Ren Jia, an employee of Huawei’s overseas business department, recently addressed his former teachers, classmates, and alumni at the SJTU-Paris Elite Institute of Technology (SPEIT) in a video message from Congo on April 19. Ren was among the first class of graduates to receive a master’s degree from SPEIT after completing 6.5 years of study. Prior to joining Huawei, Ren worked as a new developer of liquefied gas carriers at the Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute (SMDERI). He was one of the first batch of government-supported interns at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and also won the national championship and served as a promotion ambassador in a French speech competition. At SPEIT, all students participate in an overseas exchange program ranging from six months to 2.5 years, and complete at least six months of internship as an enterprise engineer in accordance with the French engineering training tradition.
Yu Haobo won the championship of a national French speech contest
SPEIT announced the renewal of its agreement with its French partner schools a decade after its inauguration by then French president François Hollande in Shanghai. Frédéric Toumazet, president of the French partner schools, stated that due to the higher education reforms in France, the Sino-French cooperation has expanded from the original four schools to include the top two higher education groups in France: École Polytechnique and Paris Sciences & Lettres-PSL University, thus opening up more opportunities for SPEIT to seek additional partners.
Students from SPEIT won the third place in the 2022 RoboMaster Eastern Regional Competition
During its early stages, SPEIT implemented a comprehensive French preparatory teaching model and formed a teaching team led by French advisors, maintaining the original framework of the French engineering education system.
Students and graduates of the college often describe their learning experience as “difficult”. The advanced mathematics courses require them to deduce and prove principles and theorems from the very beginning, in addition to mastering the “engineering languages” in Chinese, English, and French within just 6.5 years.
Representative of outstanding international students, Zhang Leying, featured on the home page of Télécom Paris
Valuing mathematics while emphasizing the cross-disciplinary ability of engineering and business management, the school has cultivated five cohorts of excellent postgraduates who received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SJTU and achieved the Diploma of Engineer proved by the Commission des titres d'ingénieur (CTI) as well.
Students carry out voluntary French teaching activities
As next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, the school plans to strengthen its cooperation with its French partners. Zhang Wenming, the school’s dean, stated that after deepening the cooperation agreement within the new framework, SPEIT would continue to promote the joint training of Chinese and French Ph.D. students, strengthen research cooperation and academic exchanges, and establish a scientific research cooperation committee.
Source: SJTU-Paris Elite Institute of Technology
Translated by Lin Yuying
Proofread by Chen Chen, Zhao Xiaojing
Editor on Duty: Diwei Chen
Responsible Editor: Qianqian Jiang, Yuhe Fu