Since the establishment of the undergraduate program in Precision Instruments in 1959, the college has gone through more than 60 years of development, evolving from the First Department of Mechanical Engineering and Precision Instruments to the College of Instrumentation, and finally becoming the School of Instrument Science and Opto-electronics Engineering. It has made pioneering contributions to the establishment and development of the discipline of Instrument Science and Technology in China and has cultivated a large number of backbone talents and outstanding contributors for the development of science, technology, and the economy in our country. It has become an important base for talent cultivation, scientific research, social services, and cultural inheritance and innovation at Hefei University of Technology. Currently, the college has over 110 full-time faculty members, including 98 teachers, 6 laboratory staff, and 11 administrative staff. Among the full-time teachers, there are 25 professors and 56 associate professors. There are a total of 12 faculty members with various national-level talent titles. 96% of the full-time teachers hold doctoral degrees, and over 70% of the teachers have experience of studying abroad or visiting scholars.

Since the resumption of graduate education by the state in 1978, this discipline has been admitting master's students and is one of the earliest disciplines at our university to have the authority to grant doctoral degrees. Currently, the college has over 660 master's and doctoral students. It has a doctoral degree authorization point in the first-level discipline of Instrument Science and Technology (with four second-level disciplines: Precision Instruments and Machinery, Testing and Measurement Technology and Instruments, Optoelectronic Information Engineering, Biomedical Instruments), a first-level discipline doctoral post-doctoral mobile station, a doctoral degree authorization point in Mechanical Engineering, a first-level master's degree authorization point in Biomedical Engineering, and a professional master's degree authorization point in Electronic Information Engineering. In the national discipline evaluation conducted by the Academic Degrees Committee of the Ministry of Education in 2012, this discipline ranked tenth nationwide, making it one of the three disciplines at our university to enter the top ten. In the fourth round of national discipline evaluation in 2016, it was rated as B+ and ranked eighth nationwide. The discipline has research bases such as the State Key Laboratory of Modern Imaging and Display Technology, the State Engineering Laboratory of Special Display Technology, the Innovative Introduction of Talent Plan (111 Plan) - Modern Testing Technology and Precision Engineering, the Key Laboratory of Measurement Theory and Precision Instruments of Anhui Province, and the Key Laboratory of Modern Testing and Manufacturing Quality Engineering of Anhui Higher Education Institutions. The college actively engages in scientific research and technological application development, serving as an important innovation base in the field of instruments in our country. In recent years, it has undertaken various national key scientific research projects, including key special projects of the National Key Research and Development Program, major scientific research instrument development projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, national major scientific instrument and equipment development projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and national key scientific research projects. The college has received one second-class national technical invention award, six provincial and ministerial-level research awards, published over 150 academic papers annually, and obtained more than 100 granted invention patents.

The college currently has over 1,200 undergraduate students and offers four undergraduate majors: Measurement and Control Technology and Instruments, Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Intelligent Perception Engineering. Among them, the Measurement and Control Technology and Instruments major is a national characteristic specialty and an Anhui provincial education reform demonstration specialty. It was also one of the first engineering education programs in the field of instruments to be certified by the Ministry of Education. In 2019, it was approved as a national first-class undergraduate program. The Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering major is a provincial comprehensive reform pilot program and was approved as a national first-class undergraduate program in 2020. The Biomedical Engineering major was approved as an Excellent Engineer Program in Anhui Province in 2012 and is a distinctive specialty in the province. In 2020, the Intelligent Perception Engineering major was established based on the latest developments in the field of Instrument Science and Technology and is currently an innovative experimental class major at our university. The college places great emphasis on the quality of undergraduate teaching and has compiled 10 types of planned textbooks, including three national planned textbooks. The foundational course Error Theory and Data Processing in the field of instruments in China has been recognized as a national excellent course and was designated as one of the first national first-class undergraduate courses in 2020. It also won the first National Textbook Construction Award in 2021. Microcomputer Principles and Interface Technology and Single-Chip Microcomputer Principles and Applications have been recognized as provincial excellent courses, while Sensing and Detection Technology and Precision Mechanical Design Fundamentals have been recognized as university-level excellent courses. Coordinate Measurement Technology is a bilingual demonstration course. The faculty currently undertake more than 10 national, provincial, and university-level education reform projects. The college attaches importance to the cultivation of students' practical innovation ability and has undergraduate teaching center laboratories and a student innovation practice center, both of which are demonstration experimental training centers in Anhui Province. With the goal of cultivating talents with innovative awareness, creative drive, and entrepreneurial abilities, the college actively organizes students to participate in various innovation and entrepreneurship competitions. They have won awards, including gold medals, in top-level events such as the Challenge Cup National College Student Entrepreneurship Competition and the Internet+ College Students' Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. The college achieves outstanding results in the NXP Cup National College Students Smart Car Competition, the China (International) Sensor Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and the National College Students Optoelectronic Design Competition every year. By expanding innovative and entrepreneurial practice platforms, the college provides students with opportunities to immerse themselves in industrial practical scenarios, collaborates with typical enterprises to establish innovation and entrepreneurship practice bases for college students, and establishes an integrated education model combining production, learning, and research. The college has established a sound mechanism for education and academic exchanges with universities and research institutions in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Russia, and other countries. Every year, undergraduate and graduate students from the college and relevant overseas universities and research institutions participate in mutual learning, training, and exchanges. The admission rate of undergraduate students for postgraduate studies in the college exceeds 45%, and the employment rate exceeds 90%. Graduates are mainly distributed in the fields of electronic information, advanced manufacturing, and research institutes.

The college actively carries out domestic and international academic exchanges and collaborative research. With the platform of the 111 Plan, in recent years, it has established in-depth academic exchanges and fruitful scientific research cooperation with universities and research institutions in Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, South Korea, Denmark, and other countries. The college has also invited a group of internationally renowned experts as advisory professors and visiting professors. Since 2001, the college has been hosting the International Conference on Mechanical Engineering and Precision Measurement for ten consecutive sessions. Each conference attracts scholars from Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and other countries to engage in in-depth exchanges with domestic scholars, effectively promoting academic exchanges at home and abroad.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude and highest respect to all the units, individuals from various sectors, alumni, and hardworking faculty and staff who have long cared for and supported the construction and development of the School of Instrument Science and Opto-electronic Engineering at Hefei University of Technology. The college will carry forward the past, forge ahead into the future, keep pace with the times, face challenges, work hard, contribute to the industrial development of the country, and create new brilliance!