utseus as a Successful Case of a Sino-French Approach to Engineering Education

Abstract

It is the aim of the paper to reflect on the lessons learned after ten years of existence of the Sino-French School for Engineering at Shanghai University (utseus), as well as on perspectives for an evolution related to recent developments in the French Higher Education landscape. The authors present background, rationale, modalities and perspectives for this venture set up by three French universities of technology in China by drawing parallels with other well-established Sino-foreign operations. It is shown that the combination of transnational and international approaches allow for transferring and adapting a foreign education model on a large scale, but also for establishing reciprocal mobility of big student cohorts. The approach is based on an integrated foreign language learning and intercultural content. This successful experience also shows how universities play an integrative role for a country’s cultural and industrial relations at an international level.

Introduction and Context

Transnational education is a broadening concept in Higher Education comprising not only the “mobility” of course contents and programs, but also that of providing institutions. 1 Several types of transnational education have been identified such as distance education, franchised programs, collaborative ventures, and international branch campuses, but in most of these cases learners and the awarding institution are located in different countries. 2 Concerning the case of international branch campuses, there is a tentative definition emerging from currently ongoing operations, mainly located in Asia and the Arabian Gulf. Namely, they are being described as entities pertaining to a university whose primary location is in one country and where students, upon successful completion of the course program fully undertaken abroad, are awarded the degree in that foreign country, although study abroad mobility windows at the providing institution for the branch campus also start to appear. 3 In the latter case, it thus appears that transnational and international approaches can be combined.

The internationalization of the Chinese Higher Education system was initiated with a first cycle of foreign universities operating in China from as early as the 19th century until the 1950s. 4 Beginning in the 1950s, there was a strong reception of Soviet university models emphasizing centralization and standardization, followed from 1978 to 1992 by a government program dispatching Chinese scholars and students abroad. 5 Starting from 1992, the Chinese Higher Education policy gradually turned toward a reciprocal international mobility and transnational education internationalization policy. 6 , 7 Specifically in China, transnational education approaches including so called “Chinese Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools” (cfcrs), also referred to as zhongwai hezuo banxue, have been made possible in China since 2003, 8 following in the wake of China becoming a member of the wto in 2001. 9 It has been argued that in the case of China the concept of “cooperation” is emphasized as far as transnational education is concerned, as Chinese and foreign institutions share investments, such as land use rights, and the results of joint developments, such as Intellectual property rights, institutional brands, curricula or even management systems. 10 The idea of learning from foreign systems and institutions, particularly Western, accompanied the reform process of Higher Education in China to allow for the transfer of expertise relating to both research and teaching. 11

This Chinese internationalization policy also needs to be put in a broader global context, in particular as far as it concerns transnational education. As a matter of fact, transnational education as a recent trend in higher education is a new research subject, therefore related literature is still scarce. 12 , 13 , 14 A large part of existing literature on transnational education so far mainly concerns categorization and motivation for the projects, yet little information is available on modalities of implementation and concrete examples. 15 It has been argued that this is due to its newness but also to possible reluctance to disseminate data. 16

In terms of rationale underlying the decision for a providing or “exporting” institution to engage in a transnational approach, several motives are raised, such as income generation, internationalization, increase of reputation, strategic alliances 17 and complementarity of academic strengths. 18 However, in the case of public universities where the income generation argument is secondary or nonexistent, as in France for example, the objective of an enhancement of cultural “softpower” for the exporting country (university system, language, industrial strategy) should be added. This type of approach has been compared to a “triple helix” between university—industry—government, in which systematic interaction of universities with governments and industry in the field of international relationships has been identified as being crucial for the national innovation competiveness at an international level. 19

Statistical data on subjects and origins of foreign education providers in China show that business and management related operations are most frequent (42,7%), followed by it (12%), engineering (11,3%) and medicine (5,6%) with foreign providers mainly coming from the uk (20,8%), Australia and America (each 15,9%) and Russia (13,6%). 20

