According to the latest data released on March 12, 2026, by the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) database, Guangdong University of Technology's (GDUT) Chemistry discipline has successfully ranked among the global top 1‰. To date, GDUT has 11 disciplines ranked in the ESI global top 1%, including Engineering, Materials Science, Computer Science, Chemistry, Environment/Ecology, Agricultural Sciences, Social Sciences, General, Biology & Biochemistry, Geo-sciences, Physics, and Pharmacology &Toxicology. Among these, four disciplines—Engineering, Materials Science, Computer Science, and Chemistry—have entered the top 1‰ (with Engineering already at 0.258‰). The total number of top 1‰ disciplines ranks GDUT third among local universities nationwide. The university’s ESI comprehensive world ranking stands at 532nd, an improvement of 18 places from the previous period (ranking 66th among universities in Mainland China).

The primary academic units supporting Chemistry’s entry into the ESI global top 1‰ include the School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, the School of Environmental Science and Engineering. Environment/Ecology is identified as the next potential discipline to break into the ESI top 1‰.

Leveraging its strengths in engineering, GDUT is actively advancing the integrated development of education, science, technology, and talent cultivation. It continuously enhances its capacity to serve national strategic needs and regional economic and social development. The university focuses on building two key discipline clusters, “High-end Electronic Manufacturing” and “Green Materials and Chemical Engineering,” while vigorously strengthening interdisciplinary integration. Addressing the major strategic needs of the green petrochemical and advanced materials industrial clusters, GDUT has formed distinctive disciplinary directions in areas such as biomass chemical engineering, fine chemical engineering, new energy materials, environmental chemical engineering, and chemical safety and ecology. Breakthrough progress has been made in the high-value utilization of industrial lignin, the development and application of high-end fine chemical products, and key technologies for air/water pollution prevention and control. The university hosts over ten provincial and ministerial-level research platforms, including a Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education and the Jieyang Branch Center of the Guangdong Provincial Laboratory of Chemistry and Fine Chemical Engineering. GDUT has established a joint laboratory with Professor Konstantin Novoselov, Nobel Laureate in Physics. It has also attracted a number of renowned international experts, including full-time appointments of Academician Bernard Meunier, former President of the French Academy of Sciences (recipient of the Chinese Government Friendship Award), Professor Keiji Maruoka, current President of the Chemical Society of Japan, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. By recruiting and cultivating top national-level leading talents and young elite researchers, GDUT is committed to establishing a world-class innovation hub for fundamental research in green chemical engineering and new energy, and to building an innovation chain for the green chemical and new energy industries. During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the university has secured over 200 national-level projects, including National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Integrated Programs, Key Programs of Joint Funds, Key R&D Programs, and Original Exploration Programs. A steady stream of high-quality academic achievements has emerged, with a continuous improvement in the quality of publications and academic influence, forming an innovative research cluster with global impact.

ESI, the Essential Science Indicators, is an in-depth analytical tool for measuring research performance and tracking scientific development trends. Currently owned by Clarivate (USA), it is based on journal article publication counts and citation data from over 12,000 journals indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) core collection, encompassing more than 12 million articles. It serves as one of the most widely used evaluation tools worldwide for assessing the international academic level and influence of universities, academic institutions, and countries/regions.