Recently, the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China released the list of the second batch of new engineering research and practical projects. Four projects presided over by Prof. YIN Shenghua, School of Civil and Resources Engineering, Prof. LI Qing, School of Automation and Electrical Engineering, Prof. WANG Luning, School of Materials Science and Engineering and Prof. JIAO Shuqiang, School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, USTB, were approved.

The promotion of new engineering projects is in response to emerging challenges and unprecedented changes in the last century. During this historical scientific and technological revolution, which sees the accelerated evolution of industrial transformation, the implementation of new engineering projects is a measure to face, plan for and lead the future. It is also the key to upgrading traditional engineering projects and cultivating talents in strategic fields in the future. The New Engineering Program is the first national education reform program set up by the Ministry of Education for the reform of higher engineering education in recent years. It is an implementation of President XI Jinping’s vision on socialism with Chinese characteristics for the new era and follows the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress. It is an important starting point for improving quality, advancing fairness, and innovating the talent training system.

The aim of this program is to proactively respond to the challenges of the new technological revolution and industrial transformation, serve the national strategy and regional development, promote the deepening, expansion, break through, and implementation of new engineering projects, form a world-class engineering education system with Chinese characteristics and build a strong national engineering education system. This program is divided into two categories, including comprehensive reform projects and professional reform projects. Among them, the comprehensive reform projects include 9 project groups such as new engineering concept research, while professional reform projects include 20 project groups such as artificial intelligence. The four projects approved in USTB are all comprehensive reform projects.

USTB will take this recognition as an opportunity to implement comprehensive reforms in talent training, and explore new concepts, structures and models of engineering education. At the same time, USTB will ensure all projects are of high-quality, cultivate innovative talents, and promote the development of USTB implementation of the “Double Ten Thousand Plan”.