· Jingdezhen Ceramic University, as the only multi-disciplinary university whose talents cultivation level includes undergraduates, graduates and PhDs in the world with ceramics as its symbol and ceramics as its main discipline, is one of the first 31 independently-set up undergraduate art universities in China, one of the 94 eligible colleges and universities enrolling international students entitled to the Chinese government’s scholarship in China. It is one of the colleges and universities carrying out the Excellent Engineer Training Plan of Ministry of Education; a model college and university to deepen reform of creative education by the Ministry of Education, the college and university nationwide with typical innovative entrepreneurial experience, the first college and university to launch a pilot project of the transformation of development. It has become the national and even the worldwide important base of ceramic talents cultivation, ceramic technology innovation and ceramic culture and art exchange.

Jingdezhen Ceramic University is located in the first batch of national historical and cultural city in Jiangxi province. Now there are Xianghu Campus, Xinchang Campus, China Light Industry Ceramics Research Institute and Sanbao Ceramics Research and Training Garden, covering an area of 2265 mu, with a building area of nearly 750,000 square meters. There are 11 teaching schools (departments), including School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Ceramic Art, School of Design and Art, School of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, School of Management and Economics, School of Information and Engineering, School of International Studies, Art and Archaeology School, School of Marxism, Law School, Sports and Military Education Department. Besides there are Graduate School,School of Chuangye, School of Continuing Education and College of International Education. There are more than 20,000 full-time students, including nearly 2,000 postgraduates and doctoral students.

History: JCU originated from the Chinese Ceramic School (located in Poyang, Jiangxi Province) founded in 1910 by Zhang Jian, Ruicheng, Kangda etc. In 1912 it was renamed as The Jiangxi Provincial Ceramic School in Raozhou Prefecture. In 1915, it was renamed as the Second Grade Industrial School in Jiangxi Province, which set up Jingdezhen branch the next year. In 1925 it was renamed Jiangxi Provincial Kiln School. In 1927 it was renamed Jiangxi Provincial Ceramic School. In 1934 the school moved to Jiujiang Jiangxi, and changed its name as Jiangxi Provincial Jiujiang Ceramic Vocational school, then moved to Jing’an Jiangxi(1937), Pingxiang Jiangxi(1938) and Jingdezhen Jiangxi (1944) and other places. In 1948 it was upgraded to Jiangxi Provincial Ceramic College, established Ceramic Engineering Department and Ceramic Art Department, which had become the first ceramic college in China. In 1952, college departments were readjusted nationwide. Jiangxi Provincial Ceramic College was abolished. Jingdezhen Ceramics Experimental Research Institute (now China Light Industry Ceramics Research Institute) was established on the basis of the equipment and some professional teachers at the original site. Approved by Jiangxi Provincial People's Committee, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute was set up on the basis of Jingdezhen Ceramic Art School, Jingdezhen Ceramic Worker Technical School, Jiangxi Industrial Silicate Professional Technology School in 1958, which included Art Department, Engineering Department, 6 majors (divisions) in three departments in technical secondary school. Higher education of Chinese contemporary ceramics opened a new chapter. In 1968, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute was annulled because of the Cultural Revolution. In 1975, with the approval of The State Council, JCI was resumed, establishing the Departments of Ceramic Engineering, Ceramic Machinery and Ceramic Fine Arts as an institute directly under the Ministry of Light Industry. Subsequently, such majors as Management, Science, Literature and History were added. In 1998, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute was jointly managed by the central government and the local government, mainly under the management of Jiangxi Province. In 1999, China Light Industry Ceramics Research Institute was merged into JCI. In 1984, JCI became master’s degree granting unit and in 2013 doctor’s degree granting unit. In 2016, it changed its name as Jingdezhen Ceramic University.

In the background of abolishing the imperial examinations and prospering the new schools at the end of the Qing Dynasty, China Ceramic School co-sponsored by five provinces, under the leadership of a group of overseas returnees such as Zhang Hao, went through hardships and difficulties and finally managed to show its achievements. While developing with the process of China’s ceramic industrialization for more than one hundred years, the school has changed its name nine times, its site four times and suspended four times. With all the hardships it has experienced, the school hasn’t changed its original goal and kept its splendid tradition. Rooted in the fertile soil of the ceramic industry, with the efforts of generations of JCU people, JCU has formed its own fine traditions and unique cultural characters, with “to cultivate talents with theoretical and technical knowledge so as to improve the ceramic industry” as its school-running goal, “to cultivate top talents to serve in the ceramic industry”as its talents training target, “to cultivate talents combining art and technology and having interest in research” as its talents cultivation philosophy, “to revitalize China’s ceramic industry and to carry forward Chinese ceramic culture” as its original mission, “Diligence and Prompt Action” as its school spirit and “Sincerity, Simplicity, Sympathy and Steadfastness”as its school motto.

