An industry-based university
As an industry-based university, CUPB was affiliated to a sectoral ministry before it came under the Ministry of Education; its research and training served the industry, and its disciplines were built around the industry chain. This is why the university has always had broad foundations for cooperation with industries — and especially with enterprises in the petroleum and petrochemical sector. Over the years, the Ministry of Education and the major oil companies have signed successive agreements to co-build the university.
| Time | Co-building agreements |
|---|---|
| 1953 | Founded as Beijing Institute of Petroleum, New China's first higher petroleum institute, on the basis of the petroleum and chemical engineering departments of Tsinghua University and with faculty from the petroleum and petrochemical departments of Peking University, Tianjin University and other institutions. |
| 2000.02 | Administration of the university was transferred from China National Petroleum Corporation to the Ministry of Education. |
| 2003 | The Ministry of Education signed agreements to co-build the petroleum university with PetroChina, Sinopec and China National Offshore Oil Corporation. |
| 2013.10 | The Ministry of Education signed agreements to co-build the university with five major oil companies. |
| Recent years | As the international situation has evolved and companies have expanded overseas, the university has signed comprehensive strategic cooperation agreements with CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC respectively, setting out specific cooperation to train local talent who know China and are friendly to China in oil- and gas-resource countries. |
How the cooperation works
University–enterprise
The enterprise organises the student cohort; the university and the enterprise jointly design the training plan and deliver joint international talent training.
Government–university–enterprise
With support from government bodies, the university works with enterprises and local authorities to select outstanding young students and train them for the energy sector.
University–university
Joint training with well-known universities in partner countries, giving students the opportunity to study at cooperating universities abroad.
Coordinated mechanism
A talent-training mechanism in which the university takes the lead, enterprises cooperate throughout, government bodies provide support and overseas universities and other parties participate — formed on the basis of the university's disciplinary strengths in petroleum and petrochemicals and the actual conditions of partner governments, enterprises and universities.
Operating mechanism
Running through every stage: the enterprise organises the student cohort, the two sides communicate and coordinate, work is divided and shared internally, teaching is organised rigorously and feedback flows in both directions (as in the Turkmenistan Amu Darya project).
Who partners, and how work is divided
Who we partner with
Partners are concentrated among energy enterprises in oil- and gas-resource countries and the land, resources, energy and mining departments of foreign governments, together with well-known universities in partner countries. Over the years the university has worked with Chinese energy majors such as CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC, international oil companies such as Saudi Aramco and Petronas, government bodies such as the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan, the Petroleum Authority of Mongolia and the Ministry of Energy and Mining of Sudan, and universities such as Sudan University of Science and Technology and Hanoi University of Mining and Geology — implementing more than 40 international interdisciplinary talent-training programmes.
How work is divided
- Student recruitment — led by the enterprise and the government; outstanding young students are selected jointly with the company and local authorities.
- Training plan — led by the university and the enterprise, flexibly tailored to company needs and student training objectives.
- Student management — led by the university, with all three parties taking part.
- Employment — led by the enterprise and the government, with recommendation support from the university.
Programmes over the years
| Time | Cooperation | What it involved |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Joint training begins | Responding to the need of petroleum enterprises going global for senior international professionals, the university began enrolling international students and, through close university–enterprise cooperation, launched joint international talent-training programmes. |
| 1997 | Aktobe project, Kazakhstan | The first company project to dispatch students to the university — the starting point of long-term enterprise-dispatched cohorts. |
| Since then | PK, MMG, Sudan and South Sudan, Amu Darya | Close cooperation with the PK project, the MMG project, the Sudan and South Sudan projects and the Turkmenistan Amu Darya gas project, training senior technical and managerial talent for the localities concerned. |
| Outcomes | Local talent who remain in the sector | Graduates have returned home to become senior technical and managerial professionals; the former president and vice-president of Sudan University of Science and Technology are both PhD alumni of the university. Most graduates of enterprise-sponsored training work on the front line of energy companies, and some go on to teaching and research in the energy field. |
| Practice | Teaching and production practice bases | In line with the teaching needs of international students, the university works with petroleum and petrochemical enterprises to find internships: Yanshan Petrochemical, Dagang Oilfield and others are teaching and production practice bases for international students. |
| Employment | Two-way recruitment | The university helps enterprises recruit outstanding students and graduates for work and internships in companies and public institutions — supporting the national strategy of “going global” with talent. |
What underpins the model
The "four-in-one" model
Curriculum, culture, practice and internship are combined closely, so that professional training stays close to the needs of the industry and of society.
All-English teaching system
Since the first all-English master's programmes opened in 2011, the university has built an all-English teaching system covering the main disciplines at bachelor's, master's and doctoral level. The faculty includes 296 professors and 440 associate professors, with 3 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 2 of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Global energy education platforms
Making full use of platforms such as the World Energy University Network and the Belt and Road Oil and Gas Engineers College, the university works to build a global community of higher education and research in oil and gas.
Practice bases and industry support
With campuses in Beijing and Karamay working in step, the university offers international students well-equipped practice and training facilities. Comprehensive strategic cooperation agreements with CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC provide resources and technical support for students' internships.