Established in 2025, Shuimu College leverages Tsinghua University's century-long engineering education heritage and benchmarks itself against top international engineering education models such as MIT NEET and Olin College of Engineering. With the goal of cultivating "future engineering leaders" and featuring "AI-driven engineering + management", it aims to nurture cross-disciplinary top talents with a solid technical foundation, catering to the needs of society's long-term development and landmark major projects.
The name of Shuimu College originates from "Shuimu Qinghua", which is the most representative scenic spot within Tsinghua University. It comes from the line "Jingze Mingqin Ji, Shuimu Zhanqinghua" in Xie Hun's poem "You Xichi" (Visiting the West Pond) from the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It embodies the profound cultural and historical accumulation of Tsinghua University, symbolizing a serene and beautiful environment, and the emergence of outstanding talents, like water flowing and trees standing tall. At the same time, the two characters "Shuimu" are similar in shape to "Weilai" (future), implicitly reflecting Shuimu College's educational philosophy of facing the future.
What will the smart cities of the future look like? Will it be possible to achieve unmanned extraction of new energy from the ocean in the future? Will humans migrate to Mars and settle on other planets in the future? The future
"Future" is an eternal theme facing humanity, and "engineering" serves as the foundation for human survival and development. Currently, humanity is confronted with major challenges such as global climate change, scientific and technological revolution, and the reshaping of geopolitical patterns. The global engineering field is undergoing unprecedented transformation. China faces the urgent need to build a new urban system and venture into "deep space, deep earth, deep sea, and polar regions". This demands, and will surely cultivate, a group of world-class talents. To this end, Shuimu College will focus on cultivating "future engineering leaders", equipping students with the courage and ability to break through the present and achieve unprecedented things.
China is embarking on a massive project unprecedented in human history, and for the first time in 200 years, it has the opportunity to fully ascend to the forefront of global science and technology.
We look forward to seeing a large number of students from Shuimu College leaving their Chinese names in the history of human engineering and technology 50 years later!
1.A future-oriented training model
The college sets up 25 cutting-edge themes centered around major national projects and strategic needs. Theme-based professor groups, consisting of senior professors, enterprise experts, overseas experts, and industry alumni, guide students throughout their four-year undergraduate training. They implement a "one-person-one-plan" approach, engaging in major engineering projects both domestically and internationally, conducting cutting-edge research, and receiving scientific research training, exploring the intelligent and sustainable development of engineering facilities necessary for future human survival and development.
The college replaces traditional majors with cutting-edge themes, adopts a problem-oriented training approach, and does not restrict students' professional interests, promoting students to learn and practice in major engineering projects that they are interested in. Theme settings are problem-oriented, not limited by disciplines or majors, are updated regularly, break through traditional major restrictions, and allow students to set their own themes. It achieves comprehensive A-driven learning, including learning A1, using A1, doing A1, and producing AI, while strengthening the cultivation elements that AI cannot replace.
2. Knowledge foundation for the future
Shuimu College is committed to building a knowledge system that integrates engineering systems for the future. It aims to establish a broad foundation of natural science and humanities and social sciences for students, strengthen the theoretical basis and application abilities in mathematics, mechanics, artificial intelligence, and electronic information, and enhance students' logical thinking, computational thinking, and system thinking abilities.
The college has established a six-dimensional and three-dimensional framework, adhering to the principles of "systematization, socialization, greenification, humanization, intelligence, and scientification". It aims to construct a deeply intertwined knowledge network encompassing "intelligence, engineering, and management". Within this framework, intelligence encompasses knowledge from computational science, data science, perception technology, automatic control, artificial intelligence, and communication. Engineering involves knowledge from applied mathematics and mechanics, civil engineering and water conservancy, energy, machinery, urban engineering, and transportation engineering. Management involves knowledge from social sciences, public administration, engineering management, and finance.
3. Core competencies for the future
Shuimu College is committed to cultivating students' broad-mindedness for the common good, forward-looking thinking with a long-term perspective, curiosity for active exploration, action ability for innovation and breakthrough, and focus for in-depth research. Led by academician professors, students are taken to major projects and high-level research institutions for advanced internship practice and cutting-edge research.
The college has designed courses such as "Cognitive Experience of Future Engineering", "Innovation Exploration and Practice", "Innovative Engineering Practice", and "Innovative Engineering Design", using national major projects as real-life scenarios to cultivate students' ability to"solve unprecedented problems". It innovates the "progressive practical exploration course" system, guiding students from exploration and experience, establishing basic cognition, to PBL competition combined with practical attempts, gradually deepening into complete and real engineering practice to solve practical complex problems, realizing a spiral upward process of design-practice-redesign-repractice-re-research for cultivating innovative practical ability.
4. Foundations for future-oriented development
Shuimu College implements personalized training based on the "one-person-one-plan" approach. Students independently choose professional courses according to their own interests under the guidance of their mentors. They earn an undergraduate degree in one of the following majors: Cross-Engineering Electronic Information Science and Technology, Software Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Civil Engineering and Water Conservancy and Ocean Engineering, Engineering Management, and Transportation Engineering, based on the courses they take. They can choose the direction they are most interested in from a wide range of professional fields for further study and development.
The college integrates international cultivation into its progressive training system, enabling students to gradually develop broad thinking and international competencies. By strengthening the language and cultural foundation through overseas mentors, students are trained in cross-cultural practical abilities in overseas engineering practice and scientific research training. They participate in and organize international academic conferences to enhance communication and cooperation. The college is committed to providing each student with at least one international experience during their academic years.
5. Healthy education for the future
Shuimu College takes "helping students become mature, determined, and accomplished" as its core mission, emphasizing the simultaneous development of the five educational aspects. It has specially established a sports program to echo Tsinghua University's slogan "No sports, no Tsinghua", showcasing the sports style of Shuimu to the entire school. It also invites world champions and other high-level coaches to serve as physical education class advisors, supporting students' lifelong growth through labor aesthetic education practice, global competency training, and other aspects.
At Shuimu College, exploration and growth are everywhere!
The cutting-edge laboratory is where dreams take off: experiencing city simulators to explore smart governance, analyzing lunar soil characteristics to uncover the mysteries of the universe, and transforming whimsical ideas into real scientific breakthroughs.
Practices both at home and abroad serve as windows to broaden horizons: participating in top-tier international student forums to exchange ideas, visiting international organizations to engage in dialogues on global issues, and tempering global perspectives and competencies through diverse practices.
The vibrant campus is equally exciting: student festivals burst with creativity, physical education classes ignite sports passion under the guidance of professional class advisors, and there is a balance between work and leisure. Additionally, a variety of fun courses stimulate unlimited potential. "Shuimu Life" is an exciting journey to explore the world and define the future!