Although recent transnational approaches in China have been studied and described in the literature, 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 it is however striking that French operations in this field have largely remained unnoticed compared to operations led by British or us university partners, in particular under the form of branch campuses and joint ventures. 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 This is surprising given that in 2013, 7 out of 44 such cfcrs have been implemented in China with French partner institutions (5 in engineering, 1 in engineering and business, 1 in humanities and social sciences). Additionally, from 2005 on these were amongst the first such operations. 30 In the typology of transnational operations, they cannot however strictly be qualified as branch campuses in their own right, but should instead be seen as collaborative ventures attached to a Chinese partner university under the form of an international college or faculty. This also is the case for Sino-European School of Technology of Shanghai University (utseus), 31 the main subject of this paper. It appears from statistical data that this model of implementation of transnational programs via specific institutes, departments, international colleges or faculties are frequent in Chinese transnational operations. 32

France is very committed to the development of international cooperation in Higher Education with China. At the first session of the “France China High level People to People Dialogue on Human Exchanges” held in Paris in September 2014, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Laurent Fabius, fixed an ambitious student mobility target of 50 000 Chinese students coming to France and 10 000 French students going to China, knowing that currently 50 000 French youth study Mandarin, and 100 000 Chinese youth study the French language. 33 Concerning international student mobility with China, France holds the 11th position concerning foreign students studying in China with more than 8 300 students. 34 According to unesco international data on Chinese students studying abroad, France is the second European destination after the United Kingdom, and 7th host country overall with already more than 25 000 Chinese students. Most recent French data show that France welcomed 30 176 Chinese students in 2013/14, 18 839 (62,4%) of them in university, 4 632 (15,3%) in business schools, and 2 499 (8,2%) in engineering schools. 35

On a European level, and in the framework of the “eu China Strategic Agenda 2020” issued in 2013, one of the five strategic priorities also concerns people to people exchanges. Relating to Higher Education, the goals are to encourage the learning of the Chinese language and eu languages, expand student and scholar exchange, and continue the dialogue on education policy, notably in the framework of the Higher Education Platform for Cooperation and Exchanges. Additionally, this same agenda aims to strengthen the compatibility of the eu’s and China’s education systems, including via “Tuning China” and other initiatives. 36

After an introduction of the specificities of the French Engineering model, it is the aim of the present article to showcase a collaborative venture in engineering education with utseus, which was created in 2005 with the French Group of Universities of Technology, and reflect on the lessons learned after ten years of existence as well as on perspectives for an evolution of this both transnational and international venture related to recent developments in the French Higher Education landscape. Parallels with other well-established foreign operations in China will also be drawn as far as they have been discussed in recent literature. Consequently, this article relating to background, rationale, setup, modalities and perspectives for a Sino-French engineering education venture mainly targets faculty and university staff already engaged in transnational education, decision-makers planning the setup or further development of transnational ventures in particular with China, as well as researchers in the field of international education exploring and assessing the potential of transnational education.

Specificities of the French Engineering Education Model

Describing the French engineer, one can read that “l’ingénieur à la française” 37 (French engineer) is a “generalist of high level”, thus prepared to face the variety and complexity of the modern economy. 38 Also the high prestige of the engineers in French society and their large diversity in terms of studies and professional tracks is considered to be a unique feature of France. 39

Pursuant to Art B4 of the Accreditation criteria issued by the French Engineering Degree Commission, this French approach to engineering can be defined as:

The posing and answering of complex questions in an effective and innovative way, in the fields of creation, design, production and implementation, within a competitive environment and with a focus on products, systems or services, and possibly their financing and sale. As such, engineers should have a good understanding of technical, economic, social and human issues, based upon a solid scientific background. 40

Taking into account several positive experiences with dual degrees between France and China, as well as the orientation on innovation of French engineering education, France had been invited to China in 2004 in order to implement this “French approach to engineering education” with Chinese partners in the framework of cfcrs. 41 Centrale Pékin located at Beihang University in Beijing has been the first Sino-French cfcrs to open in 2005, the same year as University of Nottingham at Ningbo and the Sino-European School of Technology of Shanghai University (utseus).

