Lanzhou Jiaotong University, formerly known as Lanzhou Railway University, was set up in 1958 as China's third railway institute. Approved by the State Council, the then Ministry of Railways established Lanzhou Railway University by transferring some departments and offices together with a sizable number of prestigious experts and professors, from two Chinese colleges of high repute ------ the Beijing Railway Institute (the present Bejing Jiaotong University) and the Tangshan Railway Institute (the present Southwest Jiaotong University), in order to adjust the country's railway distribution and speed up railway construction in western China. With the approval of the Ministry of Education, Lanzhou Railway University changed its name to Lanzhou Jiaotong University in April 2003.

After 46 years of construction and development, Lanzhou Jiaotong University has developed into a comprehensive technical institution combining sciences, social sciences, liberal arts and commerce, with engineering -- the key discipline. As a base for scientific research and for training of new talent of Northwest China's railway and highway spheres, Lanzhou Jiaotong University is among the best of Gansu Province's colleges and universities at a comprehensive level and has made noticeable contributions to the economic and social development of western China. Lanzhou Jiaotong University gives full play to its own advantages as an engineering university and seeks more channels for the applying of its disciplines. It has worked assiduously to turn itself into an open and high-level comprehensive university with stress on scientific research. The university is determined to establish its reputation not only in the Northwest but also in the whole country.

In order to fully utilize its education resources, the university has established a board of trustees, including over 55 large and medium-sized enterprises and more than 35 responsible departments. With its powerful teaching staff, multidisciplinary advantages, and achievements in teaching and scientific research, the university is rapidly emerging in western China.

Currently, the university houses the following 13 schools and 1 department:

School of Civil Engineering

School of Architecture and Urban Planning

School of Information and Electrical Engineering

School of Mechatronic Engineering

School of Environmental & Municipal Engineering

School of Traffic and Transportation

School of Economics and Management

School of Mathematics, Physics and Software Engineering

School of Foreign Languages

School of Chemical and Biological Engineering

School of Art and Design

School of Adult Continuing Education

School of International Unified Education

Physical Education Department.

Technical and Engineering Centers:

Gansu Research Center of Automation Engineering Technology for Industry and Transportation

Gansu Networks Monitoring and Testing Center

Environmental Evaluation and Assessment Center

Water Treatment and Environmental Engineering Center

The Technical Center of Traffic and Transportation Engineering

The Technical Center of Information Engineering and Control

The Mechano-electronic Products Development Center

All the research institutes directly affiliated to the University in the following areas: the development of computer software, telecommunications and automatic control, engineering structure, mechano-electronic engineering, water resources and environmental technology, water-conservation science, applied mathematics, economic management, and social development. There are also 10 research departments related to systems engineering, structural and anti-seismic analysis and other fields. In addition, the University has set up 12 research facilities including laboratories for CAD and CAI projects, mathematically controlled machining, water resources and conservation science research, transportation and packaging inspection, reinforcement techniques for railroad freight loading and transportation, and environmental engineering and monitoring. So far the University has committed to continuous research in the following areas: bridge and structure innovative design; light building materials; information exchange and networks; traffic and transportation automation and control; system engineering and operational research; cybernetics; water treatment, reuse and sewage disposal; mechano-electronic engineering; applied mathematics; economics and management, etc.

Lanzhou Jiaotong University is among the first batch of universities to confer bachelor's (all disciplines) and master's (engineering) degrees. Furthermore, in May 2003 Lanzhou Jiaotong University gained official approval from the State Council to confer doctoral degrees. The university has 44 undergraduate specialites, 36 master's degree courses, 3 doctoral degree courses, seven key disciplines at the provincial level, five key laboratories at the provincial/ministry level, 34 research institutes, 40 laboratories and seven engineering technology developing centers. Through the long courses of its operation, the University has firmly established its own excellent traditions and achieved a dominant position in many technical fields. Some of its backbone disciplines have already had international influence.

Currently, the university employs 1,822 education professionals including 1,021 teachers. Among the teachers there are 271 professors and associate professors. By the end of 2003, the university had graduated more than 40,000 highly trained engineers and managers for both the national railway and local transportation industries. The university's current enrollment totals 15,000 full-time undergraduates. This represents a significant increase in enrollment in the past few years. The university additionally has over 1,100 graduate students and 11,200 registered participants in adult education courses.

With a campus area of 208 acres and a floor area in excess of 536,000 square meters, the university represents a capital totaling RMB 656 million (US$ 79.3 million) in fixed assets, RMB145 million (US$17.53 million) of which is allocated to scientific equipment and teaching facilities. As one of the five major collectors in Gansu Province, the university library, endowed with an international on-line data retrieval system, has amassed 930,000 books, including 106,400 foreign-language books; 2,914 periodicals, including 143 foreign-language periodicals; 6,124 audiovisual publications; 3,037 computer disc pieces and 439 English-language electronic periodicals. The university has one of the most extensive campus broadband networks in the Northwest. In the period of the 10th Five-Year Plan, the university will invest RMB 177 million (US 1.4 million) for 19 key projects so as to further improve its teaching facilities.

