Introduction of the college in Xi’an, Shannxi province

An Introduction to NPU

Northwestern Polytechnical University is China’s only research-oriented, multi-disciplinary, and international university of science and technology, which simultaneously excels at Aeronautics, Astronautics, and Marine Engineering. The University emphasizes science and technology, while harmoniously developing the fields of management, humanities, economics, and law.
The predecessors of Northwestern Polytechnical University were the State Northwestern Engineering College (formed by Beiyang Engineering College, Engineering College of Peking University, Engineering College of Northeast University and Jiaozuo Engineering College in 1938), and Huadong Aeronautical College (formed by the Aeronautical Engineering Department of Jiaotong University, Aeronautical Engineering Department of Nanjing University, and Aeronautical Engineering Department of Zhejiang University in 1952). State Northwestern Engineering College and Huadong Aeronautical College joined to become the Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1957. In 1970 the Air Force Engineering Department of Harbin Military Engineering College was merged into NPU.

During the “Seventh Five-year Plan”(1986-1990) and the “Eighth Five-year Plan” (1991-1995), NPU was one of the 15 universities for key construction by the State Council. In the “Ninth Five-year Plan” (1996-2000) period, it was one of the first universities to be funded by Project 211, and it was one of the national key constructions of Project 985 during the “Tenth Five-year Plan” (2001-2005). It is also one of the first Chinese universities that have set up Graduate Schools and University Science Parks.
The NPU campus covers an area of 2,917 mu. The University offers 53 undergraduate programs, 101 graduate programs, 57 doctoral programs and ten postdoctoral research stations. It also has the authority to confer the MBA and Master of Engineering Degrees.
Currently, NPU has 1430 full and associate professors and senior engineers, among whom there are 15 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Chinese Academy of Science, five foreign academicians, 12 Yangtze Rive Scholars and 320 Ph.D. advisors.
Since its foundation, NPU has trained more than 100,000 students including 2,000 Ph.D. and 13,400 Master students. Among them, there are the country’s first Ph.D. students in six different disciplines, and the first test pilots with a Master Degree. 34 Ph.D. students and teachers of the University have become the research fellows of Alexander Humboldt, and six NPU graduates are the recipients of the Chinese Ten Outstanding Youths titles.

NPU has become an important center for scientific innovation. It has ten state key disciplines, 13 first-class disciplines with the authority of conferring doctoral degree, ten national key laboratories and national specialized laboratories, ten provincial and ministerial key laboratories and nine provincial engineering research centres. Scientific research is one of the great strengths of NPU. The main indexes of its research are among the top Chinese universities, and the University has become a vital part of the scientific research “National Team”. The University has successfully undertaken 4163 research projects during the “Tenth Five-year Plan” (2001-2005). Over 1,100 national, provincial and ministerial awards have been granted to the University for its excellent research achievements, of which there are eight State Awards for Science and Technology Accomplishments. In 2004, the Project “Processing of Continuous Fiber Reinforced Silicon Carbide Matrix Composites for High Temperature and Long-Time Applications” achieved the first-class State Technology Invention Award which had remained vacant for the past six years. The research fund gained by the University has ranked in the top ten among Chinese universities in the past six years. In 2004, the research fund was up to 824 million RMB, which ranked the sixth in China. The international academic exchange and cooperation has been growing rapidly. Agreements have been signed for the international academic exchange and cooperation with more than 100 universities, research institutions, and industries in the U.S.A., the U.K., France, Germany and many other counties. 23 joint research institutes have been established with universities and industries abroad. More than 120 oversea scholars, professors, and experts (including Professor Li Zhengdao) have been appointed as Honorary Professor and Consultant Professor of NPU. The UNESCO Chinese UNISPAR Working Group was established at NPU.

Introduction of Xi’an

With regard to higher education, Xi'an ranks fourth in the country next to Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan. It is also an important base of scientific research center in China. The Chang'an College Town, which is now under construction, will be a great appeal to hundreds of thousands of students from around the country. The development of private education in Xi'an is also ahead of other regions of the country. After the implementation of the reform and opening-up policy, the first private institute of higher education was founded in Xi'an. Till today there have been fine institutes each of which keeps an enrollment of over 10,000 students.



Xi'an has emerged as one of the most popular travel cities in the country. With a rapid development of tourist industry and gradual improvement of the travel environment, Xi'an now has a total number of 32 ranking hotels, 27 international travel agencies and more than 100 domestic tourist services. In fact , tourist industry has become the mainstay in Xi'an's economy, and the city is honored as one of the “Popular Tourist Cities in China.”



