The predecessor of School of Foreign Studies of Harbin Engineering University (HEU) was the Foreign Languages Teaching and Research Center of the Basic Courses Department of PLA Military Engineering Institute, which then developed itself into Foreign Languages Teaching and Research Center of the Basic Courses Department of Harbin Engineering Institute (1966-1970) and Foreign Languages Teaching and Research Center of the Basic Courses Department of Harbin Shipbuilding Engineering Institute (1970-1986). In 1987, Foreign Languages Department was founded on the basis of the First and Second Foreign Languages Teaching and Research Centers of Harbin Shipbuilding Engineering Institute. In 2021, Foreign Languages Department was updated to School of Foreign Studies (SFS).

The enduring history of the foreign language teaching of SFS can be traced back to the Russian teaching in the period of the PLA Military Engineering Institute, while the history of the major and discipline development dates back to the first batch of students enrolled in the English teacher-training class program (undergraduate education) in 1978. In 1985, the master’s degree program in English was available for enrollment. In 1986, as one of the pioneers setting English Major in colleges of science and engineering in Heilongjiang province, the undergraduate EST program was launched into practice. In 1994, EST Major was renamed as English Major, and in 2011 the English Major was approved as the Key Construction Major of Heilongjiang Province. The master programs in first-level discipline of Foreign Languages and Literature were approved in 2017. The years of 2021 and 2022 successively witnessed the honor of English Major approved as the First-class Major of Heilongjiang Province and the National First-class Major.

SFS now undertakes the teaching activities for undergraduates in English Major and graduates specialized in Foreign Languages and Literature, as well as the foreign languages (English, Russian, Japanese, German, and French) teaching activities for non-English-majored undergraduates, master’s students, and doctoral students in HEU.

At present, SFS has a staff of 125, including 108 full-time faculty members. There are 14 professors and 42 associate professors, among whom 32 are master’s supervisors. Moreover, there are 4 guest professors, 7 part-time professors, and 4 foreign teachers. The number of students studying in SFS is 396, including 198 English majors and 188 master students.

SFS consists of six fundamental teaching and academic sections:

• The First Teaching and Research Section for College English

• The Second Teaching and Research Section for College English

• Teaching and Research Section for English Majors

• Teaching and Research Section for Non-English-Majored Postgraduates

• Teaching and Research Section for Japanese, Russian, German, and French

• Center for Foreign Languages and Literature

        Besides, the administration of SFS contains General Affairs Office and Talent Cultivation Office (further branched as Teaching Affairs Office and Students’ Affairs Office). The academic organizations are the Committee of Professors and the Academic Sub-Committee. Supporting sections are Multimedia Language Experiment Center, Reference Room, and Center for Maritime Document Translation.

Three score and ten years’ development has nourished the master programs in first-level discipline of Foreign Languages and Literature and MTI program. The academic master’s degrees of Foreign Languages and Literature covers three specialty directions: English Language and Literature, Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, and Russian Language and Literature. Six teaching and scientific research teams are set under the first-level discipline of Foreign Languages and Literature. The teams’ mission is to solidly promote the expansion and construction in the four research fields: foreign languages and literature, applied linguistics, foreign literature, translation studies, and country and area studies.

The development of discipline and talent cultivation of SFS has actively embraced the characteristics of HEU – Naval Architecture, Ocean Development, and Nuclear Power Application. The School has established Joint Cultivation Bases for Students’ Practice and Internship with Shanhaiguan Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd., No. 714 Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Group Co., Ltd., Nuclear Power Institute of China, China Institute of Marine Technology & Economy, China Center for Information Industry Development, Global Times, Library of HEU, and Harbin Engineering University Press.

Focusing on the goal of cultivating “New Engineering” talents and continuously deepening the reform of foreign language education and teaching, SFS has formed its teaching model and formative evaluation and assessment method with HEU’s characteristics. College English courses have been selected as the Excellent Courses of Heilongjiang Province and the Ideological and Political Demonstration Courses of Heilongjiang Province. College English courses are also in the first batch of National First-Class Online Undergraduate Courses and National Online and Offline Mixed First-Class Courses. The course cases of College English have been selected into the MOOC-based Excellent Mixed Teaching Case Set and the Top 100 Cases of Ideological and Political Work in Universities by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The project of Research and Practice of Integrating Ideological Value Guidance into College English Curriculum Education has been approved by the Ministry of Education. Positive energy of Chinese Dream is manifested in College English courses, which has been publicized and praised by Xuexi.cn. The front page of China Education Daily published a special report on lecturers of College English transmitting positive energy in class.

