Madame Wu Qidi is a noted scholar and former president of Tongji University. She is a former vice-minister of education.

In 1995, Wu became the first university president in China to be chosen to the position by a democratic election. During her eight-year presidency, the University took an active part in higher education reform. She guided the University through several merges with other universities and colleges smoothly. During her presidency, Tongji University made outstanding achievements and succeeded in evolving from a leading engineering school to a comprehensive, research-intensive and international institution, ranking among the top Chinese universities. Prior to her election to the presidency, Wu had a successful career as a professor of automatic control, Deputy Dean of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Assistant President, and Vice President.

A native of Zhejiang province, Wu earned a bachelor’s degree in radio engineering from the Department of Radio and Electronic Engineering of Tsinghua University, China; a master’s degree in automatic control from the Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University, China; and a Ph.D. in automation from the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland. She also has an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Arizona State University in the United States, which she received in recognition of her significant achievements as a leader in higher education and exceptional work in academic research.