The Center for Higher Education Research (CHER) of Southern University of Science and Technology is a teaching and research institute founded in June 2015. Since May 2018, CHER has been affiliated to the newly established School of Humanities and Social Sciences. CHER is committed to providing higher education theories, policies, and consultation drawn on experience of the world class universities to support the development of SUSTech which aims to become a world-class research university. CHER is committed to contributing to the research on the multi-dimensional relationship among the innovative development of SUSTech, the construction of Shenzhen pilot demonstration area, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the practice of Chinese higher education reform, and global higher education innovation.

The research areas of academics at CHER include: evaluation of higher education (including faculty evaluation, student assessment, university evaluation), higher education policies and governance, the modern university system and university reform, the internationalization of higher education, the development of higher education and regional development (Shenzhen, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area), the development of New-Model Research University, ICT-supported learning and teaching in higher education (including online education), learning sciences and smart education etc. CHER has three research platforms: SUSTech Research Center (forthcoming), The Greater Bay Area Data Center for Higher Education, and the MOOCs Center.

CHER has launched the World-Class Research University Annual Forum, SUSTech Research series, Higher Education Innovation Talk, and the internal magazine of Perspectives in Higher Education. CHER receives grants from national, provincial, and municipal funding bodies, such as the National Natural Science Foundation and the National Education Science Planning, etc. It has become an influential hub focusing on the research and practice of educational innovation. CHER provides general education courses for students at SUSTech and has developed the Education +X courses series. Since 2016, CHER has established a joint doctoral program in Higher Education and Educational Technology with the Faculty of Education of the University of Hong Kong. In July 2021, CHER successfully applied to the base for the Innovation & Practice Programme for the Cultivation of High-level International Talents accredited by the China Center for International People-to-People Exchange, Ministry of Education, on behalf of SUSTech. CHER is recruiting new faculty members and postdoctoral fellows globally, to make substantial contributions to the theory and practice of higher education and to empower SUSTech to become a world-class research university.

CHER currently has 9 full-time faculty members, 6 postdoctoral fellows, 2 visiting professors, 6 visiting scholars/students, and 2 executives. The director is Professor SHEN Hong.