Instead of following the traditional teaching mode "where the teachers impart knowledge to students", Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering has adopted a mode where courses are taught by teachers of Chongqing University and enterprise experts, with presence of enterprise mentors in the class. This move aims to further stimulate the innovation potential of students, improve their comprehensive ability and quality, and prepare the students for research projects of enterprises in which they will be engaged in immediately after graduation.
Breaking the disciplinary boundary that limits a traditional school, an elite engineer training system that integrates the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs is built up to train high level talents urgently needed by the country in key areas including new energy intelligent connected vehicles and intelligent manufacturing...Recently, Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering was officially inaugurated in Longxing New Town, Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing, and ushered in its first 171 students. It is the first "Elite Institute of Engineering" in the central and western China.
Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering is built on the XBot Park Experimental Class founded by Chongqing University, in collaboration with Liangjiang New Area and the Industrial Innovation Park in 2020, in an effort to further deepen the strategic cooperation.
Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering is positioned as the pilot project of new engineering education reform and aims to build an elite engineer training system that integrates the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs by breaking the disciplinary boundary that limits a traditional school. Directed towards solution to industrial generic technique and demand innovation problems, it focuses mainly on the industrial development direction "intelligence and new energy", promotes in-depth integration of "talent chain, innovation chain and industrial chain", gathers innovation resources, and stimulates innovation vitality, in an effort to provide elite engineers needed for the implementation of China's national strategy for innovation-driven development and development of Chongqing's intelligent connected vehicles industry.
According to Li Zexiang, a professor of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a founder of the Industrial Innovation Park, the expression "elite" as in "elite engineers" is extremely important. To be an elite engineer, one should not only solve problems but also lead the development of the industry.
"Elite engineers are scarce resources needed for scientific and technological and innovation development," said Liu Hanlong, Managing Vice President of Chongqing University and President of Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering. According to Liu, the XBot Park Experimental Class took the initiative to break away from the traditional talent training mode that centers on professional background by breaking the traditional disciplinary boundary and implementing the new engineering reform pilot of teaching paradigm reform driven by projects. These efforts have produced satisfactory results. In this round of in-depth cooperation, Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering will carry out teaching and research activities under the laboratory management mode. The working and learning alternation training mode is adopted for student training. Undergraduate, postgraduate students and doctoral candidates are required to be engaged in scientific research in enterprises for 1 and 2 years respectively.
Per capita science and technology innovation project funds of RMB 30,000 to encourage innovation
According to Liu Hanlong, Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering adopts a novel training program that features a project-driven talent training mode and interdisciplinary setting. Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering mainly centers on the three major directions, namely, intelligent vehicle, intelligent manufacturing and product innovation, offers series technical courses and project-based courses and is building series generic technology labs and application labs, with an emphasis laid on the interrelation and intersection between courses. Students taking a course are required to complete a number of projects, during which process they get familiarized with related theoretical knowledge.
Importantly, instead of following the traditional teaching mode "where the teachers impart knowledge to students", Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering has adopted a mode where courses are taught by teachers of Chongqing University and enterprise experts, with presence of enterprise mentors in the class. This move aims to further stimulate the innovation potential of students, improve their comprehensive ability and quality, and prepare the students for research projects of enterprises in which they will be engaged in immediately after graduation.
It is reported that most of the first over 170 students of Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering are from colleges and universities in Chongqing, including Chongqing University, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing University of Technology, Southwest University and Chongqing University of Science and Technology. In the selection process, Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering has different requirements for students of different pathways. However, a very important criterion is whether the student has the ability to make innovation, the ability to solve problems and the ability to act. For example, students of the intelligent manufacturing pathway must have completed all courses of the junior year, and have enthusiasm for innovation and satisfactory ability of hands-on practice. Students of the product innovation pathway must have completed all courses of the junior year and participated in hardware production competitions.
According to the Lab Innovation Management Measures of Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering, each student who has a place in the laboratory is given an average of RMB 30,000 as the scientific innovation project funds. If a project turns out to be successful, it will be selected as a seeded project of the Industrial Innovation Park, and may be entitled to million-yuan-level incubation funds.
Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering is planning to expand its size in the 3 years of construction period ahead. By then Chongqing Elite Institute of Engineering will have 80 teachers and 1,140 students. It will recruit 430 undergraduate students (including 170 junior and senior students from other colleges and universities in Chongqing), 150 postgraduate students and 20 doctoral candidates.
Source: Science and Technology Daily
