At first glance, they look little different from high school students you can see anywhere in China.

Young, shy and lovable, they easily pass for ordinary teenagers when they walk through the hall into the classroom in twos and threes, bantering with each other and sometimes bursting into uncontrolled laughter.

But when the door of the classroom closes behind them, they know they are facing a strikingly different world that most teenagers of their age will never experience.

All under 15, they are this year's new recruits of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Selected from 2,221 applicants, the 55 teenagers are highly intelligent and suitable for higher learning.

They are supposed to spend four years, or even less, on the campus in East China's Anhui Province to study for a bachelor's degree, or go even further.

During their time, they will attend courses delivered by the best professors at USTC, study and work with students often four to five years older and, most importantly, learn to adapt to a new environment that is much larger, more open and more challenging than high school.

Over 24 years, USTC has enrolled more than 1,000 such gifted teenagers to carry out special education programmes in the hope of exploring their talents at early age.

The programme has produced a series of records in China's higher education such as the youngest college student (11 years old) and the youngest doctorate holder (23 years old).

Its influence in China has become such that a special term, "shao nian ban," meaning special class for the gifted young, was created.

In a way, the special class set an example for many other colleges when it was initiated by USTC in 1978. Over a dozen colleges in China followed suit but it is the USTC programme that continues today and has flourished. Over time, the programme has earned USTC applause as well as doubt, but it has nevertheless continued.

The number of applicants hit a record high this year despite the stringent requirements that the students must be highly intelligent and be under the age of 15.

"The 'shao nian ban' is not necessarily intended to 'manufacture' young geniuses in the first place, but to blaze a new trail out of the traditional education system that treats the educated indiscriminately and ignores their individual character," said Cheng Yi, vice-president of USTC, on the eve of its 45th anniversary, which is celebrated today.

Cheng is justified to say the programme, though controversial at times, has successfully achieved its goal.

From the graduates of "shao nian ban" have emerged some of China's elite scientists such as Zhang Yaqin, president of Microsoft Research Asia. Zhang entered USTC in 1978 at the age of 12 and spent five years there before going to the United States for further study.

"I am a beneficiary of the 'shao nian ban' programme," said Zhang. "The five years at USTC were the most unforgettable of my life."

Not only the students, but also the university benefits. Cheng said the experimental programme forms the basis for the many subsequent educational reforms that are intended to transform USTC into a world-class academic institution.

In a sense, it is safe to say that "shao nian ban" best shows the character of USTC and its people, who have never failed to test the new and seek perfection. Yet it is more than just "shao nian ban" that makes USTC so unique.

Though not the largest and oldest, USTC sets itself apart from its peer colleges in China in many ways.

Located relatively far from large cities, it has nevertheless attracted some of the most talented students and researchers from across the country.

With a modest government investment compared with other prominent Chinese universities like Peking University and Tsinghua University, USTC has made its mark by releasing first-class research achievements each year.

The university has for several years topped Chinese universities in terms of per capita thesis publications in world-class academic journals.

It is common to see achievements attributed to researchers from USTC topping the various end-of-year reviews in Chinese scientific journals.

"Our geographic location in Anhui may not be very favourable compared with other universities located in Beijing or Shanghai, but on the other hand it is good for doing research," said Zhu Qingshi, USTC's president.

"Sometimes, it may be easier for a researcher to make achievements at USTC as there are not as many distractions here like in the big cities of Beijing or Shanghai."

But when it was founded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 1958, the university, which was originally set up in Beijing, benefited from a close liaison with the many research institutes under the academy, which then had the best scientists in China. Some of them, like the eminent mathematician Hua Luogeng, doubled as directors and teachers of the many departments at USTC and delivered courses to undergraduates.

Students at USTC had many more opportunities to engage in their tutors' experiments at an early stage, compared to those at other Chinese universities.

The CAS also invested heavily in the university, making it a reservoir of talent for many significant scientific projects.

"Such a close relationship with the CAS has been a feature of our university and both sides benefit," said Zhu.

The university suffered a major setback in 1969, when it was moved south to Anhui under a government order. The objective was to transform USTC into an "experimental base of educational revolution" that functioned as school, ranch, factory and research institute.

The move was made in haste. Some 6,000 students, faculty members and their families left Beijing, along with 35,000 boxes of apparatus, files and books, and settled in the paddy fields in the suburb of Hefei.

The university had to start from scratch, again.

"The university lost two-thirds of its facilities during the relocation and half of the faculty left," recalled Xin Houwen, former vice-president of USTC.

There have been proposals to move it back but none have been realized.

The university has since moved onto a different track, which it hopes is one toward success.

Both Zhu and Cheng referred to Cornell University in the United States, which is located in the small town of Ithaca, as a model. "Cornell University is even more distant from a metropolis than USTC," said Zhu, "yet nobody would deny that it is a first-class university."

Like Cornell, USTC must attract the best teachers, undertake the best research and cultivate the best students to survive, even in the many years to come, he added.

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