiang campus in 2007 Zhongguancun campus is mainly used to host higher year undergraduate students and postgraduate students.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.