TIEI cultivates future innovative engineers

Representatives of TJU and Polytech Nice-Sophia, and of domestic and foreign enterprises, hold a conference at TIEI together with faculty members. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Aiming to cultivate high-level innovative engineering talents, Tianjin International Engineering Institute (TIEI), founded in 2014, seeks to explore new ways of training innovative engineering talents.

The Institute, sponsored by a special fund from Tianjin University and the Tianjin Foreign Experts Bureau, utilizes French education standards to develop future international engineering talents with a rigorous dedication to their discipline, a solid foundation of knowledge, an innovative spirit, and practical skills.

"The Institute is the first domestic organization to adopt a mode of training directly from French engineering education principles," said Yu Jianxing, vice-president of TJU and dean of TIEI. "The Institute’s advances comply with TJU’s overall reform requirements and well serve TJU's plan to be a first-rate university with first-rate discipline construction."

TIEI is keen to integrate frontier science into engineering education. It offers three-year full-time academic programs, which are designed to cultivate postgraduate students who will be future engineers. Its curriculum covers economic management, humanities, art, and other quality courses as well.

The institute has adopted experiential learning with an emphasis on learning-through-practice to train engineering students. With supervisors from academia and industry, the students harvest intellectual development and hands-on skills.

In addition,TIEI has established an enterprise club in partnership with well-known companies both at home and abroad, such as Siemens, Schneider Electri and ZTE.

The enterprise club provides a cooperative platform for further communication and exchange between universities and businesses. Entrepreneur salons are held on a regular basis to further that goal. Senior managers and engineers from the companies become student tutors, and offer relevant courses closely related to working conditions.

The students can take part in various campus activities including a French cultural festival and have a chance for six months' overseas exchange study or internship, including exchange-learning opportunities at partner universities.

"Tianjin has an exceptional economic environment that attracts and concentrates leading industrial players at the international level," said Philippe Gourbesville, president of Polytech Nice-Sophia and dean of TIEI. "TIEI's ambition is to welcome the best international students who wish to invest in the challenges of today and build the world of tomorrow."

Talent cultivation for humanities, social sciences, management, and arts courses account for more than 30 percent of the teaching program.

Students' English and French language skills are strengthened at the same time. People in both business and academic fields are frequently invited to visit TIEI, providing students with brand-new perspectives.

University leaders and faculty members from TIEI pose for a photo. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]