Tianjin International Engineering Institute has successfully achieved the standards for the accreditation of CTI (Comité des Titres Ingénieur Français) and got the maximum 6-year accreditation of engineer diploma granted by CTI. This indicates that the institute-running characteristics and teaching quality of TIEI have been approved worldwide, meanwhile, TIEI can issue the French engineer diploma to the graduates, along with the TJU graduation certificate and degree diploma, TIEI graduates have fairly strong career advantages and competitiveness! This is also the first time that CTI grants the highest level, 6-year accreditation to the institute of 3 school years. TIEI is the first institute without the model of Sino-French cooperative running in China that passes the accreditation, and this is also a new attempt of CTI outside France.
Different from the French comprehensive public universities, the French engineering education is the elite education in France. Every year, only about top 10% high-school graduates across France have the chance to enter the classes for preparatory courses of the engineering institutes, and after 2 years of preparatory studies and the strict selection, about 60% among them can enter the engineering institute for further studies, and the graduation certificate there is equivalent to the master diploma of comprehensive public universities. But the education quality of engineer universities is much higher than that of the public universities, as well as the difficulty of graduation, thus the engineer degree has very high gold content. 16 presidents of France, near 60% of the presidents and most of the senior executives of the top 100 enterprises all graduate from the engineer institute. Tianjin International Engineering Institute recruits 100 master-degree candidates domestically every year, providing the 3-year schooling system, and setting up 3 specialty fields including Electronics, Architecture and Civil Engineering (Smart Building) and Computer Science.
In May, 2014, Tianjin University established TIEI—the experimental zone of high-level engineering education reform and talents training. Li Jiajun, party secretary of TJU expressed that ever since Tianjin University was founded in 1895, it has trained a lot of advanced engineering technological talents for the country, and at present, it is of great urgency to make the engineering education penetrating the whole system of talents training according to the national strategic requirements. Tianjin University should base itself on Chinese realities, integrate the foreign engineering education characteristics and experience to expand a localization road of international education, and to cultivate more high-level engineering innovative talents for the national construction of “the Belt and Road Initiative” and “Made in China 2025 Plan”.
The courses of TIEI were jointly given by Chinese and foreign teachers, in the 2 languages of Chinese and English, and TIEI also opens French language compulsory course. Following the French engineer training model, TIEI built up enterprise club ever since its establishment and at present has 42 domestic and foreign enterprise members including Siemens, Schneider, NXP, China Architecture and China Railway. Most of the TIEI courses have no appointed textbooks, and the lecturing schemes will be adjusted combined with the engineering actual problems and enterprise requirements. Near a quarter of the courses are given by the tutors of member enterprise. The courses focus on the training of students’ innovative hands-on abilities, and the education of economics, management, communication, humanity and quality. During the studies, students should accept 3 times of enterprise internship and practice, which are 1-month blue collar internship, 3-month assistant engineer internship and 6-month engineer internship. Most of the students’ internships are held in the units of the enterprise club members. This year, TIEI has trained the first session of graduates, who will receive 3 diplomas. Except the TJU master degree, they will receive the French engineer diploma. The students are popular among the employers and the employment rate is 100%.
Philippe GOURBESVILLE, the French counselor of TIEI, president of French Polytech Nice-Sophia expressed that, TIEI doesn’t copy the present French engineer training model, but fully consider the development of Chinese society and the requirements of the Chinese enterprises, train the advanced engineering technological talents with the innovative spirit and corresponding to the development of Chinese economy and society. Shan Xiaolin, the principal of TIEI said that TIEI doesn’t indiscriminately imitate the existing model, but formulate the talents training system that integrates the Sino-French engineering education characteristics, which covers 2 platforms (international communication platform and university-enterprise cooperation platform), 3 models (institute-running model, training model and management model) and 4 guarantees (student source quality guarantee system, training quality guarantee system, internship and practice guarantee system and development quality guarantee system), or called “1+2+3+4 international engineering leading talents training system”.
In May of this year, CTI sent the experts group to TIEI to hold the on-site assessment lasting for 4 days. The experts had in-depth and detailed discussion with the institute principals, the whole faculty, representatives of enterprise club and student representatives; meanwhile, they had an all-round inspecting and assessment towards TIEI teaching activities, scientific & research situation, talents training, university-enterprise cooperation, management operation and else aspects combined with the application materials in written form submitted by TIEI.
“I’ve seen the quintessence of French engineer education in TIEI, as well as the characteristics of Chinese engineering education. I think that the running model of TIEI is unique, and has the value of promotion.” Jean-Marc THERET, one of the CTI experts, vice-president of CTI expressed during the CTI accreditation working conference launched in Paris on July 12th.
“At present, Tianjin University is constructing ‘the world first-rate university with Chinese characteristics’, forging ‘TJU model of Emering Engineering Education’, TIEI is the ‘first move and trial’ of TJU engineering education reform, as well as an experimental zone for the construction of ‘Emering Engineering Education’”. “Emering Engineering Education’drives the new industry, and then pushes forward the new economy. The construction of ‘Emering Engineering Education’is led by strengthening moral education and cultivating talents, with the construction philosophy of answering to the changes and molding the future, the approaches of inheriting and innovating, intersecting and integrating, coordinating and sharing, to train multi-element and innovative excellent engineering talents, so as to provide intelligent and talents support for the future national economic construction.” Zhong Denghua, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, president of Tianjin University said.
