Nanfang Daily News: Six Years of Study at SYSU will Obtain French Engineering Diploma

On June 10, Nanfang Daily News gave a special report on “Students Studying at SYSU for six years will obtain French Engineering Diploma” on SYSU’s establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run school to implement the Outline of Pearl River Delta Regional Plan on Reformation and Development. The full text reads as follows:

【Nanfang Daily】 Implementing the Outline, SYSU firstly establishing a Chinese-French cooperative-run school of Nuclear Engineering in China

Students Studying at SYSU for six years will obtain French Engineering Diploma

Sun Yat-Sen University will cooperate with Nuclear France to establish a school of Nuclear Engineering with joint efforts. It will take six years to train nuclear engineers to serve the fast developing nuclear industry and the related industries in China. The plan will run the course in September, 2010.

The French delegation signed agreements yesterday with Sun Yat-Sen University. It was a significant breakthrough of the cooperation in running schools between universities of Guangdong and famous universities overseas; it was also the first shot of the universities’ implementation of the Outline of Pearl River Delta Regional Plan on Reformation and Development.

Students will obtain French Engineering Diploma after six-years of training

It is said that it’s the first time to establish the nuclear engineering training mechanism by means of the university-enterprise cooperation under the support of Chinese and French governments in the field of nuclear energy. Among all Chinese-French educational cooperative projects in China, it is the only one professional school of nuclear engineering which comprehensively introduces French six-year’s nuclear engineering training mechanism; it is challenging. Basing on Huanan, it will have a great impact on the development of nuclear industry and related industry of China, especially for Guangdong province.

Sun Yat-Sen has already set up a bachelor degree of nuclear engineering since 2008, and also initiated the construction of teaching and the related labs. Involving many fields such as nuclear energy engineering, core techniques and managements of the nuclear factory, nuclear medicine and so on, the Chinese-French cooperative- school of Nuclear Engineering is a typical highly challenged comprehensive project. Sun Yat-Sen University will rely on the resource from the related State Key Laboratories and school of Physics and Engineering; SYSU plans to introduce a number of international academics from/ famous universities and institutes overseas, especially those in French. The members of the French cooperative group will take lead in their teaching and research fields in France.

According to insiders, the intending cooperative school is a physical school of SYSU; the length of schooling is six years; it aims to train competent nuclear engineers working in the large enterprises, hospitals, large scientific research platforms and the administration of nuclear power industry. Students will focus on learning French and required course on the Chinese side during their first year; they will begin taking their preparatory courses during their second and third year; they will take the engineering courses from their fourth year to sixth year. The enrollment scale is one hundred persons each year (SYSU’s national enrollment plan includes it); the school will be located on SYSU’s Zhuahai campus. The students will meet the requirements of both Chinese and French sides. Upon completing their fourth year, students will obtain a bachelor degree and a diploma conferred by SYSU; and by their sixth year, they will obtain a diploma in engineering issued by CTI and SYSU’s master degree and the diploma.

Respecting present university system, borrowing the training experience

Sun Yat-Sen has a close contact with French for many years; the plan is operating secretly.

In 2008, SYSU officially announced its initiation in introducing the undergraduate courses nuclear engineering and techniques; it aroused extensive attention of the whole society. In fact, SYSU’s real goal is to establish a school of nuclear engineering with French.

According to the schedule made by SYSU, in this fall term France will receive SYSU’s first batch of scholars and doctors who will engage in training and scientific research. By early 2010, the faculty and equipments of the school will be ready; the school will be ready to operate in September of that year.

Sun Yat-Sen University is currently striving to gain the supports from the Ministry of Education in approval of the project, the numbers of graduate students exempted from entrance examination and so on. The university also hopes the provincial government and Development &Reform Commission will bring the plan into Guangdong development layout of nuclear industry chain. French side will seek for the support from the enterprises, integrating the present resources of French and Guangdong nuclear enterprises to make multi-cooperation in scientific research.

Referring to the model of cooperation which is concerned mostly by the public, Sun Yat-Sen University takes the moderate model of cooperation with French; it doesn’t involve the changes of the system meanwhile it respects the rights in selecting required courses demanded by China’s university system. But the close cooperation with French in teaching and scientific research will achieve a new phase. Whatever the teachers, the teaching materials or the teaching management, the school will import the teachers of high quality, advanced experience, strong scientific research strength and industrial recourse of French nuclear engineering training system. It is of great significance in terms of the exploration of the engineering educational system and development of major industries in China.

Importing world renowned universities, Hong Kong will be a point of focus

In the Outline of Pearl River Delta Regional Plan on Reformation and Development, it definitely supports the universities of Hong Kong and Macau cooperatively establishes higher educational institutes in Pearl River Delta Regional and liberalizes the cooperation with foreign institutes. Meanwhile, according to the Outline, three to five foreign famous universities will be imported to cooperatively establish higher educational institutes in Guangzhou City, Senzhou City, Zhuhai City and so on in 2020 to kick the goal of setting up one to two international famous universities in Guangdong province.

While many educators considered Guangdong’s enthusiasm in implementing the Outline to import the international famous universities to be a good approach. They also felt that the priorities should be given to universities near Hong Kong Having a similar cultural background and bloodline will surely promote mutual understanding.

Many of universities in Guangdong now have made lots of cooperation with universities in Hong Kong; most of them involved the exchange of students and teachers and scientific research cooperation. But how to learn the advanced university system, really propel the internationalization and the system’s changes of national universities and integrate the world-class university system? These are still left to explore questions such as how to grasp its advanced university system, really propel the internationalization and the system’s changes of national universities and integrate the world-class university system.

In fact, Sun Yat-sen University also explores on its own. For example, in 2005 cooperating with the University of Hong Kong, SYSU initiated the training project of the bachelor degree of civil engineering. Students who have passed the three preceding courses in SYSU, have been qualified through the exam of the University of Hong Kong and are able to afford tuition of the University of Hong Kong, will be matriculated by the University of Hong Kong.

The Outline also rouses the initiative of the universities of Hong Kong and Macau. Professor Wu Qinghui, the President of Hong Kong Baptist University and also the President of Beijing Normal University --Hong Kong Baptist University United International College expressed that Hong Kong universities have strong interests in deepening cooperation with the hinterland universities especially Guangdong universities in the interview.

In fact, UIV is the first case of the cooperation between Hong Kong universities and inland universities granted by the Ministry of Education. It is either the affiliated university of Hong Kong Baptist University or the affiliated university of Beijing Normal University. The two universities send five persons to form the university committee; the Chairman is Professor Xu Jialu. The committee is the highest authority and it decides whether to employ the president. The president of the university assumes overall responsibilities; the committee is in charge of management and the professors will manage the university. The administrative system and teaching system of Hong Kong Baptist University are adopted, but it also promotes the national education meanwhile strengthening the internationalization.

The model was praised by Wang Yang, the Member of Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC and provincial Party committee secretary. He said “This novel approach combines the foreign educational system and Chinese culture. It has both the foreign educational system which doesn’t exist in national higher education and the Chinese culture which doesn’t exist in foreign educational system.”

Now many Guangdong universities are actively finding new ways to establish Chinese-foreign cooperative-run schools, and they want to achieve the benefit of obtaining a quality education without stepping out the country.

The principals of the related department of SYSU expressed that, the Outline of Pearl River Delta Regional Plan on Reformation and Development advocates “take initiation in scientific development”. Whether the policy limitations of cooperative-run school is removed is the biggest concern at present and it needs joint efforts.