Introduction to the School of Microelectronics and Data Science

The School of Microelectronics and Data Science, approved by the university for establishment in 2022, traces its origins back to the Department of General Courses (1958), the Department of Mathematics and Physics (1985), the School of Mathematics and Physics (2000), and the School of Mathematics, Physics and Engineering (2014). The School comprises six teaching units: the Department of Microelectronics, the Department of Data Science, the Department of Optoelectronic Engineering, the Department of Applied Mathematics, the Division of University Physics, and the Division of University Mathematics. Its teaching facilities include the Mathematics and Physics Building, the Yifu Laboratory Building, and the Physics Laboratory on the second floor of the Second Teaching Building, with a total floor area of approximately 8,000 square meters. The School also houses a series of specialized laboratories for optoelectronic engineering and microelectronics, a mathematics laboratory, and the Anhui Provincial Demonstration Teaching Center for Physics Experiments, covering a combined laboratory area of about 6,800 square meters, equipped with over 2,500 sets of experimental apparatus and a total equipment value of nearly 20 million yuan.

Party Building Leadership

The School currently has six faculty Party branches: the Microelectronics Department Branch, the Data Science Department Branch, the Optoelectronic Engineering Department Branch, the Applied Mathematics Department Branch, the University Physics Division Branch, and the University Mathematics Division Branch. It also has five student Party branches: the Microelectronics Undergraduate Branch, the Big Data Undergraduate Branch, the Optoelectronics Undergraduate Branch, the Mathematics Undergraduate Branch, and the Graduate Student Branch. The School’s Party Committee earnestly implements the general requirements for Party building in the new era, vigorously strengthens Party building and ideological-political work, and has been designated as a university-level model department-building unit and a pilot unit for comprehensive "Three-All Education" reform. In 2025, the Committee received multiple honors, including a grassroots-level "Five-Good" Customs Work Committee award from the Anhui Provincial Education System, an "Excellent" rating in Party building assessment, and a second prize in university enrollment publicity. The Big Data Undergraduate Party Branch is a national model Party branch for Party building work, the Optoelectronic Engineering Department Branch is a provincial model Party branch, and the University Mathematics Division has been designated a university-level model Party branch.

Faculty

The School boasts a high-quality faculty with exemplary ethics, outstanding professional competence, and a well-balanced structure. It currently employs 120 staff members, including 10 full professors, 36 associate professors or senior professionals, and 71 doctorate holders. Among them, 11 are provincial or university-level "teaching rising stars," five are provincial or university-level "teaching masters," one is an Anhui Provincial Excellent Teaching Rising Star, one is an Anhui Provincial Outstanding Student Counselor, one is a Top Ten Outstanding Youth of Ma'anshan City, one is a recipient of the University Youth May Fourth Medal, and one is a University Advanced Individual in "Three-All Education." The School has been approved for three provincial-level teaching innovation teams: University Physics, Probability and Mathematical Statistics, and Physics Experiments. Faculty members have served as lead editors for nine provincial-level planning textbooks and first-class textbooks, and co-edited the textbook Advanced Mathematics, which won the second prize in the first National Excellent Textbook Award. Over the past five years, faculty have won more than 10 provincial-level or higher awards in various teaching competitions, and nearly 90 provincial or university-level quality engineering projects, teaching research projects, and teaching achievement awards, covering areas such as top-notch basic discipline talent cultivation, model microelectronics school development, the "101 Plan", and excellence engineer training.

Academic Disciplines and Programs

The School offers four undergraduate programs: Microelectronics Science and Engineering, Data Science and Big Data Technology, Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering, and Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. Among these, Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering and Mathematics and Applied Mathematics are designated as provincial first-class undergraduate program development sites in Anhui Province. In 2021, the School was approved for the Anhui Provincial Model Microelectronics School project and the Top-Notch Basic Discipline Talent Cultivation Base project. In 2023, it established a joint laboratory with Dongke Semiconductor and co-founded the "Anhui Provincial Joint Key Laboratory for Industrial Big Data Analytics and Intelligent Decision-Making" with Guochuang Software Technology Co., Ltd. In 2025, it launched the first corporate-named class, the "Dongke Class," under the Engineer College of Anhui University of Technology. The School has also built 27 industry-education integration practice bases on and off campus in collaboration with leading enterprises such as JCET and HKC Optoelectronics.