Historically, the term “ingénieur” derives from the Latin word “ingenium” defined as a “natural disposition of the spirit or an invention”, becoming in the 12th century the French medieval term “engegnor” meaning “someone building all sorts of engines; machinist; architect”, before being referred to as the French “ingénieur” of the 16th-18th centuries describing a “military professional and mathematician.” After the French Revolution of 1789, a split emerged between civil and military or naval engineers, each trained in specialized state schools (Grandes écoles). 42 As opposed to the “Old Regime” in France with only very few specialized schools, particularly in artillery, mining, bridges and roads, the period following the French Revolution saw the introduction in 1794 of laic (secular) schools such as Ecole Polytechnique (then named Ecole Centrale des travaux publics). 43 As a new concept after the French Revolution, its objective was to train engineers “of all kinds” for the French society and with a curriculum of three years based on mathematics and fundamental sciences, combined with follow-up application schools installing engineering as a “learned profession”. 44 These schools also embraced the ideal of being open to the best students, whatever their social background. Yet considering the high level of mathematics needed to enter and succeed in these schools, from 1804 on saw introduction of special courses organized based on the framework of secondary or high schools (lycées) and designed to prepare students for the entrance examination required to enter the Ecole Polytechnique and similar institutions. 45 The ongoing industrialization also led to a proliferation of both public and private engineering schools developing in parallel to the university system but with a largely diverging quality concerning their curricula, thus generating an issue of quality assurance and standardization. 46 This development eventually led to the creation of the French Engineering Degree Commission (Commission des titres d’ingénieur or cti) in 1934. Today, the mission of cti includes: 1) evaluation and assessment of higher education institutions in the fields of engineering, computer science, applied mathematics, project management, etc.; 2) development of quality in engineering education; and 3) promotion of engineering curricula and careers in France and abroad. 47

As a consequence of this historical heritage, a two-tier-system between Universities and “Ecoles” is still present in France today, even if composite and integrated models have also been introduced (see Figure 1 below).

figure 1

source: marin and tzen, 2015.

As a matter of fact, engineering education in France lasts 3 years (equivalent to 180 ects of the European Bologna credit system) after a preparation period of 2 years (120 ects), whereas traditional university tracks in France follow the 3 + 2 model of the Bologna Bachelor-Master system (180 ects + 120 ects). The title of Engineer is equivalent to a Master’s degree and allows for entering a doctoral cycle. 49

Currently French Engineering education is performed in both “Grandes écoles” and universities with about 220 Schools of Engineering in France training about 150 000 students (including preparatory cycle) and awarding more than 30 000 degrees per year representing 60% of all master degrees in science and technology. 50

In the present case of French Universities of Technology, an “integrated” model has been found. The French Education Codex states in its Article L 711-3 that Universities of Technology are public institutions with scientific, cultural and professional character that have as a main mission the training of engineers and the development of research and technology. 51 Université de Technologie de Compiègne (utc) was founded as the first of its kind in France in 1972 by Decree of October 2, 1972. 52 The model has since been duplicated twice in France, with the creation of Université de Technologie de Troyes (utt) in 1994 and of Université de Belfort-Montbéliard (utbm) in 1999. Guy Deniélou, the first President and founding father of Université de Technologie de Compiègne (utc), described it specifically as, “aiming at a professionalizing training responding to the expectations of the labor market that was not incompatible with the ambition for cutting edge research specific to a university and as inspired by successful foreign models.” 53

The curricula at the universities of technology in France are divided into a common trunk of two years, followed by a three-year specialization into a field of engineering. The whole period is designed as an integrated 5-year university program. In order to ensure a close link to industry, two internships of one semester each are included in the curriculum at the end of the third and fifth year of study. This model allows for confronting students with learning autonomy and elective course choices, as well as with a large choice of mandatory courses in the field of humanities and social sciences from the beginning of their training. Another advantage of this model resides in the early exposure to research and researchers, which are typically not present in the preparatory classes traditionally integrated in French secondary schools.

