Changkong College at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. [Photo/en.nuaa.edu.cn]
The predecessor of Changkong College at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) is the engineering elite training class established in 1996. To systematically develop an elite training system, NUAA established Changkong College in 2011 as a "virtually operated yet substantially functioning" entity (i.e., it does not independently offer majors or enroll students separately, yet functions as a secondary college).
The college's students included those from 12 "elite training classes" established by various colleges based on disciplinary and professional training characteristics, along with participants of the "Changkong Program" eligible for the bachelor's-master's combined training.
In 2012, building upon the elite training classes, Changkong College developed an elite training system featuring "university-college collaboration, inter-college coordination, and supportive teacher-student relationship". In November 2018, NUAA decided to transform Changkong College into a physical entity, pooling the university's premium resources to explore the cultivation of top-tier innovative talents through the "Changkong innovation class" model.
The college was tasked with managing the enrollment and training of students in aerospace majors, including Aircraft Design and Engineering, Aircraft Environment and Life Support Engineering, Aircraft Power Engineering, and Aircraft Manufacturing Engineering.
In September 2019, Changkong College welcomed its inaugural cohort of students following its physical establishment. In 2023, NUAA formally incorporated Aerospace Engineering and Aircraft Control and Information Engineering into the enrollment of aerospace majors.
Each year, outstanding students from across the university are selected to form the Changkong innovation class, which follows a four-year training model with mentorship consisting of domestic and international academicians, candidates of national talent programs, alumni chief engineers, and industry elites. Additionally, NUAA offers a pilot eight-year bachelor-doctoral combined program for a select group of students in the Changkong Innovation Class.
The aerospace major cluster adopts a "2+2" training model, where students accept general education at Changkong College during their first and second years, followed by specialized training in one of the major-specific colleges (College of Aerospace Engineering, College of Energy and Power Engineering, College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, or College of Astronautics) in their third and fourth years.
Each year, approximately 80 first-year students from the aerospace program are selected to participate in an integrated aerospace-AI class, enhancing the cultivation of interdisciplinary talent within the field of aerospace studies.