Scientific Research

The School offers two first-level master’s degree programs: Optical Engineering and Mathematics. It hosts two provincial-level cultivation research teams: "Intelligent Decision-Making and Optimization" and "Optoelectronic Information Materials and Device Research." The School’s influence in recruiting and training master’s students in computer science is growing year by year. Over the past five years, faculty members have published 262 high-level papers as first authors in domestic and international journals, and have secured over 15 million yuan in research funding. They have led 40 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, one project by the National Social Science Fund of China, 69 projects by the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation and the Anhui Provincial University Natural Science Research Program, and more than 50 projects from national key laboratories, ministry key laboratories, and industry-academia-research collaborations, including four major industry-academia-research projects. The School has also won one third prize each from the Anhui Provincial Science and Technology Award and the Anhui Provincial Applied Mathematics Achievement Award.

Talent Cultivation

The School remains committed to the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing high-quality talent. It currently has more than 1,600 enrolled undergraduate and graduate students. Over the past three years, students have won 21 international awards, 66 national awards, and more than 300 provincial awards in competitions such as the "Challenge Cup", the China International College Student Innovation Competition, mathematical modeling contests, physics experiment competitions, and university mathematics competitions. They have also undertaken nearly 80 national or provincial innovation and entrepreneurship projects. Graduate students have published 108 high-level papers as first authors, 92 of which have been indexed by SCI, SSCI, or other databases. A total of 228 undergraduate students have been admitted to master’s programs, and the first-time employment rate for graduates has remained above 92%. The School has produced a number of outstanding individuals, including a "Chinese College Student Self-Improvement Star," an "Anhui Provincial Outstanding University Student," and a "Four-Haves" Revolutionary Excellent Soldier. For five consecutive years, classes from the School have been named university "Top Ten Classes".

International Exchange and Cooperation

The School places a high priority on international exchange and cooperation to broaden the global perspectives of its faculty and students. In recent years, 11 faculty members have conducted collaborative research at renowned overseas universities, including the University of Arizona, the University of Arkansas, the University of California, Santa Cruz, the University of Sheffield, the University of Alberta, the University of Windsor, and Memorial University of Newfoundland. The School has also invited more than 40 distinguished scholars from both China and abroad, including Nobel Laureate Professor Glashow and Academician Ye Xiangdong of the University of Science and Technology of China, to deliver academic lectures and engage in exchanges. The joint training program between the School’s Data Science and Big Data Technology program and the University of York (UK) has been selected for the Ministry of Education’s "China-International High-Level University Student Exchange Program‌".

Science Popularization Education

The School is committed to serving society through high-quality science popularization education. In 2021, it was certified as an "Anhui Provincial Science Popularization Education Base" by the Anhui Association for Science and Technology, and in 2025, it was certified as an "Anhui Provincial Science and Technology Popularization Base" by the Anhui Provincial Department of Science and Technology. The School has established cooperative relationships with the Ma'anshan Women’s Federation, the United Front Work Department of the Ma'anshan Municipal Party Committee, and local schools including Ma'anshan No. 2 Middle School, No. 7 Middle School, and No. 8 Middle School. It has organized more than 70 science popularization events, including four Science Popularization Education Weeks and a series of "Welcoming the 20th CPC National Congress, Supporting Rural Revitalization" outreach activities, reaching over 4,000 people, including local primary and secondary school students, targeted enrollment publicity units, and audiences in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces. The "Mathematics and Physics in Action" science popularization volunteer service team was selected as a collaborative team for the 2025 "Promoting Mandarin for Rural Revitalization" National University Student Summer Social Practice Volunteer Service Program. The team has won first prize for two consecutive years in the Anhui Provincial Million College Students Science Popularization Innovation Competition. The School has produced numerous outstanding individuals and collectives, including advanced workers in the Ma'anshan Association for Science and Technology system, advanced individuals in the Anhui Association for Science and Technology system, and excellent technology volunteer service organizations in the Yangtze River Delta region. Typical cases of the School’s science popularization efforts have been reported by China Youth Daily, Xuexi.cn, Anhui Science and Technology News, and Ma'anshan Television.

Guided by Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era, the School will align itself with the development of Anhui Province’s “1188” modern industrial system and follow the “Nine Major Actions” established at the university’s Fifth Party Congress. It will steadfastly pursue the overarching goals of the School’s 15th Five-Year Plan, namely, “one adherence, two enhancements, and three breakthroughs.” By honing a rigorous work ethic, upholding a commitment to pragmatism, fostering an integrated ecosystem, and exploring innovative pathways, the School strives to contribute the unique strength of microelectronics and data science to the university’s mission of building a domestically renowned, high-level university with distinctive features.(Data as of March 2026)