5 Things You Should Know About The C-9 Universities In China

Asian universities are climbing up the international rankings every year. What once used to be the winning ground of the western universities is witnessing a change in dynamics. China has contributed immensely to the rise of Asian universities in international rankings, and I think I need not explore too much into whys.
A group of certain universities in the country is at the forefront of this change. Together called the C9 League, these universities are among the highest-ranked institutions in the world. The C9 Group is akin to the Ivy League in the United States of America and has a tremendous influence on regional education, politics, and culture.

So, what is C9 League in the first place? Well, let us find out 4 things about it:

1. Project 985
   In order to further the development of the Chinese Higher Education System and garner international repute, the Chinese Communist Party announced Project 985 in the year 1998. The general scheme was to ensure effective allocation of national and local funds to certain universities to improve existing infrastructure, develop research centers, and conduct international events. The focus is primarily on scientific and engineering subjects, though other areas are also given due weight.
2. Its members
   You must have understood that the member-universities must be top-notch in their game. These C9 universities are given special treatment by the State and have, therefore, acquired an elite status in society. These universities are Fudan University, Nanjing University, Tsinghua University, Harbin Institute of Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Peking University, and Zhejiang University. All of these universities are now among the top 500 universities in the world.
3. Highly competitive to get admissions
   It is pretty understandable why getting into these universities is a Herculean task. You should know that getting into any of these universities means that your life has a glorious future with all the perks peculiar to the C9 league universities. A society like that of China, which is fixated on education and results, emphasizes the need to excel in academics—and admission to a C9 university is a mark of excellence. What makes these universities all the more alluring is that a mere 0.2 percent of the candidates of the National Higher Education Entrance Examination (Gaokao) manage to qualify for these universities successfully. This rate of acceptance is lower than that maintained by Ivy League schools.
4. Exceptional achievements
   The contribution of the C9 League schools is unparalleled in Chinese history. This is evident from the stats available; as many as 3 percent of the country’s researchers come from these schools, more than 20 percent of the research publications are credited to them, and a number of prestigious groups have acknowledged their role in transforming national and international education such as Russell Group. For example, Tsinghua University conducts more than a thousand projects every year, and many of these projects have been funded by the State.