The aero engine is often described as the "heart of the airplane" and is celebrated as the "crown jewel of industry".

Tsinghua University established the Institute for Aero Engine on December 18, 2018. Drawing on its strengths in various disciplines and talent, the institute is dedicated to providing foundational theories, key technologies, and support for talent development in future aviation propulsion.

The establishment of IAE gained the high attention from the CPC Central Committee and national leadership. As General Secretary Xi Jinping said, the establishment of IAE was to “take the initiative to assume responsibility”. Tsinghua University also vigorously promotes the IAE development by supporting IAE in leveraging the resource strength of Tsinghua, thus seeking a path of scientific research that is organized and applicable to university patterns in a new era.

With the vision of “targeting the technical innovation of aero-engine and serving the national development strategies” and in a position of “fundamental theories, talent training, key technology and research in frontier areas”, IAE takes “fostering virtue and hard work, self-improvement, coordination in overcoming difficulties for the service of the aviation industry” as its motto. It also strives to seek the technical path of independent research and development, offers fundamental theories and core technology for the materialization of next-generation “high-end, far, fast and smart” aero engines, in a bid to arise itself as the world-class base of technical innovation in terms of aero engine theories and the base of high-end elite training.