In the past five years, the university has won 10 first prizes and 17 second prizes for its teaching achievements at the provincial level. On the same level, it has won three first prizes and 11 second prizes for excellent textbooks. On the national level, it has won two first prizes and one second prize for excellent textbooks. The students of the university have won two first prizes and seven second prizes in national mathematical modeling competitions as well as 13 top prizes, eight first prizes and nine second prizes at the provincial level. They are all among the best in national English examinations for Band 4 and Band 6. In 2003, the passing percentage in national TEM (Test for English Majors) has reached as high as 92.2%. In addition, the students have received good results for many years in succession in a national electronic design competition, a national computer network competition, the "Shensu Cup" computer programming competition, and the "Tiaozhan Cup" competition for college students' creations after school. Lanzhou Jiaotong University graduates are highly valued for their ability to combine theory with practice. They are therefore welcomed by companies and other organizations across the country. For many years in succession, the exiting employment rate tops 96 per cent and ranks first among the universities and colleges in Gansu Province.

The university has adopted a series of measures to improve the quality of its teachers. For example, it encourages young teachers to study for master's degrees and doctoral degrees at home and abroad. Since 2000, the university has appropriated RMB 4.5 million (US$ 0.54 million) for the "Qinglan Talent Project" to provide financial support to more than 50 selected young teachers in their scientific researches. Among the registered teachers, 42 have doctoral degrees and 294 have master's degrees and an additional 284 are either studying for doctoral or master's degrees.

Altogether this accounts for about 50 per cent of the teaching staff. Of the existing professors, over 10 have been invited to be supervisors of Ph. D candidates by Zhejiang University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Southwest Jiaotong University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences; 8 have won national "May First" medals or national "Excellent Teacher" titles; 54 have won "Excellent Teacher" titles at the provincial level; 18 have been honored as the young and middle-aged experts with outstanding contributions; 21 have been honored as the trans-century pioneers in academic studies of Gansu Province; 18 have been listed on the "Gansu 333 Talent Project" and 77 have received special subsidies from the State Council. The teaching staff incorporates a rational structure of ages, knowledge, schooling records and academic titles.

The distinguishing feature of the university's scientific research is the study and development of new products through the combination of theory and appliance so as to meet the social demands and solve the technical problems of enterprises. As early as in 1978, the university had won prizes at the national science and technology conference. In 1983, the Hanjiang River Mitre-joint, Box-shaped Steel Bridge design, in which the university participated, won the national gold award. In 1996, the Adjustable Hydraulic Turbine Grinding Installation won a third prize for national technological inventions and at the same time got a patent for national excellent inventions.

In recent years, the university is speeding up the pace of scientific research and technical development. In the past five years, the university has participated in 256 vertical co-operation research topics and 643 cross cooperation research topics at the State/provincial/ministry level, with scientific research funds totaling RMB102 million (US$ 12.3 million). The university has achieved 451 scientific research results, including one first prize and one second prize for the State scientific and technological advancement and 52 provincial/ministry prizes for scientific and technological advancement. Four scientific research results have been listed on the key projects promotion plan of the State and of Gansu Province.

The China Railway Computerized Ticket Booking System, in which the university participated, won first prize for the 2000 State scientific and technological advancement. The ZR-1416-8 Large Aluminous Board Alar Vacuum Braze System of Bartering Quality of Heat in which the university participated as a major manufacturer, won second prize for State scientific and technological advancement in 1998. The ZDL Series Computerized Control System for Vacuum Electroplating of Automobile Lamps, manufactured independently by the university with total intellectual property rights, has been put into production at Hella, a Sino-German joint-venture company in Changchun. This represents the first time a university in Gansu Province has mass produced and exported in entirety such high-tech and large-scale, electromechanical equipment. As the first university for the scientific research and construction of Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Lanzhou Jiaotong University participated in the research topic entitled Theoretical Studies and Practice on the Project Design in the Permafrost Area of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which won the second prize for scientific and technological advancement issued by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Electronic Intelligent Railway Signal Control Module, manufactured by the university, has solved the problem of railway signal control in high and cold areas. The "Water Purification Tank for Field Operations", a co-operative product with the Lanzhou Military Region, won the first prize for the all-army scientific and technological advancement. The product is a must for the military equipment of the People's Liberation Army.