This approach has proven pertinent as by combining the assets of engineering education in the French model, including close interaction with the industry and society by offering access to research environments and autonomous learning, graduates from the French Universities of Technology have a very diverse and high employability. 54 It is this “integrated model” of French engineering education, slightly adapted to the specificities of the Sino-French context, which has guided development of the Sino-European School of Technology of Shanghai University (utseus).

The utseus Experience

On February 14th 2005, the three French Universities of Technology and Shanghai University set up a cooperation agreement aiming at the creation of a Sino-European School of Technology of Shanghai University (utseus) as an engineering school based on the French model of Universities of Technology. Shanghai University, created in 1994 as a result of the merger of four municipal universities, is both a 211 and 986 project-university, therefore receiving strong support from the city of Shanghai and central government. In Chinese Higher Education policy, Project 211 was started in 1995 and aimed towards creating 100 key universities and disciplines, whereas the follow-up project 985 was directed towards enhanced quality and success potential in the international community. 55

On November 5th, 2006, the Chairman of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Mr. XU Kuangdi, and a member of the French Academy of Technologies, Mr. François Guinot, participated in the founding ceremony of utseus by the three French Universities of Technology and Shanghai University where utseus has been legally implemented as a faculty of the Shanghai University. Benefiting from the strong support of the Chinese Ministry of Education as well as both the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the French Academy of Technologies, the establishment of utseus was approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education as a cfcrs under the legal status of the Decree of 2003 on July 12th 2006. 56 This model of implementation of transnational programs via specific institutes, departments, international colleges or faculties are frequent in Chinese transnational operations. 57

In 2015, after 10 years of existence, utseus has been identified as being the largest Sino-European engineering educational joint program by the French Embassy in China, 58 training about 1 300 Chinese and French, and also other international students from Europe and Canada in an international and multicultural environment.

The utseus Study Model

For the study model implemented at utseus, specific entrance requirements as well as a specific curriculum have been designed. They take into account arrangements for the learning of the French language, integration and transfer of French engineering curriculum content and teaching and learning methods, as well as adapted intercultural preparation and support for the mobility schemes set up in both directions.

Statistical data on education levels of transnational education in China show a strong focus on Bachelor education, accounting for more than 71,6% of the global transnational education offer currently available in China, whereas Master and PhD education represent 27,6% and 0,8% respectively. 59 Differences can however be observed concerning the granting institution: whereas Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University awards both a British and a Chinese degree, University of Nottingham Ningbo awards just the foreign degree from University of Nottingham. 60

In the case of French institutions two major approaches can be distinguished: either only a French degree approved by the French cti is awarded to the Chinese students remaining in China despite their curriculum (Centrale Pékin at Beihang University or ParisTech at Shanghai Jiaotong University), or a Chinese degree is approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education in addition to the French degree and earned after mobility to France as it is the case for utseus. The first option is prevailing for Grandes Ecoles, replicating the preparatory class approach as explained above, whereas utseus, due to the specificities of the French curriculum, opted for an integration into the Chinese Bachelor track (transnational education) combined with a dual degree and exchange semester following international logic prevailing in particular at the Master’s level.

Specificities of the Curriculum for Chinese Students

Concerning the presence of study periods abroad and with the objective of validating the French engineering title, two options exist: (1) either the engineering curriculum takes place entirely abroad, and it is then evaluated and (co)accredited as such by cti, 61 or (2) equivalencies of mobility periods are taken into account in the framework of dual or joint degrees. 62 For utseus this second approach has been chosen.

In the framework of dual degrees and in order to fulfill French engineering title graduation requirements, it is necessary that two out of three years of the engineering specialization are spent in France, and at least one internship of six months is completed under (co)supervision of French faculty. 63 A comparative overview of the different study tracks open to Chinese students is given by Figure 2 below.

