Dali University(大理大学)

Dali University, a higher education institution jointly built by the provincial and local governments, originated from the Dali Medical College and Dali Normal College, which were established in 1978. The two institutions merged in 2001 to form Dali University. In 2003, the university was approved to award master's degrees, and in 2015, it was renamed Dali University. In 2021, the university was granted the authority to award doctoral degrees. After 46 years of development, Dali University has become a comprehensive university with strengths in biopharmaceutical research, ethnic cultural studies, and ecological environmental protection, with a distinctive focus on international student education. It is the first university in non-capital cities of Yunnan Province to offer undergraduate education and to be granted both master's and doctoral degree-awarding authority. The university has increasingly solidified its position as a "leader" among local universities in Yunnan.

The university has 20 teaching and research institutions and 9 affiliated hospitals, with over 22,000 full-time students. It currently holds one doctoral degree program in a first-level discipline, 8 master's degree programs in first-level disciplines, and 15 master's professional degree programs. The disciplines of Botany and Zoology are ranked in the top 1% globally according to ESI. The university offers 73 undergraduate programs, including 7 national first-class undergraduate programs and 21 provincial first-class undergraduate programs. It also has 3 first-class programs under the "Increase A, Decrease D" initiative in Yunnan. There are 2 national-level first-class undergraduate courses and 50 provincial-level first-class undergraduate courses. The university has been awarded 3 "Huang Danian-style Teacher Teams" in Yunnan Province.

Dali University has gathered more than 100 national and provincial-level talents, including "Changjiang Scholars" and "Outstanding Young Scholars." The university boasts more than 20 research platforms above the provincial level, such as the "National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Medicinal Insects Development" and the "National Teacher Development Collaborative Innovation Experimental Base," and 9 provincial-level innovation teams.

In the past five years, the university has received over 200 research projects, including national natural science fund projects, social science fund projects, and Ministry of Education humanities and social science projects. It has published over 100 academic papers in top international journals such as Nature Communications and has won more than 30 provincial and national awards for educational and scientific achievements, including the National Innovation and Excellence Award, the Second-Class National Teaching Achievement Award, and the First-Class Yunnan Province Science and Technology Progress Award.

For a long time, Dali University has adhered to the service positioning of "Rooted in Dali, Serving Western Yunnan, Facing Yunnan and Neighboring Provinces, Radiating South and Southeast Asia." It has closely aligned itself with regional economic and social development needs, focusing on talent cultivation, scientific research, social service, cultural inheritance and innovation, and international exchanges and cooperation. The university's educational outcomes and distinctive features are becoming increasingly prominent, making a positive contribution to enhancing Dali's international influence, improving its global recognition, and driving regional economic and social development.

1. Rooted in Western Yunnan, providing talent support for economic and social development: Over its 46 years of operation, the university has adhered to its original mission of "changing the shortage of medical care, medicine, and education in Western Yunnan." It closely integrates the unique geographical and resource advantages of Yunnan and Western Yunnan, continuously exploring the unique features of disciplines and innovative models for talent cultivation. The university has trained over 200,000 high-quality talents, with 80% staying in Western Yunnan and 60% working in education and healthcare in the region. This has provided talent support and intellectual power for the prosperity, stability, and ethnic unity of the border areas in Western Yunnan.

2. Serving the local region, providing intellectual support for regional economic and social development: The university adheres to the research philosophy of "One Mountain, One River, One Ethnic Group, One History," focusing on biopharmaceutical research, ethnic cultural studies, ecological environmental protection, development of medicinal plants in Western Yunnan, and research on the prevention of local diseases. Through the efforts of several generations, the university has built research clusters in biomedicine, ethnic culture, and ecological environment, effectively supporting industrial development, ecological protection, and stability in the border areas of Western Yunnan.

3. Serving national strategies, exploring new practices for building a South and Southeast Asia radiating center: Over the years, the university has embraced the educational philosophy of "Integrating Cultures from All Directions, Shaping the Spirit of the University" and has comprehensively promoted international exchange and cooperation. In 2006, the university was listed as one of the first batch of universities in Yunnan Province to implement the "Go Global" strategy. In 2008, it was designated as a "Yunnan Provincial International Applied Talent Training Base." Internationalization of education, particularly for international students, has become one of the university's major features. Currently, the university has established cooperative relationships with over 50 universities and educational institutions abroad. In 2007, it set up the "DHY Chinese Language Center" at the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, and in 2017, it established the "Maritime Silk Road Confucius Institute" at Phranakhon Rajabhat University in Thailand. In 2018, the university was designated as a "Chinese Language Education Base" by Yunnan Province and has established 11 "Overseas Chinese Language Teaching Practice Bases" in 4 Lancang-Mekong countries (Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia).

Since 2002, the university has been enrolling international students from Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Since 2005, it has also enrolled medical students from South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, and Nepal. The university currently has over 1,200 full-time international students from more than 20 countries. According to data from the Ministry of Education, the university has consistently ranked among the top in Western China in terms of the number of international students pursuing undergraduate degrees. In the "2019 Best Chinese Universities" ranking released by ShanghaiRanking, the university ranked 13th in China and 1st in Yunnan Province for student internationalization.

In the new historical period, Dali University will closely align itself with national development strategies and Yunnan's development goals, focusing on the construction of a "First-Class University and Most Beautiful Campus." With a central mission of "One Leadership, Three Integrations, and Five Breakthroughs," the university will fully implement the Party's education policy, adhere to the socialist direction of education, and carry out the fundamental task of fostering virtue and talent. The university will continue to promote development based on advantages, characteristics, integration, innovation, and reform, implementing strategies to build a quality-driven, academically strong, talent-enhanced, open, and culturally enriched university. It aims to become a high-level, distinctive, first-class university in Western China, well-known nationally, and influential in South and Southeast Asia.

(Data as of May 2024)