Expectations are running high for Westlake University, China's first private university aimed at cultivating high-level talent in advanced technology to develop into a world-leading higher educational institution, said Shi Yigong, a leading scientist and president of Westlake University at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 3.

While China has made substantial progress in scientific and technological development, it is still lagging behind in some basic research areas," he said, adding that some breakthroughs are to be made in advanced technologies which require more outstanding creative talents.

Drawing upon the fundraising campaigns of world-class universities, Westlake University was funded by donations from entrepreneurs, investors, and overseas Chinese.

The Westlake University was born and developed on the basis of China's higher education system and represents a huge advance in the system, Shi said, adding that it is fortunate that the university is located in Hangzhou as Zhejiang province is a pioneer in high educational reforms.

He hoped that the university can evolve into a driving force and take a leading position in global science and technology research. 

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.