Concerning the entrance to Shanghai University, all students entering the utseus track are recruited via the traditional recruitment process that is the Gao Kao (高考) entrance examination. After three years of study at Shanghai University in China, students can be oriented towards either one of three possible tracks offered by utseus shown in Figure 2. For all Chinese students, the Sino-French engineering curriculum at utseus (three years and 180 ects), is based on courses and projects with 70% of the credits having a scientific and technological content and 30% of the courses concerning humanities and social sciences. In addition to that, foreign languages are offered.

figure 2

source: marin and tzen, 2015.

The question could be asked whether this type of study path is attractive to Chinese students. Considering the fast rising international mobility of Chinese students and the emerging market of transnational education in China, first studies concerning the reasons for choosing this type of track have been conducted mainly focusing on English-speaking providers and study destinations. 64 , 65 Findings suggest that “push-and-pull-concepts” as used for tourism also apply to the choice of an abroad study destination, showing that for students and their parents safety of the destination, a high overall country education level (and not necessarily ranking-driven), and cost expenditure are the main pull factors rather than just language. The associated push factors are mainly related to higher education quality and opportunities in the home country. 66 Concerning the phenomenon of transnational education, it has been found that the same push factors concern transnational programs, however, the pull factors differ. Students identify the low cost of an international flavor accessible in a domestic environment as a main advantage, but in general either tend to rank it lower than domestic higher education or international education, or use it as a tool to regain access to high-quality domestic higher education or oversea education. 67

Consequently, in the case of utseus, it has turned out to be a good choice to focus on a high-quality Chinese host university such as Shanghai University and to recruit after Gao Kao. Also, and in contrast to the traditional branch campus approach providing a full curriculum in China, the prospect of mobility to France in order to gain a French degree in addition to the Chinese degree were major teasers for the student recruitment. Informal surveys amongst students reveal their main reasons for choosing a transnational education track such as that offered at utseus include the pride of their parents that their only child would study abroad, indicating success and the anticipation of a better chance of finding a job upon their expected return to China.

A second major issue concerns language, as it has been shown that Chinese students are less attracted to a foreign education destinations when the number of years needed to learn the language of the destination country increases. 68 French operations in China approach the language issue differently. For example, Centrale Pékin at Beihang University and ParisTech Shanghai Jiaotong opted for a preparatory year dedicated exclusively to intensive French language learning, and that before starting any engineering curriculum, utseus has applied an integrated language approach with gradual introduction of engineering course content in French.

In practical terms, this means that a crucial effort is put on the learning of the French language starting from the first year of studies. As a matter of fact, almost all Chinese students start French as a new foreign language when entering utseus. A team of 24 full-time French language teachers dedicated to the teaching of French as a foreign language has been created, preparing the students for their engineering studies in French. The overall course load for French language learning is 700 hours during the first three years. Along with French language learning, these courses include intercultural components acquainting Chinese students with France. In order to enhance their language skills, 1st and 2nd year Chinese students follow mandatory intensive French language classes during their summer and winter breaks.

During their studies, Chinese students accede to French language proficiency in several steps, starting from learning French as a foreign language moving toward learning of scientific content in French being a foreign language. As this is a dynamic process intended to converge, a blend is operated concerning the language of tuition and according to progress with French during the first three years. During the first year, courses are taught in Chinese by Chinese faculty and English by French faculty. Starting from the second year, courses in French taught by French academic staff are gradually introduced amounting to 30% at the end of the three years in China. For those students pursuing their studies in France, they are completely integrated into the engineering or Master’s curriculum taught in French.

