"Self-improvement" comes from the Book of Changes, and the word says: "Heaven is healthy, and gentlemen are self-improvement." 1928, General Zhang Xueliang became the third president of Northeastern University. In his speech to the students, he said, "I very much hope that you gentlemen will be firm in your aspirations and apply what you have learned, so that scholars all over the country can do the same, and then China can stand on its own feet." Since then, "self-improvement, unity of knowledge and practice" has become the belief and ideal of teachers and students in Dongda University.

Northeastern University's motto spirit of "self-improvement, unity of knowledge and practice" draws nutrition from the progress of the times and is endowed with more profound connotation. "Self-improvement" means to inherit and carry forward the patriotic tradition of Northeastern University, strive to be at the forefront of higher education reform in the process of new industrialization in China, keep pace with the times, innovate constantly, and strive to become a first-class domestic and internationally renowned high-level research university; "Unity of knowing and doing" means adhering to the ideological line of seeking truth from facts, the style of study and writing, accepting new knowledge, arming the mind with high technology, and adopting the new spirit of humanities and culture to achieve consistency between words and deeds.