Hunan University is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education, and a university under the construction of the "211 Project", "985 Project", and "World Class University". The school originated from the establishment of Yuelu Academy in 976 AD. In 1903, Yuelu Academy merged with Hunan Higher Education, which was restructured from Shiwu Academy founded in 1897. In 1926, it was named Hunan University and in 1937, it became one of the 16 national universities in China. After the founding of New China, Li Da, one of the main founders and early leaders of the CPC, served as the first president, and Comrade Mao Zedong wrote the name of "Hunan University". In 2000, Hunan University merged with Hunan University of Finance and Economics to form the new Hunan University. On September 17, 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the school for inspection and research, and highly praised the school's talent cultivation and cultural inheritance, pointing out that Yuelu Academy is the source of the Party's pragmatic ideological line.

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) is an important state-owned backbone enterprise directly managed by the central government. It is the backbone of the aerospace industry and the main force in the construction of national defense weapons and equipment. The predecessor of Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation was the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense, established in October 1956. It has gone through the historical evolution of the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry, the Ministry of Aerospace Industry, the Ministry of Aerospace Industry, and China Aerospace Industry Corporation; In July 1999, China Aerospace Electromechanical Group Corporation was established; In July 2001, it was renamed as China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation; In November 2017, it was restructured and renamed as China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited.

Harbin Institute of Technology, abbreviated as HIT, is located in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. It is a national key university under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, a centrally administered university, and one of the first batch of A-class key construction universities under the national "985 Project", "211 Project", and "Double First Class". Selected for the Everest Plan, Strong Foundation Plan, 101 Plan, Talent Plan, and 2011 Plan; Member of the C9 Alliance and the Excellent University Alliance, the first batch of degree authorization independent review units, the first batch of Future Technology Colleges and National Excellent Engineering Colleges in China. Known as the 'cradle of engineers'.

The National University of Defense Technology of the People's Liberation Army of China, also known as the "University of Defense Technology" or "University of Defense Science and Technology", is located in Changsha, Hunan Province. It is a comprehensive research-oriented higher education institution directly under the Central Military Commission, one of the 156 key construction projects in the first five-year plan, one of the 20 national key universities designated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1959, one of the first national "211 Project", "985 Project", and military "2110 Project" key construction universities, one of the first universities approved by the State Council to grant master's and doctoral degrees, one of the 22 pilot graduate schools in China, and the only military institution to enter the first round of "Double First Class" construction support in the country.

Southeast University (SEU), located in Jiangsu Province, is a comprehensive and research-oriented national key university directly under the Ministry of Education and jointly built with Jiangsu Province. It is a centrally administered university, a key construction university of the national "211 Project" and "985 Project", and one of the first batch of "Double First Class" construction universities (Class A). It has been selected for the "2011 Plan", "111 Plan", "101 Plan", "Everest Plan", and "Strong Foundation Plan", and is an independent degree authorization review unit.

Donghua University is a directly affiliated university of the Ministry of Education, a national "211 Project", and a national "Double First Class" construction university. The history of the school can be traced back to the textile dyeing and transmission institute founded by industrialist Zhang Jian in 1912. Established in 1951 as East China Textile Institute, it was the first textile higher education institution in New China; In 1960, it was designated as a national key university by the Ministry of Education; In 1981, it became one of the first universities in China with the authority to confer doctoral, master's, and bachelor's degrees; In 1985, it was renamed China Textile University; In 1998, it was designated as a key institution of higher education under the national "211 Project"; In 1999, it was renamed Donghua University. In 2017 and 2022, it was selected as a national "Double First Class" construction university for two consecutive rounds. The school adheres to the motto of "respecting morality, learning extensively, and striving for practicality", innovates and keeps pace with the times, and has now developed into a distinctive multi-disciplinary and high-level research-oriented university.