Changzhou Institute of Industry Technology: Innovative Model Cultivates Industry Talent

Over the past three years, a higher vocational college located in southern Jiangsu has won more than 50 awards in national skills competitions and recorded a cumulative technology contract transaction volume exceeding 60 million yuan. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Changzhou Institute of Industry Technology (referred to as "Changzhou Tech") has delivered impressive results.

Xi Haitao, Party Secretary of Changzhou Tech, stated, "We focus on the development needs of Changzhou and surrounding areas, leveraging flexible talent recruitment and project collaborations to support both the institution and regional growth."

To strengthen its teaching and research teams, Changzhou Tech has advanced its "Talent-Driven Development" strategy by bringing in experts, scholars, and master craftsmen from renowned universities, research institutions, and leading enterprises to form an expert think tank, addressing the shortage of high-level talent. The institute prioritizes recruiting outstanding doctoral and master's graduates under renowned mentors to build research and teaching teams. It also actively recruits winners of the WorldSkills Competition and national skills contests, establishing a talent development system that combines "leading experts + teams + young professionals."

Changzhou, known as China's "New Energy Capital," has prompted Changzhou Tech to align its programs with local industry demands. The institute has optimized its curriculum, focusing on the "generation, storage, transmission, and application" industrial chain to enhance its capacity in serving the new energy sector and providing skilled talent support.

Xi Haitao noted, "By innovating institutional mechanisms and integrating resources, we have effectively improved faculty teaching and innovation capabilities, contributing talent and achievements to the new energy sector nationwide."

Today, Changzhou Tech collaborates with companies like Baidu and Hexagon to establish joint innovation platforms for digital design and manufacturing in new energy and intelligent connected vehicles. These platforms pool resources from universities, research institutions, and enterprises to tackle core and shared technological challenges.

Tan Zhuping, Party Committee Member and Vice President of Changzhou Tech, said, "Next, we will build collaborative innovation platforms, strengthen high-level research capabilities, cultivate top-tier talent, and promote high-quality technology transfer."

In talent cultivation, Changzhou Tech tailors its programs to the new energy industry, emphasizing interdisciplinary high-skilled talent development and aligning courses with corporate needs. The institute provides funding for new programs and collaborates with enterprises to develop industry-aligned "golden courses" and teaching materials.

The "Integration of Jobs, Courses, Competitions, and Certifications" model is a key initiative at Changzhou Tech, aimed at enhancing students' innovation and practical skills. The institute restructured its curriculum to match industry job requirements and partnered with Li Auto to develop project-based courses, equipping students with hands-on skills in new energy vehicle manufacturing, testing, and maintenance.

Xi Haitao explained, "Through this model, we cultivate students' dual competencies in precision operations and innovation."

Additionally, Changzhou Tech promotes a "Three In, Three Alignments" education model with enterprises: integrating industrial technology into campuses, industry standards into programs, and corporate culture into classrooms. This ensures that training objectives match employer needs, teaching content aligns with technical standards, and practical training mirrors real production environments.

Tan Zhuping highlighted that Changzhou Tech and Li Auto jointly built training bases with a "dual-mentor" faculty system, where companies participate in talent selection, course design, and performance evaluation, creating an integrated "enrollment-training-employment" pipeline. The institute has become a national demonstration training base for Li Auto, with its teaching model promoted as an industry benchmark.

Zhu Zhengqing, Vice Chairman of the Changzhou CPPCC, praised the collaboration as a model for vocational education in supporting regional economic growth, providing strong talent support for Changzhou's new energy hub.

Xi Haitao concluded, "Moving forward, we will deepen university-enterprise cooperation to explore new models for interdisciplinary talent development and drive regional industrial upgrading."