The School of Software Engineering (SSE) at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) stands as a pioneer among the first 35 National Model Software Schools accredited by the Ministry of Education in the early 2000s. Offering an undergraduate program in Software Engineering, SSE is honored as one of the first batch of national featured major construction sites and national first-class undergraduate major construction sites. In addition, SSE provides master's and doctoral degree programs in software engineering within the electronics and information field, clinching recognition as part of the esteemed "Excellent Engineer Program" by the Ministry of Education and a designated "National Engineering Master's Degree Education Characteristic Engineering Fields". Software engineering has been selected as a key discipline in Hubei Province. SSE is engaged in establishing the National School of Excellent Engineers of HUST. In 2023, SSE collaborated with Baidu to jointly build a base for the innovation practice of artificial intelligence.
Driven by a commitment to excellence, SSE has forged strong partnerships with leading IT firms, both domestic and international. These collaborations involve providing specialized courses on cutting-edge technologies, constructing internship and practice bases, and signing joint training agreements for software talents with over 30 industry partners. Moreover, SSE has developed a range of high-level courses, out of which fivehave been recognized as national first-class undergraduate courses. These courses areData Structures, Software Quality and Testing, Computer Graphics, Principles of Operating Systems, and Computer Fundamentals and Programming.
Entering a new phase of development, SSE is committed to establishing an A-class software engineering discipline, and promoting the construction of first-class majors, disciplines and the School with its own characteristics, international standards and high level. To achieve this, SSE has established four strategic principles: being led by the Party, forming the School’s characteristics, attracting talents, and developing disciplines and implemented four major action plans in terms of the Party’s direction, the introduction of outstanding teachers, the development of first-class disciplines and the cultivation of top-notch talents. Additionally, SSE adheres to the four development characteristics: talent cultivation through innovation, entrepreneurship, and internationalization; disciplinary development with a focus on interdisciplinary convergence, particularly in medical engineering; scientific research in industrial software and intelligent software; and school-enterprise cooperation for deep integration among teaching, research, and engineering. SSE has also adopted four strategies: dislocation-based development, precise deployment of resources, outstanding interdisciplinary collaboration, and remarkable achievements through distinctive ideas.
SSE has a total of 34 full-time faculty members, including 11 professors (2 of them are national high-level talents), 20 associate professors, and 3 lecturers. Most of them have practical experience in the field of software engineering. Additionally, 28 part-time foreign teachers have been hired, mainly responsible for teaching professional courses. The school has also hired over 30 part-time teachers from IT companies, all of whom have extensive practical experience in the development and management of large-scale software projects.
Over the past five years, SSE has undertaken over 60 scientific research projects, including endeavors funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC),National Science and Technology Major Project, Teaching Reform Project of the Ministry of Education of China, Special Projects of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of China and other national projects, as well as large-scale industry-sponsored development projects.Notably, SSE has held influential roles within industry associations, with leadership positions in the Wuhan Software Industry Association and the Wuhan Triple Network Convergence and Digital Home Association. The School's relentless dedication to research and innovation has yielded impressive results, with six provincial and ministerial awards, ten national invention patents, and more than 200 academic papers published. Notably, over 100 of these publications are indexed by SCI, EI, and ISTP.
To cultivate the talents, SSEadheres to the collaboration between industry, universities and research institutes both domestically and internationally and prioritizes teaching quality. We believe that technology and quality are equally important and adopt a unified approach that integrates theory and practical applications. We are constantly innovating and reforming our education mode, management system, curriculum, teaching content and methods. The School currently has 5 national first-class undergraduate courses.
SSE has strongly emphasized on innovation and entrepreneurship education, fostering a culture of innovation and active involvement in engineering practice among its students. As a result, its students have received more than 100 awards in both international and domestic competitions, including impressive accolades such as gold awards in the 8th China College Students' Internet+ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, as well as in the 2014, 2016, and 2018 China College Students' Entrepreneurship Competition.
The school's meticulous efforts in nurturing talents have been duly rewarded by the remarkable accomplishments achieved by our esteemed alumni. Since its establishment, SSE has trained over 3,600 undergraduate students, over 2,000 full-time doctoral and master's students, and over 10,000 in-service researchers, providing a large number of outstanding talents for China's software industry and related industries. Among them are visionary entrepreneurs who have founded prominent software enterprises such as Juanpi Net, Zhu Ge io, and Sencent; distinguished professionals who have chosen to serve societal development through state institutions; and ambitious scholars who have embarked on further studies at world-renowned universities.
