Tianjin University Launches Plan 3.0 for Emerging Engineering Education to Shape Future-Ready Talent

As the world moves rapidly into the intelligent era, Tianjin University (TJU), one of China's leading institutions of higher education, is taking the lead in redefining the cultivation of future engineering talent. On December 31, 2025, the university launched TJU Plan 3.0 for Emerging Engineering Education, alongside the Tianjin Initiative for International Engineering Education Cooperation, marking a significant evolution in its approach to preparing students for the future.

The plan along with the initiative, announced during a Conference to Deepen Teaching Reform, is designed to push the boundaries of traditional engineering education by integrating artificial intelligence, cross-disciplinary learning, and global collaboration.

The TJU Plan 3.0 represents a three-stage evolution in the university’s approach to educational reform: 1.0 focused on addressing key challenges in engineering education; 2.0 expanded the scope to include broader interdisciplinary fields; 3.0 now emphasizes comprehensive integration of depth and breadth, forming a systematic and holistic educational model.

According to Professor Chai Liyuan, President of Tianjin University, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of the National Working Group on Emerging Engineering Education, the new model is based on a forward-looking philosophy: “From the future to the future.” It aims to cultivate future-ready engineering talents who can adapt to and lead in an evolving world. The plan 3.0 is built around four core pathways: integrated cross-disciplinary training mechanisms, intelligent teaching and learning models, standardized engineering education systems, and internationalized engineering education contexts. Through these pathways, Tianjin University aims to build a vertically and horizontally integrated talent development mechanism and a co-evolutionary teaching model involving teachers, students, and AI. By collaborating with industry to create future innovation scenarios, the university is establishing "innovation zones for future-oriented talent cultivation", focused on emerging fields and designed to shape a new paradigm of engineering education in the new era.

At the conference, Professor Gu Peihua, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and Director of the Emerging Engineering Education Center at Tianjin University, introduced the Tianjin Initiative for International Engineering Education Cooperation. The initiative was developed in consensus during the 2025 International Conference on Engineering Education, attended by over 90 universities on five continents, as well as representatives from industry, professional associations and learned societies. The Initiative advocates for a future-oriented engineering education that is fueled by innovation, grounded in responsibility, advanced through collaboration, and anchored in sustainability.

The conference featured insights from both academic and industry leaders, who shared their perspectives on the implementation and future of the TJU Plan 3.0.

Academicians Liu Congqiang and Yuan Yingjin from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academician Wang Chengshan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Tianjin University Vice President Ming Dong focused on four cutting-edge fields: Earth System Engineering, Synthetic Biology, Advanced Energy Storage, and Brain-Computer Interfaces, systematically outlined the university's innovative approaches and practical explorations to cultivating strategic leadership talents.

Professor Yang Xianjin, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tianjin University, emphasized in his remarks at the conference that the event represented both a renewed commitment to educational reform and a new beginning for the development. He encouraged faculty to embrace a modern educational mindset that aligns with the demands of the intelligent era, and to build an open, dynamic, and interdisciplinary teaching framework, supported by digital and AI-powered platforms, and integrating physical and virtual learning environments. Looking forward, he urged the university to forge new pathways through institutional and structural innovation, and to pursue deep, integrated reforms across educational philosophy, strategic planning, teaching methods, learning models, and assessment systems. He called for breaking down traditional disciplinary boundaries and redefining the educational model.

The event drew approximately 150 participants, including Luo Yan'an, a member of the Education Work Committee of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Tianjin Municipal Education Commission, along with university and industrial leaders, academicians, faculty and student representatives, and members of the media.

By Sun Xiaofang