Suzhou DIAO Elevator Co., Ltd. – Three-Year Plan for the Integrated Development of Industry and Education

I. Background of Preparation

To fundamentally address the shortages, gaps, and insufficient talent reserves in technical personnel and workforce at enterprises, as well as the lack of innovation capabilities, we aim to effectively enhance enterprises’ core competitiveness and their capacity for sustainable development, achieve dual growth in economic and social benefits, further promote and deepen the integration of industry and education and collaboration between schools and enterprises, fully leverage the key role of enterprises in cultivating technical and skilled talents and developing human resources, and strengthen the leading and exemplary role of industry-education integrated enterprises. In accordance with relevant requirements from the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Education, our company has formulated the “Three-Year Development Plan for Industry-Education Integration and School-Enterprise Cooperation of Suzhou Dio Elevator Co., Ltd.”

II. The Foundational Basis for Integrating Industry and Education

(1) Basic Information about the Company

Suzhou Dio Elevator Co., Ltd. is a large-scale Sino-foreign joint venture specializing in elevator manufacturing. The company covers an area of approximately 400 mu and features a high-speed elevator test tower standing over 80 meters tall. It integrates the design, development, manufacturing, sales, installation, maintenance, and decoration of various types of elevators and escalators. The company is recognized as one of the top 100 enterprises in Wujiang District, a renowned brand in Jiangsu Province, a national high-tech enterprise, and a China Famous Trademark enterprise. The company holds the national Class A license for the manufacture, installation, modification, and maintenance of special equipment. The company places great emphasis on technological innovation and talent development. It has successfully passed the national-level (CNAS) elevator laboratory accreditation, been approved as a national-level “Specialized, Refined, Differentiated, and Innovative” Small Giant Enterprise, established the Jiangsu Provincial Postdoctoral Innovation Research Base, the Jiangsu Provincial Enterprise Technology Center, the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Intelligent High-Speed Elevators, the provincial Industrial Design Center, and been designated as a pilot enterprise for the deep integration of advanced manufacturing and modern service industries at the provincial level. Its product portfolio includes twelve major series, such as passenger elevators, machine-room-less elevators, sightseeing elevators, medical elevators, escalators, and freight elevators. Thanks to Dio Elevator’s robust R&D and manufacturing capabilities, its escalators, moving walkways, machine-room elevators, and machine-room-less elevators have all obtained CE certification from TÜV—the EU certification. The entire range of escalators has also passed the KC certification by KTL (Korea Institute of Industrial Technology), while escalators, moving walkways, machine-room elevators, and machine-room-less elevators have received CU-TR certification from the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, as well as SASO certification from Saudi Arabia. Dio Elevator has more than 60 branches and over 300 service outlets worldwide, with its products marketed across China and exported to over 70 countries and regions globally. In 2015, the company was honored as one of the Top Ten Most Competitive Complete-Elevator Brands in the Elevator Industry; in 2016, it was awarded the title of One of China’s Top Ten Elevator Brands; in 2017, it was again recognized as one of the Top Ten Most Competitive Complete-Elevator Brands in the Elevator Industry; and in 2019, it was named one of the Top Ten Well-Known Complete-Elevator Brands in the Elevator Industry.

(2) Selection of Partner Institutions

Schools and research institutions are selected as partners for industry-education integration and school-enterprise cooperation based on the principles of prioritizing local areas, matching specialties, and giving preference to existing collaborators. These include Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Jiangsu University, Jiangsu Institute of Engineering and Technology, Nantong College of Science and Technology, Wujiang District Federation of Trade Unions Workers’ School, Wujiang Binhu Vocational Training School, and Wujiang Fenchuang Skills Training School, among others.

(3) Cooperation Approach

Deepen the integration of industry and education, promote collaborative talent development between schools and enterprises, transform industrial resources into educational resources, and leverage educational resources to enhance industrial capabilities. Fully harness the role of vocational skills education in serving society and enterprises, cultivate more highly skilled professionals, and provide students with more platforms for internships and employment. By fostering interactive cooperation between schools and enterprises and maximizing the synergy between industry and education, we can achieve a “zero-gap” alignment between vocational education and actual job market demands.

