Hebei Petroleum University of Technology (HPU) originated in 1903 as the "Beiyang Technical School" in Tianjin, making it one of the earliest higher vocational industrial institutions in China. In 1952, the school began focusing primarily on serving the petroleum industry, and in 1958, it relocated to Chengde, Hebei Province. In 2021, the Ministry of Education approved the transformation of Chengde Petroleum College into a vocational undergraduate institution, combining it with the Hebei University of Technology’s City College. The university is a key institution for the national "Double-High Program" (high-level professional clusters), a national backbone vocational institution for advanced manufacturing services in the mechanical industry, and a founding member of the China Petroleum and Chemical Vocational Education "Belt and Road" Alliance. It was also selected as one of the "Thirty Schools for Thirty Years" in China Vocational and Technical Education and has been recognized as a typical example of employment and entrepreneurship work in Hebei Province. For two consecutive years, it ranked 5th nationally in the "Golden Apple" Comprehensive Competitiveness Ranking for Vocational Undergraduate Institutions. Since 2008, it has been awarded the "National Civilized Unit" title for 15 years in a row. In 2022, it received the prestigious "Huang Yanpei Vocational Education Award" for Excellence.
The university covers an area of 1,140 acres, with a building area of over 370,000 square meters. Its teaching and research equipment is valued at more than 220 million yuan. The library holds over 1.01 million physical books, over 400,000 e-books, and 12 electronic resource databases. The university employs 849 staff members, including 323 faculty members with senior professional titles (68 professors), and 667 faculty members holding master's degrees or above (103 of whom hold doctoral degrees). Key programs are supported by "dual-teacher" (industry and academic) teaching teams, and the university has 3 national-level teaching teams, 2 national-level vocational education teacher innovation teams, 3 national-level outstanding teaching teams in petroleum and chemical industries, and 4 provincial-level teacher innovation teams. It has 9 national-level talents, including experts receiving State Council special allowances and national technical experts, as well as 44 provincial-level master planners and outstanding talents. In national rankings for teacher teaching development, HPU is ranked 17th nationwide and 1st in Hebei Province.
The university consists of 10 departments: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics, Thermal Energy Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer and Information Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Civil Engineering, Management Engineering, and Foreign Languages and Tourism; 3 teaching divisions: Mathematics and Physics, Physical Education and Art Education, and Adult Education and Training; 1 college: the Marxist College; and 4 research centers: the Information Center, Industrial Technology Center, Instrumentation Engineering Technology Research Center, and International Exchange Center. It offers 18 vocational undergraduate programs and 47 associate degree programs. The university collaborates with Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Germany to offer 4 joint programs, and with Shilla University in South Korea to offer 3 joint programs. It has been recognized as an advanced institution for international education exchange in Hebei Province and for exemplary Sino-foreign cooperative programs.
HPU offers specialized high-level programs in petroleum engineering, petrochemical industries, and instrumentation, and has several nationally leading professional clusters. It has been selected by the Ministry of Education as a pilot for the construction of a learning-oriented society. The university offers 51 provincial-level or higher quality courses, including 22 national-level courses, resource-sharing courses, and online open courses. It has received 4 national-level textbook awards and 3 national teaching achievement awards.
The university recruits students from 27 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, with over 13,100 full-time students and more than 5,000 students in adult education programs. It has implemented a "industry-oriented, position-based" training model for high-level technical and skilled talent, in partnership with major companies such as Huawei, Great Wall Motors, and Wanhua Chemical, establishing 5 industrial colleges. It has also co-established a "high-skilled talent training base" with China Petroleum and a "skilled talent training alliance" with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and built over 100 off-campus training bases with energy companies. HPU has been granted 57 projects by the Ministry of Education for employment-oriented educational collaboration, ranking 1st in China’s vocational colleges. It has also been recognized for excellence in school-enterprise cooperation and selected as a model case for industry-education integration by the Ministry of Education.
In recent years, the university’s students have won 220 national-level awards in skills competitions, including gold medals in the "Internet+" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Many students have earned provincial and national-level titles such as "National Youth Job Skills Expert" and contributed significantly to the oil and gas industry. Notably, the university’s graduates have been key personnel in implementing China's "First 10,000-meter Scientific Exploration Well," and many have become top technical professionals in major companies such as China Petroleum, Sinopec, and CNOOC. Graduate employment rates have consistently ranked among the top for similar institutions in Hebei Province, with the university being recognized as a "National Model for Graduate Employment."
HPU is committed to serving the major industries in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the national petroleum and petrochemical sectors. It has established 12 provincial-level and higher technology innovation service platforms, including a national "Crowd Innovation Space" and the Hebei Provincial Instrumentation Technology Research Institute. Since 2019, the university has been involved in 362 research projects at the city, provincial, and national levels, including 32 provincial directive research projects. In the past five years, the university has received nearly 65 million yuan in research funding, with 1,803 published papers, including 247 in core journals and 253 in major indexing databases. The university has been granted 808 patents, including 142 invention patents, and has received 7 provincial-level science and technology awards.
HPU is also expanding its international influence by collaborating with international partners to support the oil and petrochemical industries along the "Belt and Road" initiative. The university has jointly established the "Luban Workshop" in Turkmenistan with China Petroleum Group and Kakaev International Oil and Gas University, providing international vocational education solutions. It is also involved in 4 China-Europe vocational education integration innovation platform projects.
Over its 120-year history, the university has adhered to the tradition of "engineering and liberal arts" and embraced the motto "Cultivate both virtue and art, respect work and fellowship." It has inherited the "Iron Man Spirit" and the "Saihanba Spirit," creating a rich campus culture. The university’s work in civilized cultural construction has earned it a national-level second prize for teaching achievements, and it serves as a model for similar institutions. The university has a strong commitment to high-quality Party-building and leads its development with robust institutional strength. Three of its Party branches have been selected as "National Model Party-building Work Units," and it is a designated unit for ethnic unity in Hebei Province.
Looking to the future, HPU aims to continue its commitment to socialism with Chinese characteristics, implement Xi Jinping's thoughts on socialism in the new era, and contribute to the construction of a "skills-powered China" and national regional economic and social development by providing high-quality vocational education.
(Note: The data presented is current as of March 2024.)
p.s. formerly Hebei University of Technology City College