Disciplines and Specialties: The school adheres to the principle of ceramics, pays attention to the integration of art and industry, highlights the advantages of design art and ceramic engineering, and constantly optimizes and adjusts the structure of discipline and specialty layout. The school has three first-class doctoral disciplines, namely Art Design, Material Science and Engineering, Science and Technology History, 13 first-class master disciplines in Management Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and 8 professional master’s degree programs including Cultural Relics and Archaeology and MTI. Among them, 3 disciplines including Art Design, Material Science and Engineering and Fine Arts are provincial first-class disciplines. Art Design is the leading discipline in Discipline Alliance for the Jiangxi Province colleges and universities. Now JCU has 59 undergraduate majors, covering such disciplines as engineering, art, management, literature, science and history. JCU cultivates high level talents of the whole industry chain from ceramic materials, design, manufacture to management. Among them, there are 9 national first-class undergraduate professional construction points, 14 Provincial first-class undergraduate specialty construction points, 3 outstanding specialties with national characteristic, 3 national pilot specialties for Excellent Engineers Training Program, 1 national comprehensive reform pilot project, 1 Industry-university Cooperative Specialty Comprehensive Reform Project of the Ministry of Education. Such majors as fine arts and design are in advance batch of undergraduate enrollment in Jiangxi province. 14 majors of science and engineering, literature and history are the first batch of undergraduate enrollment in Jiangxi Province.

Faculty: The university follows the professional characteristics and development law of teachers in colleges and universities, creating a team of high-quality professional teachers with noble ethics, exquisite professional skills, reasonable structure and full of vitality, and bringing together a group of ceramic artists, sculptors and ceramic engineering experts and scholars renowned at home and abroad. The university now has 946 full-time teachers among them 517 associate professors and professors, including 2 young and middle-aged experts with outstanding national contributions, 1 expert from the Subject Assessment Group of the Academic Degrees Committee of The State Council, 4 selected candidates by the New Century Excellent Talents Support Program of the Ministry of Education, and 3 candidates selected by the New Century Million Talents Project at the national level, 41 at the provincial level. 26 experts are entitled to special government allowance from The State Council. 10 experts are entitled to special government allowance from the provincial government. There are 3 specially-hired professors of Jinggang Scholars, 11 candidates of Jiangxi Outstanding Talents 555 Project, 25 Chinese Ceramic Art Masters, and more than 200 high-level talents at or above the provincial level, including members of the Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education, the Provincial Outstanding Contribution Talents, the Provincial Middle-aged and Young Cultural Masters, and the Provincial Double Thousand Program.

Education and Teaching: JCU takes it as its own responsibility to cultivate senior professional talents with knowledge and skills combining theory with practice and engineering with art. It steadily develops undergraduate education, vigorously develops graduate education, speeds up the development of overseas students’ education, and actively expands continuing education, forming a complete talent training system of bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctoral degree. JCU now has one post-doctoral mobile station, one national experimental teaching demonstration center, one state-level training mode innovation experimental zone, four state-level engineering practice education centers,  one state-level professional and technical personnel for continuing education base, one national demonstration base of start-up incubator, one national college students’ practice educational base, one Chinese intangible cultural heritage research institute training base. In recent years, JCU has formed one national teaching team, got one national first-class undergraduate course and one state-level quality open video course, published one state-level high-quality textbook and two national planning textbooks. Now JCU has 12 provincial first-class undergraduate courses. It has successively won 5 first prizes and 15 second prizes of the Provincial Teaching Achievements. In 2018, the school won the second prize of National Teaching Achievements once again, which further demonstrates its educational and teaching achievements and talent cultivation characteristics.

