On May 25, 2020, Li Jiajun, a deputy to the National People’s Congress and Secretary of the Party Committee of Tianjin University, pointed out in an interview that the Emerging Engineering Education (E3) was the necessary strategic support and pulling force in building China into an education power.
According to the Government Work Report this year, we would develop more equitable and higher-quality education, step up efforts to develop world-class universities and world-class disciplines, encourage the upgrading of manufacturing and the growth of emerging industries, as well as promote the industrial internet and boost smart manufacturing.
Moreover, the development of emerging industries was inseparable from the support of talents. The E3 was a fundamental change of the engineering education, and a new type of high-level talent training system, which played a leading role in talent cultivation. E3 plays the pathfinding role in the construction of the “four emerging disciplinary education” (emerging engineering education, emerging medical science education, emerging agricultural science education, and emerging liberal arts education). It provided new ideas, new paths, new methods and new technologies for the reform in the construction of the four emerging disciplinary education. Nowadays, E3 projects put more emphasis on the interdisciplinary research and cultivation of interdisciplinary talents, on the integration between industry and education as well as cooperation between enterprises and colleges, and on the training of students’ innovation and entrepreneurship abilities, so as to cultivate a new type of talent for the growth of the emerging industry in China.
Li Jiajun believed that in order to boost E3 development, colleges and universities should always stick to the right direction of education. They should guide the whole process of talent training by fostering virtue through education, and focus on character building of students. “As the first modern university in China, Tianjin University will celebrate its 125th anniversary this year,” said Li, “We are committed to shape our students into excellent talents who uphold a national identity, global perspective, innovative spirit and practical abilities through promoting the construction of the E3.”
To boost E3 development, we should build a platform systematically. Li said, “At Tianjin University, focused on the future of technology and industrial development, we will build an open cultivating platform for the E3 featuring multidisciplinary combination among different schools and colleges. We will educate students through cooperation between enterprises and colleges, propel the integration of industry and university, interdisciplinarity, domestic and international cultivation, and teaching-researching-learning.” In addition, to boost E3 development, we should continuously optimize the teaching design of the E3. Li added: “We encourage independent learning, team learning, and hands-on inquiry-based learning. Tianjin University has already formally implemented the mode of cut-through talent cultivation for undergraduates and postgraduates since last year,” said Li.
By: Zong Shaomei
Editor: Sun Xiaofang
