Recently, Eastern Institute of Technology Ningbo— a project that has drawn considerable attention across the tech and academic communities — has now been officially inaugurated. The university is funded and built by Omnivision Group (formerly Will Semi) founder Yu Renrong, with Academician Chen Shiyi of the Chinese Academy of Sciences serving as its first president.
Back in 2020, the Ningbo municipal government and Yu Renrong agreed to establish a new world-class, engineering-focused research university in Ningbo, with integrated circuits and the full semiconductor value chain as its academic core. In 2021, the city government and the university’s preparatory team signed a joint-operation agreement to build a high-level, privately run but publicly supported research university. In 2022, construction of the university’s permanent campus officially began.
According to the development plan, the project will see a total investment of CNY 46 billion. The Ningbo municipal government will contribute CNY 16 billion, while the Yu Renrong Education Foundation will invest CNY 10 billion for campus infrastructure. On top of that, an additional CNY 20+ billion will be allocated to support operations — including talent development, scientific research, international programs, and the university’s overall running costs.
Chen noted that the university will focus on critical areas such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, intelligent manufacturing, unmanned systems, new energy, and advanced materials. Its mission is to accelerate the transfer of scientific breakthroughs from lab to production line, address bottlenecks in regional industrial technologies, and tackle national-level “chokepoint” challenges — ultimately aiming to become a driving force in global industrial transformation.
(Photo credit: FREEPIK)
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