Co-founded by Tianjin University (TJU) in China and Nice - Sophia French Polytechnic Institute in France in 2014, Tianjin International Engineering Institute (TIEI) is an experiment base aiming to cultivate high-level innovative engineering talents. In order to fulfill the goal of constructing an innovative nation with visionary engineering talents, and serve the nation's Belt and Road strategic platform, TIEI seeks to further promote international cooperation, explore new modes of training innovative engineering talents, and construct a first-class engineering institute with openness and an innovative atmosphere.
TIEI also adheres to the mission of cultivating future international engineering talents with a rigorous dedication to their discipline, solid foundation of knowledge, an innovative spirit, and practical skills. This assists the graduates with satisfying the nation's social and economic development requirements, and promotes the advancement of global engineering techniques.
Integrate frontier science into innovative engineering education
TIEI is keen to integrate frontier science into engineering education. Aiming at providing professional engineering education for the students, TIEI offers three-year full-time academic programs, which are designed to cultivate and nurture postgraduate students who will be future engineers. The curriculum, which is carefully designed, combines in-class teaching and major-related internships. Also, TIEI focus on expanding the professional scope to provide necessary theoretical basis, wide adaptability and relative stability to enable students to build the compound knowledge structure and a capability structure within the limited time afforded by a three year degree.
In addition, the curriculum include interdisciplinary courses, frontier courses, information courses and applied courses, and cover economic management, humanities, art and other comprehensive quality as well. Language courses concentrate on the training of communication skills and strength practicality. Professional courses emphasize the learning and practice of new technologies, new methods and new processes in the field.
Experiential learning with an emphasis on learning-through-practice has been adopted by the institute to train engineering students. With supervisors from academia and industry, the students harvest intellectual development and hands-on skills. When the students complete their studies and meet their degree requirements, eligible students are awarded master’s degrees of both TJU and the corresponding profession.
Improve university-enterprise cooperation mechanisms
TIEI has established its enterprise club with well-known enterprises both at home and abroad including Siemens, Schneider Electric, Tencent, Paypal, Huawei, and ZTE.
The enterprise club shall provide a cooperative platform for further communication and exchange among universities, corporations, and enterprises. Entrepreneur salons will be held on a regular basis to enhance the communication and cooperation among university, corporations and enterprises.
TIEl aims to train first-class engineering talents who will satisfy the actual needs of enterprises, make it possible for the students to get to know about business, and helps them to recruit interns. Also, college-enterprise associated research teams will be set up to focus on research projects where they have common interests.
Enterprises also play an important part in school education and relevant courses. Senior managers and engineers from the enterprises will become tutors student tutors, and offer relevant courses closely related to actual conditions of the enterprises.
Internship - Develop students' hands-on skills and innovation spirit
Through the establishment of enterprise clubs and innovation centers, a new partnership between TIEI and enterprises is formed. The enterprise club is cooperatively set up by TIEI and well-known enterprises at home and abroad. The club not only reserves human resources for enterprise members, but also provides a platform for enterprises and institutions to explore the two-track training mechanism, as well as a chance for the institute to construct talents capability-training platform. Jointly built by the university and enterprises, Innovation Research Center is an important platform to develop students' hands-on skills and innovation spirit, to promote transformations of scientific research, and to create business opportunities.
The students are provided with three phases of the internship, with a total of no less than 10 months. The phase one is called "Blue Collar Internship" (a month), during the internship the basic understanding of enterprises working environment, organization form, and operation of mode the business are ensured. Phase two is called "Assistant Engineer Internship" (three months), this phase guarantees students a lot of contact with the actual situations of the factory' s manufacturing process, as well as becoming assistant engineers to get in-depth learning expertise. Phase three is called 'Engineer Internship" (six months), this phase allows students to solve practical engineering problems, students tutors at school and tutors in enterprises mutually discuss on research projects, which would be the most advanced and high-ended in the industry.
Expand international culture atmosphere
For the purpose of promotion, the institute takes the opportunity of campus cultural activities to fully display the university’s features and achievements to the students and the public. It held the “French Cultural Festival” to create the French cultural atmosphere by displaying French food, tourism, and education as well as holding a series of lectures, movies and activities related to French culture.
To further improve the international popularity of TIEI, enhance the communication on French enterprises in China and deepen the bilateral friendship, the institute has joined in French Chamber of Commerce and regularly participated in relevant activities organized by the Chamber of Commerce. For example, the institute participated in member exchanges of Chamber of Commerce in February, April, and May. Through the exchanges of French Chamber of Commerce, the institute has improved its popularity and enhanced its communication with enterprises, thus helping the institute to build a favorable platform for the development of the Enterprise Club and to promote the academic development.
Also, students will be provided with the exchanging opportunities for three to six months' overseas exchange study or internship opportunities, including exchange-learning opportunities in partner universities.
The courses shall be lectured by teachers from Chinese and international universities, engineers of Chinese and international enterprises, experts and researchers of research institutes. The international teachers shall account for no less than 40% of the courses and enterprises teachers shall account for no less than 30% of the courses.
Talents cultivation Humanities and Social Sciences Management Arts courses account for more than 30% of the teaching program so that creating international leading talents in the field of Compound Engineering is promising.
Students' English and French language skills are strengthened at the same time. People in the business field and academic field are frequently invited to visit TIEI, providing students with brand-new visions.
Establish the quality assurance platform of the institute
TIEI established the Council to realize the scientific decision-making, democratic supervision, and social participation. There are no less than 30 members of the council, more than 50% of which are the representatives from enterprises and government.
The members of Council include the school leaders of Tianjin University, the school leader of France Nice - Sophia French Polytechnic, domestic and foreign enterprises with high visibility and representative, representatives of government, teachers, and students.
According to the existing set of subjects, the college established disciplines development committee of three subjects - Electronics, Computer Science, and Smart Building. To ensure the smooth implementation of the various plans in TIEI and coordinate related affairs in college, the college established Executive Committee.
By: Qin Mian
Editor: Christopher Peter Clarke
