Overview of Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education at Zaozhuang University

Zaozhuang University embraces the new landscape of educational opening-up to the outside world, integrates high-quality educational resources from Chinese and foreign partners, and develops distinctive international programs focusing on information engineering and food disciplines, so as to fuel the industrial transformation and upgrading in southern Shandong.

I. Sino-French School of Intelligent Engineering (Non-independent Legal Entity for Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education)

Co-founded by Zaozhuang University and Centrale Électronique de Paris, the Sino-French School of Intelligent Engineering obtained official approval in May 2026, marking a breakthrough in the university’s establishment of non-independent legal entities for Sino-foreign cooperative education. Its French partner is a top-tier grande école specializing in engineering, boasting a well-established training system for engineers in intelligent engineering, electronic information and intelligent manufacturing.

Aligned with national strategies of building a manufacturing powerhouse and advancing Digital China, the school offers three cutting-edge undergraduate majors: Computer Science and Technology, Network Engineering, and Data Science and Big Data Technology. It adopts the 4+0 dual-degree model with English-medium instruction. The school fully introduces senior French faculty, original overseas curriculum resources and engineering-oriented education philosophies. By combining the strengths of Chinese and French engineering education, it delivers small-class international teaching, mutual recognition of cross-border academic credits and transnational practical training. The school commits itself to cultivating interdisciplinary intelligent engineering talents tailored to the digital information industry in southern Shandong and boosting local intelligent manufacturing development.

II. Sino-Korean Undergraduate Program in Food Science and Engineering (Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education Program)

Food Science and Engineering at Zaozhuang University is a first-class undergraduate program under construction in Shandong Province, featuring solid disciplinary foundations, a strong faculty team and mature industry-education integration mechanisms. Approved by the Ministry of Education in October 2022, this Sino-foreign undergraduate program enrolled its first cohort in 2023 under the 4+0 training model, where students complete all four years of undergraduate studies on campus in China.

Partnering with Konkuk University of South Korea, the program builds a bilingual curriculum system and introduces advanced overseas modules covering food processing, food safety control, fruit and vegetable deep processing. Upon graduation, students will receive both a graduation certificate and a Bachelor of Engineering degree issued by Zaozhuang University. The program creates pathways for further postgraduate study overseas and employment in cross-border food enterprises, targeting the cultivation of application-oriented food engineering professionals with patriotism and global vision to advance the high-quality development of the health food industry in Shandong Province.

III. General Characteristics and Future Plans of Sino-Foreign Cooperative Education

Adhering to the innovative philosophy of "prioritizing quality, exploring distinctive features, empowering industry through education, and promoting two-way exchanges", Zaozhuang University develops two distinctive training tracks: elite engineering education and internationalized livelihood engineering programs, which precisely correspond to leading local industries.

In terms of teaching administration, the university implements joint teaching by Chinese and foreign instructors, international-aligned curriculum standards and co-built practical training platforms for both sides. For student development, multiple growth channels are available, including overseas exchange programs, joint undergraduate-postgraduate pathways, international competitions and internships at foreign-invested enterprises. For international exchanges, the university will continuously expand partnerships with universities worldwide and broaden channels for faculty and student visits as well as joint scientific research.