CAE and CIRP Fellow Gu Peihua attends Academicians’ Forum of 90th Anniversary of CQU
On the afternoon of September 19, 2019, at the invitation of Chongqing University, Gu Peihua, fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering and International Academy for Production Engineering, delivered a keynote speech entitled "exploration and practice of new industrial revolution and new engineering education paradigm" in the International Conference Hall of Keyuan Daisi Hotel. The Seminar was presided over by Liao Ruijin, a member of the Standing Committee of CPC CQU Committee and vice president of Chongqing University.
By analyzing the interaction and relationship between previous industrial revolutions and higher education, Gu Peihua pointed out that each industrial revolution implied new requirements for talent demand, so as to promote further development of education. In the 21st Century, the trend of the new industrial revolution was unstoppable. With the rapid development of science and technology, human society was also facing unprecedented challenges. In the face of the new industrial revolution, the traditional engineering education mode was unable to meet the needs of the new economy and the development of new industries, and the higher engineering education was in need of profound reform and comprehensive innovation. The implementation of new engineering education and the promotion of new engineering construction were national strategies implemented in an active response to the new industrial revolution and industrial change and to support the development driven by service innovation.
Gu Peihua introduced in detail the new engineering education program of Tianjin University he directed with a benchmarking influence on the construction of new engineering in domestic universities, including objective, connotation, design, implementation path, and quality assurance. Gu also made international comparison and characteristic analysis to explain the core characteristics, connotation and content of new engineering education paradigm. He pointed out that the new engineering education program needed continuous improvement and innovation in the implementation process. Only the result of student training was able to prove the advanced nature of the program and help to build a replicable training mode to ensure that the program and experience could be used as reference by other universities. Gu Peihua's explanation was simple, comprehensive and detailed, and the attendants at the Forum said they were greatly benefited.
Liao Ruijin pointed out in his summary that Chongqing University was concentrating efforts on the “Double-First-Rate” construction and the new engineering program construction. The systematic and in-depth report delivered by Gu Peihua provided important reference for implementation of future-oriented reform of engineering education by Chongqing University.
Nearly 200 people attended the Forum, including deans, vice deans in charge of teaching, department heads, program directors and backbone teachers from the Faculty of Built Environment, the Faculty of Information Technology and the Faculty of Engineering of Chongqing University, directors and main researchers of the new engineering research and practice program, and teacher representatives of colleges and universities in Chongqing like Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing Jiaotong University and Chongqing University of Technology.
After the Forum, President Zhang Zongyi met with Academician Gu Peihua. Gu Peihua introduced to Zhang Zongyi the efforts he had made in reform and exploration of engineering education and academy system during his tenure as executive president of Shantou University. Zhang Zongyi also introduced to Gu Peihua the "Double-First-Rate" construction of Chongqing University and the progress in first-rate undergraduate education. The two had extensive discussion over the reform progress of engineering education in the context of new engineering. Vice President Wang Shilong and Liao Ruijin were present at the meeting as well.
Profile of Gu Peihua
Gu Peihua, director of the New Engineering Education Center of Tianjin University; from September 2011 to July 2018, he served as the executive president and was a professor of the School of Technology of Shantou University; from October 2005 to August 2010, he was transferred from the University of Calgary in Canada to serve as vice president, Dean and executive president of the School of Technology of Shantou University. From July 1999 to October 2005, he served as the head of the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering of the University of Calgary, Canada; and from July 1997 to June 1999, he served as the vice dean of the School of Engineering of the University of Calgary.
n 2017, Academician Gu Peihua was selected as one of the 150 outstanding engineering alumni of McMaster University; for many years, he was selected as highly cited Chinese researcher of ELSVIER and ranked the first place in the field of industrial engineering and manufacturing engineering for three straight years; in 2004, he was selected as Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering and International Academy for Production Engineering; in 1995 and 2000, he was selected as chair professor of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada twice, and was selected as a chair professor under the Changjiang Scholar Program of the Ministry of Education (2004) and a leading talent of Guangdong Province (2011). He also serves as head of "CDIO Project Education Mode Research and Practice Group" of the Ministry of Education, head of National CDIO Pilot Working Group, a member of Leading Committee of International CDIO Project Education Organization and director of the Asia Center.
Since 1985, Academician Gu has been engaged in intelligent manufacturing research and has created the Adaptable Design, and invented Multisource and Muiltimaterial Freeform Fabrication and a number of intelligent manufacturing technologies. He has published more than 280 papers and delivered speeches at various teaching and scientific research conferences at home and abroad upon invitation. Gu has win honors like the Joseph Whitworth Outstanding Paper Award issued by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Best Paper Award of CIRP Design Annual Meeting, the Best Paper Award of the 9th International Conference on Frontiers of Design and Manufacturing, and the Outstanding Progress Award for Manufacturing Education of SME.
