On January 31, the 3rd Deans' Forum of National Graduate College for Elite Engineers and the Interpretation Session of Education Accreditation Standards for Elite Engineers, hosted by the China Consortium for Elite Engineer Training and undertaken by Southeast University, was grandly held in Nanjing. Wu Gang, Director of the Department of Degree Management and Postgraduate Education of the Ministry of Education, Xu Weiqing, Vice Chairman of the China Engineering Education Accreditation Association and Director of the Education Quality Evaluation Center of the Ministry of Education, Hao Tongliang, Deputy Director of the Department of Degree Management and Postgraduate Education of the Ministry of Education, Qi Yanwei, Deputy Director of the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center, Yang Shubing, Vice Director of the Department of Education of Jiangsu Province, Liu Shuai, Director of the Training Quality Division of the Department of Degree Management and Postgraduate Education of the Ministry of Education, Zhao Weisheng, Secretary-General of the China Consortium for Elite Engineer Training and Vice President of Beihang University, Jin Shi, Vice President of Southeast University and Dean of the National Graduate College for Elite Engineers, as well as more than 200 participants including over 30 vice presidents and more than 100 college deans, Party secretaries, vice deans and deputy Party secretaries from 50 construction units of the National Graduate College for Elite Engineers such as Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, Beihang University, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation and China National Petroleum Corporation attended the meeting. The meeting was presided over by Zhang Huiyan, Vice Dean (in charge of the work) of the National Graduate College for Elite Engineers and concurrent Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Southeast University.

In his speech, Wu Gang emphasized that the cultivation of elite engineers is a major national strategic task. Since the implementation of the reform on the cultivation of elite engineers more than three years ago, a school-enterprise collaborative education pattern has been established nationwide, 50 National Graduate College for Elite Engineers have been set up, and the first batch of master's graduates in engineering have achieved high-quality employment. For the next step, it is imperative to prioritize quality, advance the physical construction of the National Graduate College for Elite Engineers, launch the education accreditation work for elite engineers, accelerate the international development of elite engineer cultivation, strengthen the exemplary and leading role, and speed up the construction of a world-class elite engineer cultivation system with Chinese characteristics.

Yang Shubing stated in his speech that as a major manufacturing province, Jiangsu has an extremely urgent demand for elite engineers. In recent years, Jiangsu has taken the lead in conducting trials and explorations, established 6 national-level and 15 provincial-level National Graduate College for Elite Engineers, and achieved remarkable results in the reform of professional degrees, practical innovation of postgraduates and the industrial professor system. Facing the future, Jiangsu will address its weaknesses and strengthen its inferior aspects in accordance with the accreditation standards, explore industry-education integration models based on local conditions, deepen international cooperation and mutual recognition, and work together with all parties to advance the reform on the cultivation of elite engineers.

In his speech, Jin Shi said that Southeast University has been deeply engaged in engineering education for many years, always keeping pace with national development, actively building a new pattern of school-enterprise collaborative education, and forming a sound ecosystem featuring "the government providing platforms, enterprises raising questions, universities solving problems and industries evaluating the outcomes". He expressed the expectation that taking this forum as an opportunity, all parties would build consensus, deepen cooperation and jointly develop a world-class elite engineer cultivation system with Chinese characteristics.

In the special report session, Xu Weiqing systematically sorted out the development history and practical status of engineering education accreditation at home and abroad. Based on the practical needs of elite engineer cultivation in China, he defined the overall plan, phased goals and specific implementation arrangements for the engineering education accreditation work, laying a clear framework and providing practical guidance for all units to carry out the accreditation work in an orderly manner. Based on dissertations and practical achievements, Qi Yanwei conducted an in-depth analysis of the current overall thinking on elite engineer cultivation and put forward suggestions for the difficult problems in the cultivation process. Liu Shuai gave an in-depth introduction to the background, task requirements and follow-up arrangements for talent cultivation construction, clarifying the promotion direction for the next stage. Zhao Weisheng interpreted in detail the connotation and key points of each index in the Education Accreditation Standards for Elite Engineers and briefly introduced the accreditation procedures.

The exchange and discussion session was presided over by Zhao Weisheng. Representatives from various National Graduate College for Elite Engineers, based on their school-running practices, put forward suggestions and ideas on key issues such as the implementation of education accreditation. On behalf of Southeast University, Zhang Huiyan shared the university's educational practices of "school-enterprise collaboration and industry-education integration", as well as the exploration achievements in the optimization of curriculum systems and the construction of practical platforms. He also put forward constructive opinions on the difficulties in the implementation of accreditation standards, contributing the "wisdom of Southeast University" to improving the national cultivation system and accreditation mechanism.

In his concluding speech, Hao Tongliang stated that the reform on the cultivation of elite engineers has achieved remarkable results over the past four years. All units should further deepen their understanding of the significance of the reform on the cultivation of elite engineers, face up to various problems in the process of industry-education integration, stay committed and make persistent efforts. They should continue to exert efforts in strengthening the development of the National Graduate College for Elite Engineers, advancing the accreditation work, improving the mechanism for applying for academic degrees with practical achievements and promoting the connection of professional titles, so as to support the high-quality development of elite engineer cultivation.

This forum has not only further built consensus among the industry on the national cultivation of elite engineers and clarified the work direction, but also highlighted Southeast University's profound heritage and sense of responsibility in the field of engineering education. In the future, taking this forum as an opportunity, Southeast University will fully implement the Education Accreditation Standards for Elite Engineers, continuously deepen the school-enterprise collaborative education mechanism, improve the talent cultivation system in key fields, and make greater contributions to promoting the construction of a world-class elite engineer cultivation and accreditation system with Chinese characteristics and supporting the high-quality development of engineering education.

Text and Images: Publicity Office of the National Graduate College for Elite EngineersResponsible

Editor: Liu Yang

Reviewer: Chen Yang