Talent Cultivation: JCU fully implements the party’s education policy and the fundamental task of morality education, unceasingly strengthening the educational philosophy of student-center, knowledge-output and continuous improvement. It meticulously forges JCU’s pattern of “Three-wide Education” and further deepens “Three Creative Talent Training Mode” reform. All these practices will markedly enhance its capability of personnel training. The undergraduate teaching assessment expert group of the Ministry of Education gives its evaluation of JCU as “Forming its unique thinking and important experience which can stay ahead and set a good example in similar colleges with industrial features”. In recent years, students have made great achievements in all kinds of extracurricular scientific and technological innovation competitions, and have won more than 600 national and provincial awards successively, including one Grand Prize of Challenge Cup in National College Students Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition, one Gold Prize of National Internet+ College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and Grand Prize of China Engineering Robot Competition, First Prize of National Mathematical Contest in Modeling, First Prize of National College Students Mechanical Innovation Design Competition. A large number of students’ art works are selected in the national art exhibition. More than 35% of the graduates choose employment and entrepreneurship in Jiangxi Province, and about 30% of the graduates choose employment and entrepreneurship in the ceramic industry, which provides a strong talent support for promoting regional economic and social development and the development of the ceramic industry.

Scientific Research: JCU has been dedicated to the innovation research in ceramic materials, manufacture and equipment technology. It has provincial and ministerial scientific research centers such as National Engineering Research Center for Domestic and Building Ceramics (the first one in Jiangxi). There are two state-level scientific and technological innovation platforms such as the National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for New Ceramic Materials, and 38 provincial and ministerial level scientific and technological innovation platforms such as China Light Industry Ceramics Research Institute, the National Ceramic Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center. The Ceramic Branch of China Ceramic and Silicate Society and a number of national professional associations and institutions are residing in the school, forming comprehensive service, leading the development of the ceramic industry and constructing a complete scientific and technological support system. In recent years, the university has undertaken 194 national scientific research projects and 1047 provincial and ministerial scientific research projects, most of which focus on the key technology in the field of traditional and high-tech ceramic industry, which honorably won 89 provincial and ministerial awards. There are one First Prize, two Second Prizes and two Third Prizes of Jiangxi provincial technology progress. There are also two Second Prizes and three Third Prizes of Jiangxi provincial natural science, one Third Prize of Jiangxi provincial technological invention, four First Prizes of Jiangxi provincial social science outstanding achievement.

Social Service: Based on serving the regional economic, social development and scientific and technological progress of the ceramic industry, the university has established long-term strategic cooperative relations with major porcelain producing areas in China, local governments, enterprises and research institutes and carried out comprehensive transformation of scientific research achievements, strategic consulting and other social services. A large number of scientific research achievements have been successfully transformed into productive forces, resulting in greater economic benefits and extensive social benefits. Among them, the environmentally friendly ceramic permeable brick project has broken foreign technological monopoly and provided material support for the construction of sponge cities. The application technology of new-type porcelain ore has reached the international leading level and solved the problem of exhaustion of ceramic raw material resources in Jingdezhen. In recent years, the school has successively won the first China industry-university-institute cooperation innovation prize and been approved scientific service pilot unit by the Ministry of Science and Technology with mobile repair qualification of colleges and universities (the first one in Jiangxi Province). The world Intellectual Property Organization’s Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) has successfully settled in JCU (the first one in Jiangxi Province). China Ceramic Development Research Institute has become the new Think Tank in Jiangxi Province. The national Chinese core journals--China Ceramics, Journal of Ceramics and China Ceramic Industry sponsored by the university enjoy great prestige in the ceramic industry at home and abroad.

Culture and Art: On the basis of inheriting traditional ceramic crafts, JCU absorbs the quintessence of Chinese traditional art and western aesthetics, pays attention to innovation in texture of material, techniques, modeling and decoration and so on, initiates and develops such artistic forms as “modern folk blue and white”, “ceramic comprehensive decoration”, “modern ceramic painting art”, “image pottery sculpture”, “environment ceramic art” and “character porcelain art”. JCU has successively designed and made souvenir porcelain for Elizabeth, Churchill, Truman and other foreign dignitaries. It also undertook and completed the task of designing and creating 7501 porcelain for Chairman Mao and for the Great Hall of the People. More than 300 pieces of works are collected by famous museums and galleries at home and abroad. More than 200 works has been granted awards in the national arts exhibition and other major competitions, creating a great number of epoch-making national treasures. In recent years, China Couplet Hall, China Ancient Ceramic Society Education Center, China Cultural Heritage Protection Working Committee of Cultural Industry Promotion Association, Ceramic Branch of China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Association, Ceramic art Authentication Committee of China Quality Certification Center have settled in JCU. It has successfully held China Ceramic Art Design Competition, International Academic Seminar of Design in Central China, the National Cultural Heritage Protection Work Peak Forum, China Couplet Peak Forum and other advanced academic activities. It undertook the significant mission of designing and creating specially-made porcelain and commemorating porcelain for Shanghai World Expo, APEC meeting in Beijing, peak forum of “B&R” countries’ cooperation, and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

