On October 14th, as a key agenda item of the 2025 World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) General Assembly, 2025 WFEO side event on Cultivating Engineers for the Digital and Intelligent Era was successfully held at the Shanghai World Expo Center. Supported by Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), Chinese Society of Higher Education (CSHE), and China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), this event was co-hosted by Zhejiang University and Shanghai University of Engineering Science, and co-organized by the Engineering Education Professional Committee of Chinese Society of Higher Education, the Institute of Chinese Science and Education Strategy of Zhejiang University, the Institute of Innovation Strategy of Shanghai University of Engineering Science, and other institutions.
The Blue Book of China's Engineering Education was officially released at the conference.
Five authoritative experts from the fields of engineering education and industry at home and abroad delivered in-depth keynote reports. Zhu Gaofeng, former Executive Vice President of Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and CAE Member, explored the core logic of the adaptive development of education and industry from the perspective of educational economics, as well as its implications for the cultivation of outstanding engineering talents. He emphasized that in the digital and intelligent era, the education sector needs to optimize resource allocation and structural adaptation to efficiently cultivate engineers who meet the demands of technological transformation.
Professor Ye Min from Zhejiang University delivered a report titled Exploration of China's Engineering Education Reform and Practice.
Professor Joseph Press from Shanghai University of Engineering Science delivered a report titled Agentic MBSE 2035: A Declaration for Educating Engineers for a Green Future.
Vice President Patrick Mueller from the R&D Center of BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. delivered a report titled Education of Engineers in the Digital Era.
Professor Zhang Guangxin, Dean of the National Institute of Outstanding Engineers at Zhejiang University, delivered a report titled Exploration and Practice of Outstanding Engineers Cultivation at Zhejiang University.
The round-table forum session was moderated by Wang Di, Executive Dean of the Institute of Innovation Strategy at Shanghai University of Engineering Science. Experts and scholars from Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), Zhejiang University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, along with the leader of DeepRobotics Co., Ltd., conducted in-depth discussions around the core question: Amid the wave of the digital economy and intelligent transformation, how to reform the engineering education system and cultivate future engineers with digital literacy, interdisciplinary capabilities, and the engineering spirit?
The guests attending the conference were from Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), Chinese Society of Higher Education (CSHE), China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), as well as high-level research universities, prestigious research institutions and engineering technology enterprises at home and abroad. They also investigated institutions including the Ningbo International Institute of Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Ningbo Yongxin Optics Co., Ltd., and Geely Automobile Research Institute. This conference deepened the consensus on the cultivation of engineers in the digital and intelligent era and provided a replicable Chinese solution for global engineering education.