A panoramic view of Nantong University. [Photo/Nantong University]

Nantong University in Jiangsu province has received approval from the Ministry of Education to introduce five new undergraduate programs, further aligning its offerings with national strategic priorities and industry demands.

The newly approved programs — Sports Training, Soccer Sports, Functional Materials, Intelligent Visual Engineering, and Rehabilitation Occupational Therapy — are distributed across the School of Sports Sciences and Physical Education, Zhiyun School of Football, School of Textile and Clothing, School of Information Science and Technology, and School of Nursing and Rehabilitation.

The Soccer Sports program, a flagship of the Zhiyun School of Football, emphasizes a "soccer + education + industry" model. It is designed to cultivate versatile professionals equipped with high-level competitive skills, expertise in teaching and training, event management capabilities, and innovative abilities within the sports industry. It is expected to start enrolling students next year.

The Functional Materials program supports the national strategies of advancing new materials and manufacturing, as well as the Health China initiative. It brings together resources from disciplines such as textile materials, chemistry and chemical engineering, electronic information, and biomedical engineering, focusing on "advanced functional materials + green manufacturing + intelligent applications". It is set to commence enrollment this year.