On the afternoon of May 29, Hefei University witnessed the opening of the 17th Sino-German Symposium on applied Higher Education graced with keynote addresses by Mr. Wang Qingxian, Governor of Anhui Province, and Mr. Stephan Weil, Governor of Lower Saxony, Germany. Ren Qinghua, Vice Governor of Anhui Province, presided over the opening ceremony.

Notable attendees included Ms. Hanna Naber, President of the State Parliament in Lower Saxony, Mr. Pit Heltmann, Consul-General of Germany in Shanghai, and Mr. Sun Yong, Vice Governor of Anhui Province. The symposium also saw 298 participants from Lower Saxony, Anhui Provincial Government, German universities, Chinese academic institutions, and German enterprises in China such as Volkswagen and Continental.

Wang Qingxian stated, 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of friendly relations between Anhui Province and Lower Saxony; Anhui has achieved fruitful outcomes in Sino-German cooperation, with Hefei University as the foundation, drawing inspiration from Germany’s “dual system” to explore an applied talent cultivation model and this model aims to supply enterprises with high-quality talents, making it a model of cooperation between China and Germany. Wang Qingxian hopes that applied universities in China and Germany will enhance their collaboration, establish exchange mechanisms in various fields, foster more “embedded” industry-academia-research platforms, thus nurturing more high-quality innovative talents.

Governor Stefan Weil highlighted, decades of cooperation in academia, education, and research have strengthened ties between two cities. Today, Hefei University is esteemed by Germans as a prime example of applied higher education, a testament to years of collaboration.

The keynote speech was delivered on-line by Christian Wulff, the tenth President of Germany, and the session was chaired by Hendrik Lackner, Director of the Center for Higher Education Research Center for China at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences.

Dr. Hofmann, Executive Vice President of Volkswagen Group (China), highlighted the alignment with China’s dual-education system and commitment to strengthening collaboration among academia, industry, and government for integrated development.

Wu Chunmei, former President of Hefei University, delivered a presentation titled “On Practice and Enlightenments of Modern Industrial College Development, Exploring a New Paradigm for Engineer Training”. She discussed the role of modern industrial colleges in enhancing the quality of education, the initiatives and practices of the Volkswagen College, and the reflection on the development of modern industrial colleges.

Andreas Braun von Reinersdorf, Vice-President of Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, discussed the university's role in driving enterprise and regional transformation.

Prof. Chen Ying, along with a team of dual-system students from Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, analyzed application-oriented higher education from the perspective of German students, showcasing the achievements in Sino-German dual-education development.

The Sino-German Symposium on Applied Higher Education is jointly organized by the Department of Education of Anhui Province and the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, Germany. Hosted by Hefei University and Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, the Symposium has been held alternately in China and Germany every year since 2008.