Underground Polis Academy (UPA), as approved by Shenzhen University, was established in 2018. The academy is led by Professor Chen Xiangsheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Currently, there are 19 teachers and researchers (all with PhD degrees) in the UPA, including 4 professors, 6 associate professors, 5 assistant professors and 4 full-time researchers, of which 16 once studied oversea for more than one year. In addition, the members of UPA include 6 visiting professors/guest researchers from China and abroad, 2 postdoctoral researchers, 2 technicians and administrative staff, and more than 60 PhD or master candidates.

UPA is established to uphold the concept of providing original contribution to ecological civilization, protecting and constructing ecological environment and exploring the methodologies of underground space development and sustainable land utilization. Our academy focuses on major issues include key scientific and technical solutions to the construction of important national infrastructures, underground space planning and improvement of the resilience of urban infrastructures, design theories and construction technologies for resilient underground structures, repairing technologies for the damaged urban underground structures, geotechnical and environmental effects of coastal urban underground space development, dynamics theories for urban underground space and prevention and control technology for disasters.

Combing the latest technologies such as Internet+, big data mining, cloud computing and advanced sensors with traditional geotechnical mechanics, tunnel and underground engineering, comprehensive urban planning, underground structural engineering, construction management technologies, disaster prevention and control methodology, three-dimensional urban space safety operation and management, the academy aims to create modern engineering theories for a resilient city, to establish the theories for multiple and unified planning on a city scale, to develop intelligent construction technologies of mechanization and of assembly type, to create the concept of "smart civil engineering" and to develop management technologies for the infrastructure life-cycle safety on a city-wide scale as well as the intelligent system for operation and maintenance. Corresponding technical standards and guidelines are also aimed to be prepared. A group of distinguished and leading scientists, modern masters for engineering, planning and safety management are planned to be cultivated. Thus, to meet the need for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the need for the comprehensive exploitation, national key development strategy of safe operation and maintenance of underground space.

Since its establishment, UPA has undertaken more than ten national/provincial and ministerial-level projects such as the National Natural Science Foundation Key Projects, the Ministry of Science and Technology's Key R&D Program and Guangdong Province's Key Field R&D Program, and participated in the Sichuan-Tibet Railway and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Channel and other national key construction projects. The academy successfully hosted/co-sponsored the Global Urban Underground Space Development and Utilization Summit (i.e, 7th Underground Space Development Conference, Shanghai, China), the National Geotechnical Engineers Forum and other important academic conferences. The academy actively promotes scientific research, technological progress and scientific research communication and cooperation in related fields.