Concerning the engineering curriculum, the first two years are dedicated to general training, then starting from the third year an engineering specialty must be chosen by the candidates. In the framework of utseus, four majors are offered to the students. 69

Quality assurance and guarantee of equality of academic standards is often raised as being one of the major challenges in transnational operations. 70 Furthermore, adaptation to local environment and intercultural context is also important for all resident foreign faculty, faculty from the providing institution, and local faculty engaged in the transfer process. This subject is referred to in the literature as “flying faculty” and has raised a certain number of challenges in terms of quality insurance, intercultural adaptation, professional development of teaching staff, in addition to health and cost related issues. 71

In terms of faculty, utseus has developed its own research-oriented faculty, headed by both Chinese and French directors of studies in the framework of a common education council. The first years of experience with utseus had indeed shown that methods and approaches to teaching engineering were completely different between Asia and France, and also that from a learning point of view Chinese students reacted differently as compared to French or European students. With the aim of operating a “knowledge transfer” from France to China and in parallel to the implementation of the French curriculum by French faculty, Chinese faculty were gradually trained in French teaching methods. Currently 30% of all modules following the French engineering model are already taught jointly by Chinese and French faculty.

Twinning activity at utseus Shanghai in April 2014.

photo credit: utseus.

Concerning the types of courses, a “French touch” has been implemented through three approaches: The first concerns the format of the class work consisting in lectures, exercises, and practical courses in small groups, limited to 40 students per group. Secondly, during the semester, two innovation projects are conducted in parallel to the coursework. Small groups of 3-5 students are asked to manage and analyze these projects related to the research activities conducted at utseus, one focusing on risk and crisis management, and the second relating to the field of the smart city. Finally, a third specific feature consists in twinning activities (“jumelage”) where both Chinese and French students work together in the cultural field with activities such as gastronomy, theatre, conversation, song contests, and cultural visits. In addition to these “organized” activities, French students when in Shanghai also tutor Chinese students during their practical courses.

The implementation of the French curriculum at utseus also involves important efforts in terms of staff mobility. At utseus every academic year, about 40 French faculty members travel from France to China. The average length of stay per French faculty member at utseus is two weeks. In each semester ten modules are thus ensured. In addition, 10% of the seminars are taught by professionals from industry or consist in excursions to industrial sites As a result, utseus faculty members mostly fit into one of three categories: existing Shanghai University faculty, permanent French faculty and experts, and foreign experts from industry and academia recruited on a part-time basis.

As shown in Figure 2 above, after the first three years spent at Shanghai University, three options exist for Chinese students at utseus, two of them involving mobility to France. A third option, without any mobility abroad or any French degree validated, is the continuation of studies at Shanghai University and the completion of the Chinese Bachelor (Benke—本科) in the framework of a 4th year of specialization.

Pursuant to the dual degree setup, in both cases involving mobility to France the Chinese Bachelor’s degree is being validated by the means of credit equivalencies during the stay abroad. Otherwise, the difference between the French engineering title and the French Master’s degree resides in the main career paths ambitioned by the students. As a general rule, those who are oriented towards the French engineering title have a focus on careers in industry, whereas those who are enrolled for a French Master’s in Engineering focus instead on academic research. Either way, the selection of Chinese students for mobility to France is operated taking into account both the Grade Point Average (gpa) during the first three years of study in China and the performance in French as a foreign language. The final selection occurs after an interview with the candidates applying for a mobility to France. In total and for an average cohort of 250 students, around 61% of the Chinese students of the third year are selected for a mobility to France (see Figure 3 below). By September 2013, almost 800 students had thus already been sent to France in order to study in a French engineering or Master’s track.

As noted, students going to France have mandatory 6-month internships. However, for the more research-oriented French Master in Engineering degree, only a single 6-month internship is required either in a laboratory or in industry at the end of the 5th year. Students seeking the French title of engineer of the French Universities of Technology need to complete two 6-month internships in industry. Typically, a first internship in industry takes place at the end of the first year of specialization, generally the end of the 3rd year, and a second one at the end of the 5th year. The first of these internships not included in the curriculum during the first three years in China, which has been a specific challenge to the Sino-French context. The solution found is the shift of the timing of the first industry internship by one year. In this case it takes place only after a first study semester in France at the end of the 4th year.

figure 3

source: marin and tzen, 2015.