III. Expected Objectives

We will comprehensively promote the integration of industry and education and collaboration between universities and enterprises, fostering the organic combination of innovative elements such as talent, technology, and management. We will collaborate with various institutions in areas including talent development, upgrading manufacturing processes, and internship and practical training, thereby effectively aligning talent demand with supply, optimizing vocational education talent-development models, and enhancing their quality. This will better meet the industry’s and enterprises’ demand for high-quality, skilled personnel. The main approaches to achieve this include:

1. Establish cooperative relationships with 2-3 institutions, and preliminarily set up a pragmatic, efficient, and mutually beneficial mechanism for industry-education integration and school-enterprise collaboration. Through such collaborations, students whose majors align with corporate needs can be recruited early for internships at companies, enabling them to gain firsthand experience of job duties and corporate culture, thereby enhancing their sense of identification with the company. This approach effectively shortens the time and reduces the costs required for on-the-job training, alleviates the labor shortage in critical positions, and boosts overall enterprise competitiveness.

2. Focusing on “joint discipline development and collaborative training by industry and university instructors,” we will co-develop a “new apprenticeship model” with industry and universities, taking enterprises as the primary entities responsible for training. The training will emphasize professional knowledge, operational skills, and professional ethics, thereby cultivating a pool of technically skilled talents urgently needed by enterprises. We will also actively engage in commissioned R&D and collaborative R&D initiatives to enhance the company’s technological capabilities.

3. By engaging in project collaborations, exchanging process skills, participating in skill competitions, and mutually hiring personnel between schools and enterprises, we can enhance the quality of talent development, thereby elevating the overall level and capabilities of the industrial chain. This will also promote the improvement of enterprises’ own R&D capabilities, leading to a significant increase in patent applications and further enhancing the company’s overall influence. The company has now essentially met its demand for skilled workers and has successfully attracted a certain number of highly qualified technical professionals.

IV. Promotion of Key Tasks

(1) A collaborative skills-training model jointly developed by schools and enterprises.

In collaboration with Nantong Vocational and Technical College, we have established the “Diao Elevator Engineering College,” creating a direct pathway for cultivating specialized talents. The enterprise provides a platform for recent graduates to undertake internships, practical training, and secure employment. First, the school has adjusted its previously defined integrated training objectives to align with the actual hiring needs of enterprises, with the school determining these objectives based on pedagogical principles and available teaching conditions. This approach has achieved a unification of enterprise hiring standards, school-based educational standards, and societal educational standards, significantly reducing the time required for enterprises to retrain new hires. Second, we are jointly establishing Skill Master Workshops. According to the project implementation plan developed by the school, experts from the workshops will provide production and technical guidance alongside enterprise engineers, thereby enhancing students’ identification with the enterprise’s corporate culture.

Under the guidance of master craftsmen, key teachers from the college, and enterprise engineers, we conducted an analysis and study of students’ job tasks in their respective professional roles. Taking “cultivating application-oriented skilled personnel” as our starting point, we transitioned from integrated teaching to alternating industry-education experiences, and eventually adopted a practice-oriented teaching model characterized by “industry-education synergy and the integration of learning and doing,” thereby establishing a brand-new skills training system. Relying on the national skill-level occupational standards for elevator installers, and following a three-stage approach—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—we have developed evaluation criteria, a theoretical test question bank, practical training instructional design plans, and micro-course teaching materials for elevator installers. We have also created project-based training materials, thus forming a relatively comprehensive teaching system.

Corporate engineers take on part-time teaching positions at schools, while specialized teachers regularly go to enterprises for on-the-job training. This approach helps professional teachers evolve into “expert practitioners.” By gaining firsthand experience of new technologies, processes, and standards in enterprises, teachers are better equipped to cultivate practical talents that align with industry needs. As a result, students can start working immediately upon completing their internships, significantly shortening the enterprise’s employee training period. The second approach is the “order-based” training model. By establishing classes such as the “Diao Elevator Class” and the “Diao Sponsored Class,” we achieve a win-win-win situation for schools, enterprises, and students, ensuring that students secure high-skilled employment and that enterprises receive practical, job-ready talent.

(2) Jointly established training bases by schools and enterprises

The school is collaborating with enterprises to jointly establish employment training bases and employee training centers. Relying on these enterprise-based training facilities and under the assessment of the vocational training school, the program trains more than 100 skilled professionals each year.

(3) Jointly build a faculty team through collaboration between the school and enterprises.

