The Basic Chemistry Experimental Center at SJTU traces its roots back to the Basic Chemistry Laboratory, established in 1956 under the former Applied Chemistry Department. The experimental conditions have been significantly improved with the support of projects such as the World Bank loan program by the Ministry of Education, Project 211, and Project 985. The center was officially established in 2000.

The center aims to serve undergraduate teaching, enhance students’ comprehensive qualities, and cultivate innovative abilities. It has reformed traditional teaching content, updated teaching methods, and achieved a shift from skill training to ability development. The center attaches great importance to the application of advanced teaching concepts. It continuously reforms and improves teaching systems, expands teaching methods, transforms teaching environments, and strengthens faculty and institutional development, all in line with the overall goal of talent cultivation at SJTU. These efforts have yielded significant results.

The center has established an experimental chemistry platform for all students at SJTU. The laboratory covers an area of 2,750 m². It has instruments and equipment such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), liquid chromatography (LC), gas chromatography (GC), fluorescence spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction.

As a platform for experimental chemistry teaching and innovative education at SJTU, the center offers Basic Chemistry Experiments for students from various colleges, including the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Environmental Science and Engineering, Agriculture and Biology, Pharmacy, and Life Sciences and Biotechnology. It provides a series of experimental courses for the Chemistry Class of the Zhiyuan College, Chemistry Experiments for the School of Mechanical Engineering, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physical Chemistry Experiment for the Life Science Class of the Zhiyuan College, and Chemistry Experiment (taught in English) for the UM-SJTU Joint Institute.

Since September 2009, the center has also offered the core course “Exploring Chemistry through Experiments” as part of the general education curriculum, with an annual teaching workload of 160,000 man-hours. The teaching tasks of the center are carried out by appointed teachers and teaching assistants, with the assistance of laboratory technicians. The center has long adhered to pretest and trial lectures to ensure the quality of the experimental courses.

The center supports the development of high-quality courses: University Chemistry (National Quality Course), Organic Chemistry (Shanghai Quality Course), and Experimental Chemistry (Shanghai Quality Course). It also supports three SJTU quality courses—Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, and Principles of Chemical Engineering and two courses for SCCE—Instrumental Analysis and Polymeric Science Experiments. Additionally, the center provides experimental facilities and analysis testing services for PRP (Participation in Research Program) and innovative experiments for students from SCCE and other schools. In 2007, Basic Chemistry Experiment Center was recognized as a university-level experimental teaching demonstration center.