Hopes high for Westlake University as world-class institution

Shi Yigong (left), president of Westlake University, joins Nobel laureate Yang Zhenning (second from left) and Zhejiang governor Yuan Jiajun (second from right) at the founding ceremony of Westlake University in Hangzhou on Oct 20, 2018. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In July 2016, the university launched a global recruitment campaign for academics and has received more than 6,000 applications from all over the world over the past two and a half years, among which 100 world-leading scientists were selected and employed, Shi said, adding "more than 80 percent of them are talented Chinese students nurtured by our country and then sent to study or do research overseas".

Founded in Oct 2018, the university was initiated by a team of seven top Chinese academics and aspires to become a pioneer in China's higher-education reform and a cradle of innovative talents in advanced science and technology. It recruits doctoral students only.