Recently, the evaluation result for national Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools were released. Dalian Maritime University’s Houston International Institute stood out among over 100 participating institutions and was honored for the first time as an Excellent Chinese-Foreign Cooperatively-run School.

Houston International Institute of Dalian Maritime University was approved by the Ministry of Education in April 2020. It is the university’s first Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run school and the first “4+0” dual-degree Sino-U.S. program in Liaoning Province. The college offers three undergraduate programs: Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation, Civil Engineering, and Electronic Information Engineering. Students who meet the academic requirements and degree criteria will be awarded both the diploma and degree certificates from Dalian Maritime University and the University of Houston. Currently, the college has nearly 1,200 students enrolled.

Over the years, guided by the national strategy of building a strong transportation and maritime nation, Dalian Maritime University has actively supported the development of Houston International Institute. By introducing top-tier academic resources from the University of Houston and integrating them with our university’s strengths in maritime-related disciplines, the college has cultivated a cohort of internationally minded and globally competitive professionals in ocean engineering. Nearly 30% of the college’s graduates have pursued further studies abroad, with the majority admitted to universities ranked among the global top 100 by QS and ShanghaiRanking. This initiative has contributed significantly to building a hub for cultivating high-level, in-demand talent in China and advancing the internationalization of higher education, earning wide recognition and positive acclaim from all sectors of society.

Dalian Maritime University will continue to strengthen the development of Houston International Institute, actively expand the scale of internationalized education, and comprehensively enhance the quality of Chinese-foreign cooperative education. The university is committed to presenting its image to the world and telling China’s story through international engagement. By deepening its global presence, the university aims to open up new frontiers in international development and contribute greater strength to national rejuvenation and the building of a strong country.

About the initiative

The evaluation of Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools is organized by the Chinese-Foreign Joint Education Committee. The initiative aims to showcase the achievements of China’s cooperative education efforts, promote high-quality development in the field, and support the nation’s educational development goals. This year’s evaluation focused on five key dimensions: academic level, quality of introduced resources, talent cultivation, honors and recognition, and industry reputation. A combination of objective scoring and expert peer review was used to select 17 Distinguished Institutions and 16 Excellent Institutions nationwide.