Xi'an possesses a convenient transportation with a completed network of airlines, railways and highways. Xi'an-Xianyang International Airport has established more than 100 domestic and international airlines, and opened up airlines directly bound for Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Hiroshima and Niynaya in Japan, and Seoul in Korea. The Xi'an Railway Station is not only a passenger transportation station of top grade, but also an important spot of the Eurasia Continental Bridge in China. As for the highway service, there are more than 40 roads connecting the center of Xi'an City and various tourist attractions, nine of which are specialized tourist routes.

Today with the implementation of the opening-up policy, Xi'an, an ancient city, is gradually taking on a new look. With its unique charm, the city poses a great appeal to tourists both from home and abroad.

Foreign Teacher Recruitment

The Northwestern Polytechnical University employs about 1-3 foreign teachers each year, most of our foreign teachers come from the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, and other countries speaking English as their native language.
To facilitate the expansion of the University's connections with the global academic and educational community, and to meet the ever-expanding need of our increasing student enrollment, the university is in need of more native English speakers to teach the English language courses.
Service of foreign teachers is based on a working contract. A one-year working contract consists of two semesters. The Spring Semester usually starts in middle February, and ends in early July, the Fall Semester starts at the beginning of September and ends in middle January.
Candidates need to be native English speakers, and preferred main qualifications include:
Bachelor's degree or above
Solid teaching experience
Good interpersonal communication skills
Not older than 60 years with good health.
Obligations of foreign teachers:
* While the Foreign Affairs Office holds the day-to-day responsibility for foreign teachers, teaching in the university is under the supervision of the Teaching Affairs Office. Cooperative understanding is expected to enable teaching to be carried out smoothly.
* Give courses of English reading, listening, speaking, and writing, etc
* Deliver lectures to students from various specialties with an average class size of 50 students.
* Normally, the weekly workload is 18-24 teaching periods (45 minutes), excluding extracurricular activities related to the courses, from Monday through Friday.
* The University provides the textbooks. However, suggestions, advice and recommendations are welcomed to help us find more appropriate textbooks.
* Employ effective teaching methods, in line with the University's teaching goal. If necessary, tailoring the teaching methods according to the particular English level of the students, to fulfill the task.
* Provide a detailed teaching plan and syllabus for the course to achieve the given objectives.
Living conditions for foreign teachers:
* Salary for foreign teacher varies depends on their different academic background. Normally 3,500-4,000 RMB Yuan for Bachelor degree holder, 4,000-4,500 Yuan for Master and 4,500-5,000 Yuan for PhD per month. The payment is in RMB, 70% of the salary can be converted into foreign currency.
* The University provides the teacher with an economy class international round-way air ticket upon the completion of the two-term service.
* Rent-free apartment with furniture, bedding, bathroom, television, telephone, refrigerator, washing machine, computer with Internet connection, air-conditioning, VCD player, cleaner, microwave oven, rice cooker.
* Medical care is subsidized in accordance with China's medical system.
* In addition to China's holidays, foreign teachers can enjoy two days off for Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
* 2200 Yuan traveling allowance annually and 80 Yuan transport allowance per teaching month for one-year service.

Contract terms:
Registration of Inviting Foreign Teachers:

Name of School		Northwestern Polytechnical University
Location of School		Xi’an shannxi P.R.China			Time of Invitation				2008.1-2009.1
Qualification		Native Speaker			Weekly Teaching Hours				18-24 Periods (50min)
Requested Foreign Teachers Number		1-3		Teaching Language			English
Subjects of Teaching		Oral English, Business English, Reading, Writing.
Monthly Salary		5000 RMB			Foreign Currency rcentage				70%
Traveling Allowance		2200RMB/year
Air Tickets Provided		Return tickets
Accommodation		An appartment
Home Appliance		Air-conditionings, washing machine, shower, refrigerator, computer with internet access , microwave oven, rice cooker, cable TV, etc.
Medical Care		5,000RMB/year
Holiday		vacation with pay
Notes:
Postal Address	Xi’an,shannxi, P.R. China					Zip Code			710119
Signature of President			Seal of Employer
Remarks: 1 Telephone Charges: self-financing 2 Internet charge: free 3 Electricity and Water charge: free 4 Meals: provide kitchen utensils 5 This is the sample of a contract. It is subject to ammendment