The Teaching and Research Section for Non-English Major Postgraduates takes academicization and internationalization as the core of curriculum construction, taking into account the requirements of cultivating humanistic literacy and comprehensively improving students’ international communication and exchange abilities. Academic Exchange English, a MOOC for graduates, has been launched on XueTangX.com and Treenity Platform. It has been selected as a National Smart Education Platform Course, Ideological and Political Education Resources for University Courses on Xinhua Net, and a “Double First-Class” University High-quality Course on Treenity. Academic Exchange English has also been approved as the Ideological and Political Course Construction Project for Graduate Courses of Heilongjiang Province and enjoyed the honor of being a demonstration course in the “Tuojin Plan” of the Ministry of Education.

Based on the needs of building a national first-class undergraduate major, the Teaching and Research Section for English Majors relies on HEU’s advantages of shipbuilding, ocean, and nuclear engineering disciplines, adheres to the student-centered approach, and seeks the development path of “integrating mainstream, increasing characteristics, laying a solid foundation, and strengthening qualities”. The English Major is selected as the “Three Enterings” Demonstration Course Teaching Team Construction Site of Heilongjiang Province and listed in New Liberal Arts Construction Plan Project of Heilongjiang Province. In 2022, it was approved as the National First-Class Major. The versatile talents having graduated from English Major have met the national strategic needs of building a science, technology, and maritime power and also responded to the demands of economic development of Heilongjiang Province.

The Teaching and Research Section for Japanese, Russian, German, and French is responsible for teaching activities for all undergraduates, graduates, and Sino-Russian Innovation Classes of HEU. Faculty members of the Section are committed to research in fields of linguistics, literature, terminology, and translation studies, with outstanding teaching results and fruitful teaching research achievements. Faculty members in Russian teaching and research are experienced, and since 2019, the master’s degree program in Russian has been available for enrollment.

Since the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the faculty of SFS has published over 300 journal papers and obtained approval for over 70 projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China, Humanities and Social Sciences Projects of the Ministry of Education, State Language Commission, and other provincial and ministerial level projects. Faculty members have received about 60 provincial-level awards and published over 60 monographs and textbooks.

The secretary of one Teacher Party Branch of SFS has won the first place in the College Party Branch Secretary Ability Competition of Heilongjiang Province. Faculty members have won more than 20 honors, including the Champion of the Youth Group in the “21st Century Cup” National English-Speaking Competition, the third place in the “Teaching Star” Competition of FLTRP, the first prize in the College Foreign Language Young Teacher Ability Competition of Heilongjiang Province, the first prize in the Higher Education Institutions Curriculum-based Ideological and Political Teaching Competition of Heilongjiang Province, and the first prize in the Gold Course Team Competition of Heilongjiang Province. Cognitive Linguistics along with other 15 courses was approved as Provincial Curriculum-based Ideological and Political Cases.

SFS adheres to the construction of teacher ethics and morality in the new era under the Party’s guidance and focuses on building an excellent teaching team with high political caliber, masterly professional abilities, and exquisite educational skills. In 2008 and 2009, the School was awarded the honorary title of Women’s Civilization Post by the All-China Women’s Federation for two consecutive years. The First Teaching and Research Section for College English has become one of the first-batch National Party Building Model Branches Cultivation and Construction Units and has passed the review by the Ministry of Education. Among SFS’s faculty members, there are Excellent Teachers in Colleges and Universities under the National Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense, Excellent Teachers of Heilongjiang Province, Exemplary Individuals with Teacher’s Professional Ethics and Morality of Heilongjiang Province, and Outstanding Party Workers of Heilongjiang Province. The university-level honorary titles have been awarded to SFS’s teachers over 300 times, which include Model Lecturer, Excellent Lecturer, Exemplary Individual of Three-Dimensional Education, My Favorite Teacher and so on.