On the one hand, enterprises are invited to appoint highly skilled employees and engineers as part-time teachers who will participate in key aspects of the school’s teaching activities. On the other hand, enterprises will strengthen the training of practicing skills for the school’s existing teachers by formulating the “Regulations on the Management of Professional Teachers’ Practical Training at Enterprises.” Through “mentor-apprentice” mentoring programs, both employees and professional teachers will see a comprehensive enhancement of their professional skills.

(4) Construction of a Teaching Resource Database

Relying on products introduced through “industry-education integration,” we will conduct planning and analysis based on the depth of elevator product design and development, and compile high-quality training module teaching materials. Through school-enterprise cooperation, we will establish a database of product technical documentation. For each manufactured product, we will retain technical documents, samples, and commissioning data for future reference and updates, guiding students to independently consult these materials and develop their ability to solve problems independently. Currently, most school-enterprise collaborations see teachers taking on the role of corporate R&D personnel, while students play the role of factory workers—making it difficult to achieve the desired outcomes of industry-education integration. Teachers need to communicate thoroughly with enterprises and design projects that genuinely promote student development, rather than focusing solely on short-term economic gains. Students should be fully involved in projects at various levels, thereby boosting their confidence in learning. By using production as a driving force for learning, we can alleviate the challenges of high costs and resource consumption inherent in electrical engineering programs. Leveraging the excellent platform provided by Dio Elevator, we have successfully established an industry-education integration platform that aligns teaching with production, effectively addressing the nationwide challenge of high resource consumption and costs in practical training for electrical operation and control majors. Moreover, we regularly organize and participate in teacher-student competitions to enhance the operational skills of both teachers and students. The competitions have evolved from individual participation to inclusive, open-to-all participation, achieving the goal of ensuring everyone’s involvement in the competitions.

(5) The school and enterprises jointly establish a specialized curriculum development advisory committee.

The university and the enterprise conduct irregular industry-education surveys and exchange activities on corporate culture and management. The enterprise hires university experts and professors as advisors for its business development. Meanwhile, the university appoints enterprise technical personnel and senior executives as members of the Professional Development Steering Committee. Together, the university and the enterprise jointly study various aspects—including the university’s operational model, professional talent-development approaches, faculty-building strategies, educational and teaching reforms, construction of practical training bases, off-campus internships, and employment opportunities—providing robust decision-making support for the university’s sustainable development. Members of the Professional Development Steering Committee come from industry associations, government regulatory agencies, and specialized faculty members, with a primary focus on frontline experts or managers from the field of electrical automation equipment installation and maintenance, thereby ensuring that talent-development needs are both timely and effective.

V. Guarantee Measures

(1) Organizational and Leadership Support: Establish a leading group for the implementation of the enterprise-industry-education integration plan, responsible for deploying and adjusting the plan’s implementation to ensure its effectiveness and feasibility.

(2) Operational Mechanism Assurance: Establish a responsibility mechanism at all levels for implementing the plan, clearly defining responsibility targets and responsible individuals; formulate annual work objectives and plans, break down tasks, and incorporate them into performance evaluations.

(3) Guarantee of Funding Input: Raise funds through multiple channels, allocate resources scientifically and rationally, ensure sufficient funding for key construction projects, and enhance the efficiency of fund utilization. Through diversified fundraising efforts, implement high-quality, high-standard construction of industry-education integration bases and platforms. Strive for financial rewards or subsidies, with a focus on building core talent in industry-education integration, as well as developing curricula and strengthening specialty programs. At the same time, strengthen the effective use and management of funds by adhering to unified planning, separate accounting, and project-based management, thereby improving the effectiveness of fund utilization.

(4) Effective Communication: During the integration of industry and education and school-enterprise cooperation, both schools and enterprises shall strengthen communication through regular exchanges, continuously discussing, researching, and improving processes such as talent development, project implementation, student internships, and research-based learning, thereby achieving sustained enhancement in both the quality of talent cultivation and the level of school-enterprise collaboration.

Diao Elevator will actively promote the integration of industry and education, deepen cooperation between universities and enterprises, implement collaborative talent development between schools and businesses, and fully leverage the crucial role of enterprises. By capitalizing on our own strengths, we will continuously explore and innovate models for industry-education integration, actively support the national initiatives for industry-education integration, contribute to the cultivation of talent in the elevator industry, boost the growth of practical and skilled professionals, and play our part in fostering the prosperous development of the local economy.