A total of 39 disciplines from five universities in Shenzhen were rated in the ESI top 1% of disciplines worldwide, according to the latest release of Essential Science Indicators (ESI) data on March 15.

Four disciplines at Shenzhen University (SZU) and one discipline at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) were listed among the top 1%.

SZU’s national ranking soared to 36th and its international ranking was 363rd, climbing 10 places compared to the previous evaluation. Four other universities in Shenzhen also showed significant progress.

SUSTech ranked 589th in the world, an improvement of 22 places from the previous period. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen climbed 48 places to rank 2,003 globally. Shenzhen Polytechnic University and Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology ranked 4,600th and 5,918th in the world, respectively.

Additionally, a total of 211 disciplines from 27 universities in Guangdong Province were rated in the ESI top 1% of disciplines worldwide. Five universities, specifically Sun Yat-sen University (6th), South China University of Technology (19th), SZU (36th), Southern Medical University (46th), and Jinan University (48th), entered the national top 50 list, according to the ESI data.

In another development, Shenzhen will have a new college, which is also its fourth vocational college, Shenzhen City Polytechnic, after being approved by the country’s education authority.