There are two major benefits to this scheme. First, it allows Chinese students to find an internship position while already in France. Second, it is a first intercultural acclimation to the French environment as a whole as well as to the French university. This requires however an additional semester of courses when preparing for an engineering title. From a logistical point of view, when arriving in France, Chinese students are taken in charge by Chinese speaking staff at the International Offices of the Universities of Technology that assist them with their integration (housing, opening a bank account, administrative procedures, psychological follow-up, etc.).

This model as implemented at utseus has proven to be successful. In fact, those Chinese students selected for a mobility to France (see Figure 2) finish their studies successfully and obtain a French engineering degree in addition to their Chinese Bachelor. So far, about 600 students enrolled at utseus from 2005 to 2009 have obtained their French degrees. Internal data about the professional careers of Chinese utseus alumni show that they are recruited mainly by internationally operating companies and obtain their first employment within 6 months after graduation. For their first employment, graduates earn up to 36 000 Euros/year when working for a French company. Those returning to China earn up to 20 000 rmb/month. The Chinese graduates having earned a French degree have been recruited for multinational companies such as Renault, psa, Airbus, General Electric, Saint Gobain, oracle, Schneider Electric, Volkswagen, fiat, Société Générale, inderma, Archos, altran, hsbc, Faurecia, and alstom.

Specificities of the Curriculum for French and International Students

The Chinese government has been proactive in attracting overseas students, and the number of international students has increased, including a rising number of French students. 72 , 73 Considering the difficulty related to studying in Chinese, international branch campuses and joint ventures have become additional hubs for attracting foreign students to China with, however, mainly an intercultural ambition to familiarize students with the “Chinese culture”. 74

From the beginning, utseus had aimed to be a platform for both Chinese and international students. Thus the aim for reciprocity has been one of the leading ambitions for utseus even if it appeared quite early that there was a real difficulty for foreign students to attain a sufficient level of Mandarin (at least hsk 4) necessary to follow courses in a Chinese University.

Another major ambition considering the specificities of Shanghai as a global hub is the design of adapted course modules emphasizing innovative and interdisciplinary approaches. This is especially important given latest developments in the Higher Education and Research landscape in France saw the introduction of university clusters. 75 These clusters aim to enhance the critical mass of French institutions on the global stage, both in terms of disciplinary spectrum and international visibility and attractiveness, and in particular those supported by the French Investments into the Future Program (idex), as mentioned in the annex to the 2014 French Budget act. This emphasizes a general trend towards benefits arising from interdisciplinary approaches, complementing the idea that the career profiles of the future need to face variability of employment contracts over the life course and that there is an increasing importance of transversal skills crossing the borders of disciplines or occupations. Growing emphasis is being placed on skills like communication, learning, and problem solving, as well as languages and competencies in information and communication technologies, as detailed by the European Commission in its 2012 report “New skills and jobs in Europe: Pathways towards full employment”. 76 Amongst the founding members of utseus, Université de Technologie de Compiègne is particularly taking part in this new movement, being a founding member of Sorbonne Universités, a higher education and research community created in 2010 and supported as an Initiative of Excellence combining the excellence of eleven institutions and organisms. 77

Taking into account these challenges and recent developments, and with the objective of creating conditions adapted to attract students from France, Europe and beyond, different specialized and increasingly interdisciplinary international programs in French and English have been developed at utseus over the last ten years. These special programs benefit from strong links with French and international companies present in Shanghai, either by contributing to the course content, field trips, and on-site visits as well as project courses and internships.

utseus additionally employs an international officer specifically in charge of foreign students whose main tasks are the organization of the welcome procedure (accommodation, administrative orientation), but also the implementation of Chinese language courses that are compulsory for all foreign students. During the exchange, the International Officer also coordinates and monitors all twinning and co-curricular activities.

Currently, three international exchange programs are offered at utseus: one at the Bachelor’s level as well as two programs at the Master’s level (Figure 4). According to informal internal surveys asking French students about their major reasons to go to China and independent of the level of study, they often report being interested in discovering the fast growing Chinese market, even if many after arrival find that their initial expectation of modern China and Shanghai are very much influenced by prejudices and stereotypes requiring adaptation and follow-up upon arrival.

