Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

A CONFERENCE marking the founding of the Shenzhen Technology University, the only government-funded applied technology-oriented university in the city, was held yesterday.

Located in Pingshan District and with strong financial support and favorable policies from the Shenzhen government, the university aims to be a world-class university of applied sciences and technologies.

The city initiated the Shenzhen Technology University program in 2016 and the Ministry of Education approved the establishment of the university Nov. 30, 2018.

“Shenzhen needs stronger technology and talent support than ever, as the city is taking the historic opportunity to build the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and build a demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics,” said Shenzhen Party chief Wang Weizhong at the ceremony.

Wang hopes the university will promote the integration of industry and education, cultivate high-end talents in applied technologies and become a highland of talent cultivation, innovation and research.

“The university started to enroll students independently this September, and it took less than three years from preparation to establishment, showing the urgent need for highly skilled talents in the manufacturing hub,” Ruan Shuangchen, president of the university, said in an interview yesterday.

The university now has 10 colleges, whose courses are designed to meet the demands of the pillar industries, strategic emerging industries and future industries in Shenzhen. Based on Shenzhen Action on Made in China 2025, which defines 11 strategic key areas for the city’s advanced manufacturing industry, the courses offered by the university include intelligent manufacturing, big data and Internet, new materials and energies, urban transportation, logistics and creative design, following the latest industry trends.

“The city started considering the establishment of a technology-oriented university in 2012 to solve the shortage of high-level engineers and designers, and we decided to learn from Germany’s model to set up a technology university,” said Ruan.

During the preparation, the university invited scholars from Germany to give ideas and introduced an assessment system based on German applied universities.

“We recruited full-time and part-time teachers with rich practical experience, skills and abilities to solve actual problems for enterprises, businesses and industries, and they account for 80 percent of the entire staff. Publishing papers is no longer the key evaluation criteria,” said Ruan, adding that professional teachers are required to have at least six months of practical experience in enterprises every five years.

In curricula design, one highlight is partnership with local enterprises by establishing integration centers of experiment, training and practice. Technicians from enterprises are hired as part-time professors, and industries and enterprises can take part in school management, specialty setup, curriculum setup, talent cultivation and the assessment and evaluation of staff members.

The university has set up more than 150 cooperation frameworks with companies to develop teaching programs.

In international cooperation, the university has had extensive cooperation with 32 universities of applied sciences in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

The university now has 200 full-time teachers and enrolled 807 students in 2019. By 2022, it will open subjects covering engineering, science, management arts and economics.