The Xiamen Software Park Production-Education Integration Base, jointly established by the administrative committee of the Xiamen Torch Development Zone for High Technology Industries and Xiamen city’s Jimei district, Fujian province, opened on June 14.

This initiative is one of the city's first talent service platforms, bringing together government, universities, and industry resources to deepen the integration of industry and education. The primary goal is to cultivate "student engineers" with practical capabilities, injecting vitality into the high-quality development of Xiamen's software and information service industry.

The establishment of this base also exemplifies the Xiamen Torch High-tech Zone's commitment to addressing development challenges through in-depth research and investigation.

The zone has identified key issues in production-education integration and conducted extensive research and surveys in enterprises and universities. By obtaining insights and advice, it has translated research findings into practical actions to solve problems and promote growth, connecting education and talent chains with industry and innovation chains.

The Xiamen Software Park Production-Education Integration Base is unveiled on June 14 in Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo/WeChat account: Xiamen Torch Academy]

"We hope that through this base, we can bridge the gap between talent supply and industry demand and solve the challenges of talent cultivation and industry requirements," said Zhu Yong, the person in charge of the base.

Focusing on Xiamen's software and information technology industry cluster, the base, in collaboration with Xiamen and surrounding universities, aims to build an ecosystem for the cultivation of talents in industrial digitalization. 

Zhu explained that in response to the urgent demand for versatile digital talents in enterprises, the base has organized experts from universities and industry to develop a series of courses for digital talent cultivation. Most of these courses are taught by industry mentors and incorporate cases of enterprises in Xiamen, enabling students to participate in project implementation during their school years to effectively enhance their practical skills.

The first batch of courses is scheduled to be launched in August this year and will be freely available to local enterprises and universities. It is estimated that once fully mature, the base will annually cultivate over 5,000 outstanding "student engineers" for the city's software and information service technology industry.

To date, the base has collaborated with a total of 70 experts, including 18 industry experts and 52 university experts, specializing in software development, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, big data, cybersecurity, and project management, among other fields. In the future, it plans to engage in more in-depth cooperation with these experts in various scenarios, such as enterprise digital transformation, urban governance digitalization, intelligent manufacturing, and smart parks.

The inaugural ceremony of the Xiamen Software Park Production-Education Integration Base is held on June 14 in Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo/WeChat account: Xiamen Torch Academy]

According to Tian Hui, vice-dean of the College of Computer Science and Technology at Huaqiao University, the base provides a new platform for universities to explore industry-education integration.

"The base helps narrow the gap between universities and enterprises, promotes industry-academia-research collaboration, and enables universities to better participate in local economic development. Additionally, the base provides internships and practical training opportunities for university students, empowering the cultivation of application-oriented talents."

"The base is like a resource pool that helps us connect with universities at lower costs and with greater precision. Additionally, some of our technological research and development challenges can be resolved through the resource advantages provided by the base." Huang Yuzhen, deputy general manager of Xiamen Weite Technology Co Ltd, also expressed anticipation for the base.