The development goal of Wuhan University of Technology is to build a multidisciplinary, open, and distinctive research university namely "the nation first class university overall and the world first class university in some disciplines”. To achieve this goal, WUT firmly adheres to the principle of “people-oriented, truth-seeking and innovation, strengthening characteristics, and coordinated development" and sets scientific research as a bridge and center linking discipline construction, talent training, knowledge innovation, and social services, making scientific and technological innovation the school’s core competency.
WUT pays attention to the construction of scientific research bases and innovation platforms. It has established 52 national, provincial and ministerial research bases, including the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, National Engineering Research Center for Water Transportation Safety, National Engineering Laboratory for Fiber Optic Sensing Technology and the National Engineering Research Center for Water Transportation Safety, 3 provincial and ministerial level collaborative innovation centers, including the Center of the Intelligent Inland Water Transportation in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, the Center of Automotive Parts and Components Technology, and the Center of Early Warning and Emergency Response System in collaboration with Hubei Province. The university was approved as a pilot unit for building China into a country with strong transportation network, selected among the “first batch of national intellectual property demonstration universities” and the “second batch of scientific and technological achievement transformation and technical transfer bases in colleges and universities”. WUT has established 211 scientific cooperation and technology transfer institutions with local governments and industry partners, including off-campus research centers, industry-academia-research collaboration service platforms, and university-enterprise technology cooperation platforms.
In 2023, WUT received five National Science and Technology Awards, including three as the primary completing institution, ranking among the top universities nationwide. Over the past five years, it has been honored with 2 National Awards for Natural Science, 3 National Awards for Technology Invention, and 4 National Awards for Award for Science and Technology Progress. WUT secured 137 first-class science and technology awards or higher at provincial/ministerial level, including 54 as the primary completing institution. The university holds 6,018 authorized invention patents and has won five China Patent Awards as the first patent holder. WUT’s researchers have published 6 papers in Science and 6 papers in Nature.
WUT has successively established 12 national international science and technology cooperation bases, including the International Joint Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing and New Materials, the International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Environment-friendly Building Materials, and the International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Intelligent Shipping and Maritime Safety.
In recent years, the university's major projects have set a record high. In 2019, academician Yan Xinping of the Transportation Center led the Green Intelligence Inland Ship Innovation Major Project entrusted the Ministry of Industry and Information. The number of projects funded with tens of millions hit an all-time high. In 2018, Professor Pan Changxue from the School of Art and Design led the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's high-tech ship research project-research on key technologies for cruise ship aesthetics, with a research funding of 12,925 million yuan.
At present, the university’s scientific and technological work is showing a good momentum of rapid and sustainable development. Relying on the characteristics of the three major industries of materials, transportation, and automobiles, it has established a diversified structure of scientific and technological innovation system in which "knowledge innovation acts as the foundation, technological innovation as the focus, and achievement transformation innovation as a breakthrough". A scientific and technological innovation system, and a scientific research management model with "clear goals, sound systems, reasonable policies, and effective measures" has been formed.
On the journey of independent innovation, the school will further condense its direction, integrate resources, gather teams, deepen the integration of production, education and research, actively undertake major national scientific and technological tasks, promote international scientific and technological cooperation, lead the development of industrial science and technology, and serve regional economic construction. It will form a large team, strive for large projects, and make great achievements by building a large platform, so as to promote the school’s leapfrog development!
