The First Teaching and Research Department of College English, a branch of School of Foreign Studies of Harbin Engineering University, has 22 full-time teachers (1 professor, 7 associate professors, and 14 lecturers) who undertake teaching and research work for undergraduate from level one to four of College English.

Over the past few years, through the cultivation of a high-quality faculty team, the Department has achieved outstanding accomplishments in both teaching and research. The faculty members have presided 17 projects at the provincial level or higher, authored and translated 3 monographs, received 13 awards of various types, and published over 30 academic research papers. Simultaneously, led by the construction of a distinctive ideological and political education brand, the Department has integrated socialist core values into College English teaching. It has pioneered an innovative path in educational reform that aligns with the university's talent cultivation objectives. The Department’s successful experiences and practices have been reported by some authoritative media like China Education Daily, Xuexi.cn, and National University Ideological & Political Work Net.

Remarkable achievements in other domains are also noteworthy. During the period of 2020-2023, College English-Strategies for Improving English language Skills and College English (III) were approved as the national top undergraduate program. The teaching practice “The Application of Three-Dimensional Blended Teaching Model (Language + Education + Ideological and Political Values) for College English Reading and Writing”was selected as one of the “Excellent Cases of Blended Teaching Based on MOOCs” (with only 10 foreign language courses selected nationwide). College English was designated as a demonstration course for integrating ideological and political education into the curriculum in Heilongjiang Province. This teaching practice was also selected as one of the "Top 100" Ideological and political work cases of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. “Digital-Intelligence Empowerment, Cultural Soul-Forging, and Language Education — The 5I Blended College English First-Class Course Reform and Practice” won the Second Prize of Provincial Teaching Achievements. In 2021-2022, the Party branch was awarded the Demonstration Site of Grassroots Party Building in Heilongjiang Province, the Advanced Grassroots Party Organization of the Education Work Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, and the secretary of the Party branch was awarded the Excellent Party Worker of Heilongjiang Province. In 2024, the Party branch was selected for the "Strengthening the Country Campaign" Special Action Project of the "Double Leader" Teacher Party Branch Secretaries in National Colleges and Universities.