In the past five years, the teachers of the university have published 2,932 academic papers in domestic and foreign journals. Of them, 2,025 are published in authoritative journals and 142 can be searched for in SCI, EI and ISTP. The teachers have published 54 monographs, translated four monographs and compiled over 100 textbooks. In 2002, the university signed 182 scientific research items with a fund totaling RMB 35.66 million (US$4.3 million). Each professor or associate professor will get RMB79, 100 (US$ 9564) on an average for scientific research. To meet the need of economic construction and railway development in the Northwest, the university has adjusted its disciplinary structure by pioneering and developing areas of study. Meanwhile, the university is enforcing regulations on disciplinary construction and administration, training the leading scholars in each branch of learning and adopting a responsibility system to make each professor know one's duties, rights and benefits. In the past five years, the university has invested RMB 13.14 million (US$ 1.59 million) to establish a self-maintaining balance of administration and instruction. At present, the university has quite a few key disciplines at the provincial/ministry level such as traffic and transportation engineering, with traffic information engineering and control as its backbone; civil engineering, with bridge and tunnel engineering as its backbone; environmental engineering; vehicle engineering; communication and information systems; operational research and cybernetics and management science and engineering. These disciplines are playing an important role in the development of western China, turning Gansu into a powerful industrial province and promoting modern railway and highway construction in the region.

Lanzhou Jiaotong University always attaches importance to international scientific research, cooperation and academic exchanges. In the past five years, the university has sent more than 120 young and middle-aged teachers to study or visit abroad. Meanwhile the university has invited over 70 foreign experts and professors to conduct lectures and organize seminars. By now, The University has established long-term cooperative linkage with institutions in such countries as the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, UK, Sweden, South Korea, the Netherlands and Russia. Foreign experts and scholars are often invited to conduct academic exchanges and lecture series on campus. For example, the University successfully completed a three-year cooperative project in computer network applications in Northwest China with Ryerson Polytechnic University in Canada, which greatly promoted the application of the latest achievements in the Northwest. In addition, the University successfully fulfilled another three-year Sino-Australian cooperative program known as Research Education and Training on Water Resources Protection and Re-use in China with Australian CSIRO and held the International Workshop on Water Resources, Soil-Environmental Protection and Treatment Technology at LRU in 2000. This program also resulted in two training courses during the 3 years, which graduated more than 700 water resources professionals throughout China. In order to improve the foreign language teaching to a still higher level, the University annually engages foreign teachers to undertake teaching duties. In addition, in the past few years, University professors have participated in numerous international academic conferences and submitted more than 80 scientific articles. In 2002, the university and the Cold/Dry Areas Environment and Engineering Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly organized the Sixth National Glacier Cryopedology Conference and the International Frozen-Ground Engineering Seminar. In March 2003, on the basis of mutual benefit and friendly cooperation, the university signed an agreement of joint-education program with the Iowa State University of the United States.

The rapid economic growth in China's northwest has provided golden opportunities for the University's further development and has also posed new challenges for personnel training and scientific research. The University is now on its way to becoming a key multidisciplinary technical school in the Northwest encompassing economics management and liberal arts. It is also endeavoring to build itself into a main scientific research base for traffic and transportation in the Northwest, a training center for transportation and economics professionals and a leading minority workforce in this area. For rapid development in the 21st century, Lanzhou Jiaotong University is seeking more international exchanges and co-operation on a wide range of subjects. Any foreign universities or individuals who are interested in this regard may contact the university in the following ways.

Lanzhou Jiaotong University is located in Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province. Lanzhou, situated on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization and a main point on the ancient Silk Route. Its long history and unique geographical environment has enabled Gansu to leave behind a large amount of valuable relics. Gansu is one of the oldest areas where Buddhism was introduced. Such places as Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, the Tianshui Maiji Mountain Grottoes, Yongjing Binglingsi Temple and Labrang Monastery in Xiahe county, for example, can be rated as valuable art treasure troves. Buddhist frescoes, colored sculptures, stone figures, tablets, pagodas, scriptures in the Han and Tibetan language and other valuable art works from the Sui (581 AD) to 16th States and Tang periods are known near and far for their exquisite workmanship. Gansu is indeed rich in cultural legacies. All these places are waiting for your coming and visiting with their unique western view.

Teacher or Expert: teachers or experts

Nationality: USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and France

Education: bachelor or above or with TESOL / TEFL certificate

Work experience: over one year

Contract time: one academic year (10 months)

Courses: Oral English, Conversation, Reading, Writing, English and American Literature & Western Culture, French major courses, Economics and Management, Environmental Science and Engineering, Civil Engineering

Workload: 14-16 class hours / week

Monthly salary (RMB): 2,800-4,500 (negotiable), depending on academic qualification and work experience

Travel allowance (RMB): international airfare, domestic transportation expenses and additional 1,400 on completion of the contract

Monthly telephone allowance (RMB): rent

Board: cooking utilities provided

Free boarding: fully furnished apartment with private bathroom, kitchen, computer, printer, refrigerator, washing machine, microwave oven, VCD player, etc.

Boarding place: on campus

Place of position (city): Lanzhou

Place of position (province): Gansu

Expected time to teach: September, 2004

International Cooperation & Exchange Office Lanzhou Jiaotong University

Add: No.118 West Anning Road, Lanzhou ,Gansu People's Republic 
of China

Tel:+86-931-493-8030

Fax:+86-931-766-7661

E-mail: shunli@mail.lzjtu.cn

Website: www.lzjtu.cn

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