International Exchange: The university gives full play to its unique disciplinary advantages and consciously acts as the ambassador of traditional Chinese culture. As one of the 60 most distinctive universities in China, it participated in the Exhibition of 21st Century Chinese Universities organized by the Ministry of Education in Russia and held a high level of teachers’ and students’ ceramic art exhibition, representing China in such important places as the Louvre Museum in France, the Asian Museum in Greece, the Grand Palais in France and the United Nations headquarters in New York. In this way JCU spreads the broad and profound Chinese ceramic culture and art to all over the world. In recent years, the school has successively established friendly relations of cooperation with International Ceramic Artists Association and more than 30 colleges and universities in such countries or regions as America, Britain, France, Japan and South Korea. It hosted more than 10 international academic seminars (forums) on ceramic engineering, ceramic art, ceramic culture and ceramic education. We will carefully build the high-end academic brand of Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale, tell good ceramic stories and spread the voice of China. In 1958, the school began to accept foreign students, and has trained more than 3,000 international students from nearly 60 countries and regions on all continents. JCU has been successfully approved as the Sino-Foreign Humanity Exchange Training Base in the field of Intelligent Manufacturing by the Ministry of Education, and has been selected as the governing unit of the China-Europe Alliance for Humanities and Arts Education. The JCI-WVU International Ceramic Artist Studio project was listed as “a model and new climax of Sino-US people-to-people exchanges” in 200 Years of Sino-US Relations published by the US State Department.

School Reputation: JCU, as a University with long history, of profound industry background and with distinctive discipline characteristics, takes the initiative to comply with the national economic and social development and epoch development needs, gives full play to the base predominance of the one-thousand-year Jingdezhen—the capital of porcelain. It has successively trained more than 100000 innovative, composite and practical senior specialized professional talents with profound academic foundation and high quality practice ability for the society. In ceramic industry of China, the school is known as the “Ceramic Huangpu”. In businesses and enterprises-- whether in domestic ceramics, building ceramics or industrial ceramics or relevant departments, you can find our graduates who abound in different fields of the major ceramic producing area all over the country. In Foshan alone, Guangdong province, more than ten thousand graduates work there, thus bringing up a large number of well-known entrepreneurs and leading figures in science and technology. They have created a large number of famous ceramic brands, such as Keda, Arrow, KITO, GANI, Oushenuo and Dow which have propped up the blue sky of Foshan ceramics industry. In the Chinese art circle, the school enjoys the reputation of “Taoyuan Phenomenon”. Since the 1980s, those graduates of arts cultivated by the school have become talents in succession and made remarkable achievements. A large number of them have become China’s ceramic arts leaders, academic pacesetters and mainstays in key arts colleges and scientific research institutes, leaving behind an indelible mark for China’s modern ceramic art development and prosperity. JCU deserves the reputation of Ceramic Huangpu and Taoyuan Phenomenon which have a profound impact on the past, present and future of China’s ceramic industry.

Pursue dreams for a hundred years and forge ahead. JCU insists on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as ideological guidance, adheres to the principle “of providing its service for ceramics”, positively involved in China’s the Belt and Road Initiative, the strategy of the rise of the Central Region. It will actively participated in the construction of Inland Open Economy Experimental Zone in Jiangxi and Jingdezhen National Ceramic Culture Inheritance and Innovation Experimental Zone. It will focus on the construction of first-class courses and disciplines, remodeling the strength of Materials Science and Engineering, sublimating the advantage of Ceramic Art and Design, occupying the priority of Art and Archaeology and fulfilling the capability of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering. Each teaching unit exhibits its school-running characteristics, cultivates the spirit of this famous university and strides forward towards the goal of building world-class characteristic university!