At the Bachelor’s level, the exchange program “Engineering and Social Sciences in China” 78 allows foreign engineering students from French speaking countries to attend lectures with Chinese 3rd-year utseus students. French students can choose between 12 options of engineering or social sciences. 79 The objective of this program is twofold. First, French engineering students follow engineering courses in French that are completely compatible with their French engineering curriculum, and also mingled with Chinese students preparing for a mobility to France for their fourth year. The second benefit of the program is to provide a first intercultural study environment for Chinese utseus. In the framework of this Bachelor’s exchange program, French students become aware of the dynamic spirit of modern China, as well as of the opportunities and challenges related to the fast development of its economy and society what allows them to better understand the culture and language. This program enjoys an increasing popularity since its creation in 2013 with a first cohort of 35 students, followed by 48 in the program in 2014 and 56 in 2015.

figure 4

source: marin and tzen, 2015.

At the Master’s level, two newly developed one-semester exchange programs are offered to international students coming to utseus, one focused on preparing the “International Engineer” 80 and the second named “Language, Culture and Innovation”, 81 directed at an multidisciplinary student cohort and interdisciplinary course content. In the case of the “International Engineer” program, the study exchange semester can be completed by the final internship of 6 months in China.

Both programs have been designed in order to allow foreign students to build a first significant international experience in Asia. Both programs also prepare participating students for international careers in engineering and beyond.

With this perspective, the course language is English and two thirds of the lectures are taught by experts from industry, including French as well as international consultants operating in China, while one third of the lectures are taught by academic faculty members. This approach aims to ensure that the students have both a solid engineering knowledge and practical views on socio-economic needs. As future stakeholders understanding the needs of the society and the environment they are enabled to suggest holistic solutions.

Concerning the latest program “Language, Culture and Innovation for Entrepreneurship”, which is of a more interdisciplinary nature, it has been the objective to design a program training a new generation of students with diverse disciplinary backgrounds. This program implies the enlargement of utseus partner institutions both in France and abroad. The profiles of the foreign students coming to utseus in the framework of this program include students with design, 82 management and engineering backgrounds sharing similar interest for China.

For the upcoming cohorts, an expansion to students with disciplinary backgrounds in sciences and humanities and social sciences is planned. In order to accompany this movement, incentive for this innovative type of interdisciplinary study semester abroad has been implemented at the level of Sorbonne Universités. Therefore students from Université de Technologie de Compiègne, University Pierre et Marie Curie (upmc) and Paris-Sorbonne, all founding members of Sorbonne Universités, are supported by Sorbonne Universités international student mobility grants.

Concluding Remarks and Outlook

Looking at the initial design of transferring the French model of engineering to a Chinese environment, the results achieved show a very positive picture. As a matter of fact, more than a transfer, both the French and Chinese sides have co-constructed a curriculum that has produced bicultural engineers enjoying high employability both in France and in China. These achievements are due to a progressive improvement of the course contents in terms of equivalences of learning outcomes and skills acquired. In terms of current challenges, the critical role of French language learning remains an area for progression, and needs further customization to the specificities of a native Mandarin student cohort.

Considering mobility towards utseus, new student profiles are being identified and tracks created, building on the increasing popularity of Chinese language learning during secondary education in French high schools. Also at the level of Sorbonne Universités, a major/minor Bachelor track named “Science and Chinese” had been implemented since 2014, with the first students going to utseus in the framework of a “Science and Chinese” winter-school during their first year, already preparing themselves for a mandatory mobility to China during their third year of the Bachelor degree with courses taught in Chinese.

Finally, and as a perspective for the next ten years, interdisciplinary and intercultural approaches in research are also being developed, allowing for new opportunities concerning academic staff mobility, and innovative research based projects for students as well as for increased links with industry.