From January 15th to 20th, Yuan Libin, President of Xiangtan Institute of Technology, led a delegation to visit universities such as Hochschule Furtwangen University in Germany, conducted in-depth research at companies such as Hymer, and discussed matters related to industry-university-research cooperation, and signed international exchange and cooperation agreements.

Hochschule Furtwangen University

On the morning of the 15th, the delegation arrived at Hochschule Furtwangen University (HFU) located in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. President Yuan Libin had served as a part-time professor at the university and had been teaching there for several years. Vice President Lederer and Professor Fang-heck from the School of Business warmly welcomed the delegation, leading them to visit the university's library, teaching buildings, laboratories, and President Yuan's former workplace.

Lederer introduced the development of Hochschule Furtwangen University. The university was established in 1850 as the Grand Duchy of Baden Clockmaking School, and is now a leading institution in the world in the field of clockmaking and precision mechanical research and manufacturing. Currently, the university's economics and management, computer science, mechanical engineering, and media programs are among the top in German applied universities.

He pointed out that the densely concentrated global top scientific research centers and international corporate headquarters in the Black Forest region provide an excellent environment for school-enterprise cooperation, creating convenient learning conditions and unique advantages for students. The university has always focused on enterprise-oriented education and maintains close and good cooperation with international automotive giants such as Mercedes-Benz and Bosch. In 2010, to support the construction of the world's medical device capital, the university established a new campus in Tuttlingen and formed a close cooperation relationship with well-known medical companies such as Aesculap, Karl Storz, and B.Braun.

During the visit, the two sides exchanged views on further cooperation and signed a cooperation agreement. Xiangtan Institute of Technology became the fifth cooperative university in mainland China, following Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Soochow University, and Northwestern University. In the future, the two universities will deepen cooperation in teaching and research, exchange experiences in school-enterprise cooperation, and build an international exchange platform to create more cross-cultural learning opportunities for students and teachers from both universities.

Corporate Headquarters: Hymer RV Group

On the morning of the 18th, President Yuan and his delegation visited the RV manufacturer Hymer Group in Germany and were warmly received by CEO Alexander Leopold. The two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on industry-university-research cooperation, talent cultivation, etc.

The Hymer Group is located in the small town of Lauffen am Neckar in southern Germany and is the largest RV manufacturer in Europe. President Yuan and his delegation visited the RV assembly plant, marketing center, etc. The Hymer Group integrates industry resources such as Mercedes-Benz and Toyota, focusing on automotive space design and research and development, producing multifunctional RVs to meet various automotive needs and demands. The marketing center showcases all types and styles of products, including residential RVs, commercial RVs, RV components, etc., presenting camping, business travel, and other RV application scenarios and concepts. The head of the marketing center showed the latest RV models to the delegation and introduced service projects and contents such as RV after-sales, retrofitting, customization, and camping ground planning and construction.

Dual System University: DHBW

In the afternoon of the 18th, accompanied by Xuan Haibo, President of the Sino-German Association, the delegation visited the Friedrichshafen campus of the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) and visited the new energy race car and autonomous driving laboratory to deeply understand the school's industry-education integration.

DHBW is Germany's first public cooperative state university with nine campuses. The Friedrichshafen campus mainly focuses on science and engineering majors. The school leaders, Professor Macha and Feichtmair, introduced the dual system education model of DHBW. With over forty years of experience in dual system vocational training, DHBW has cooperative relationships with 9,000 companies and social organizations, including Siemens, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, ZF, and Lufthansa.

As part of the DHBW cooperation system, dual system cooperative enterprises are responsible for practical teaching tasks. Students rotate between DHBW and dual system partners every three months, ensuring the close integration of theoretical and practical learning content, and cultivating students' future behavioral and social abilities needed for formal employment.

In the new energy race car manufacturing laboratory, Professor Fisher showed the new energy formula race car produced by the student team and the several trophies won. In the autonomous driving laboratory, Professor Reif conducted on-site testing of the automatic driving model based on the globally renowned technology group ZF's technology. The group provides the school with comprehensive systematic solutions from software to hardware, as well as teacher-student experimental platforms and learning practice opportunities.

In addition, the delegation visited renowned European universities such as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, the University of Zurich, the Technical University of Munich, and visited the BMW headquarters base to learn about the new trends in European higher education, especially in engineering education.