The Ministry of Education recently authorized 100 National Virtual Simulation Centers and Tianjin University’s Precision Instruments and Petroleum Virtual Simulation Center was the only one selected in Tianjin.

Virtual Simulation Centers are an important component of education in today’s information age. With the construction of such centers the students’ innovative spirit and practical abilities will be improved. Such centers will enable the sharing of high quality experiment teaching resources and develop the information and resources required for experimental teaching. This will continually advance the reform and innovation of higher education institutions.

Based on the “four lengthways two crosswise” (Four different techniques of electronics, machine, optics, and computer, and two levels of experiment techniques including basic as well as frontier and integrated techniques) teaching system and simulation technology, the experiments of this frontier technology are virtualized which in the past were hard to show or restrained by resource constraints. Five different techniques and professional routes were established as "optics, machine, electronics, computer, and medicine”. Three different levels were proposed as virtual simulation experiment teaching, professional integrated virtual simulation training, and an academic frontiers virtual simulation cognition. A “five lengthways three crosswise” virtual simulation teaching system was constructed for the training of outstanding engineers.

After years of construction and cultivation, a three-stage demonstration system was formed by a National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center (National Virtual Simulation Center), one Tianjin Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center and Tianjin University’s outstanding laboratories. It improves the whole level of experimental teaching at the university. Up to now, Tianjin University is home to six national experimental teaching demonstration centers (including the units under construction), two national virtual simulation experiment teaching centers and sixteen Tianjin experimental teaching demonstration centers (including the units under construction).