Qinghua (Tsinghua) University, China's top institution of higher learning, plans to become a world-class school in 10 years, covering a wider range of subjects,
cultivate research talents, and strengthening cooperation with well-known corporations.

The remark was made by Wang Dazhong, president of Qinghua University, at a local press conference on the preparations to celebrate the forthcoming 90th founding anniversary of the university, which falls on April 29.

Qinghua is endeavoring to adopt an all-around, research oriented and open-minded approach, by combining its fine traditions and characteristics with experience from some world- class universities in foreign countries, according to the
university leader.

Wang emphasized that restructuring disciplines and research subjects is principal task for his university to realize its aim, which calls for in-depth research on a wide range of subjects.

Qinghua, known as the "Cradle of Engineers" in China, will make greater efforts to increase courses in the social sciences, humanities and basic sciences, he noted.

In 1911, Qinghua was set up partly on the "Boxing Indemnity" " refunded" by the US government to be a preparatory school called " Tsinghua Xue Tang" for Chinese students who were sent to study in the United States. It was changed to "Tsinghua School" after the " 1911 Revolution" toppled China's last feudalistic dynasty of Qing
and founded the Republic of China. In 1925, the school became the National Tsinghua University.

Since 1949, when the People's Republic was founded, Qinghua had become a polytechnical university. Since 1978, the year China launched the reform and opening drive, the university has been built into a comprehensive school, having disciplines in science, engineering, management and social science with engineering as its main focus.
Currently, Qinghua University consists of 11 schools, 44 departments, 37 research institutes, 38 research centers, and 15 national key labs, and five national engineering centers, offering 109 master's degree programs and 87 Ph.D. degree programs, and 23
post-doctoral research centers.

The university has 751 professors including 23 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 25 members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Since 1981, the university has granted academic degrees to 39,156 bachelors, 14,181 masters, and 2,436 doctors. Nowadays, the number of graduate students makes up almost half of the total, ranking first among China's universities.

Qinghua has also carried out a wide range of international exchanges and cooperation with domestic and overseas enterprises and institutes. As many as 59 labs and training centers have been jointly operated by university and overseas organizations.