Recently, the German Accreditation, Certification and Quality Assurance Institute (ACQUIN) confirmed that Shanghai Zhongqiao Vocational and Technical University (hereafter referred to as Zhongqiao University) was officially accredited by ACQUIN on May 9, 2023.
Authorized by the German Accreditation Council, ACQUIN is an international organization dedicated to assessing the quality of higher education. Its accreditation certificates are not only authoritative in the EU, but also widely recognized internationally. Top German universities accredited by ACQUIN include: University of Munich, Technical University of Munich, Heidelberg University, Free University of Berlin and Eberhard-Karls-Universitaet Tuebingen, etc. In addition, leading German universities such as Universität Regensburg, Universität Hamburg, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and Goethe University Frankfurt, as well as a number of excellent universities of applied sciences have also been accredited by ACQUIN. This is the first time that our university has received German higher education accreditation, and it is the first of its kind in a vocational institution in China.
With two years’ preparation led by the development strategy of international vision, faculty enhancement, industry-education integration and modern governance, Zhongqiao University successfully passed the preliminary examination of accreditation in December 2022. After completing multiple rounds of evaluation including the self-evaluation report and auxiliaries, brief visiting, and supplementary documentation submission, , the official peer review visit took place in March 2023.
From March 6 to 7, 2023, the ACQUIN accreditation panel, consisting of five international experts, conducted a two-day peer review visit to Zhongqiao University. During the online visit, the expert group carried out a comprehensive examination of the university according to the ACQUIN accreditation criteria, regarding development strategies and objectives, governance, study programs, research, faculty, financial resources, facilities, quality assurance system and internationalization, , as well as a large bundle of accreditation materials displayed in the virtual baseroom. A total of 8 interviews were held between the expert group and the Chairman of the Board Mr. Jianjun Yan, the President Prof. Jiazhen Huo, the deans of the schools and over 100 faculty, staff and student representatives from the university.
The expert group gave full affirmation on the great importance the university leadership has attached to international accreditation, and commended that Zhongqiao University has fully fulfilled the accreditation criteria of ACQUIN. The achievements made by the university since its upgrading to an undergraduate university in 2019 has also won recognition of the experts, who have reached consensus on the following 9 aspects of the university:
-Zhongqiao University has a broad development prospect, whose four-year undergraduate program holds a leading position in the field of vocational education with distinct characteristics, and is closely linked to the regional economy.
-The university adheres to student-centered management, giving full play to the role of Professors Committee and other organizations, and implements a two-tier democratic management system. The transparency, accountability and meritocracy of modern governance system has been effectively implemented.
-The teaching strategy is consistent with the overall strategy of the university and fully reflects the characteristics of the university. A student-centered teaching model is in place with high levels of student satisfaction in terms of teaching content, methods, and student-faculty interaction.
-Faculty is encouraged to conduct applied research to meet the needs of business and society, and to develop methods and skills to solve practical problems. At the same time, faculty are encouraged to conduct in-depth research on theoretical and practical issues of higher vocational education, apply research results to the development of teaching materials and cases, and innovate in teaching methods.
-Faculty enhancement is at the core of its four strategies. The university takes the development of an applied and vocational undergraduate university as an opportunity to optimize the structure of faculty and focus on building a high level faculty team.
-The university's administrative system is very well though-out and functional. Financial management is professional, and financial revenues are robust and sustainable.
-The university's infrastructure and equipment is appropriately adequate to achieve the defined objectives in relation to the mission and strategic plan. At the same time, the university is committed to continuous improvement of resources and the competent management of these resources. Modern technologies such as Argument Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been used extensively.
-The university has established a closed-loop quality continuous improvement mechanism for curriculum development, teaching process, and graduates competencies. The quality assurance system is not only well defined and documented, but also brought to life in an open quality culture.
-With the geographical advantage and its flexibility as a private institution, the university actively explores international cooperative programs, strengthens cooperation and exchanges with advanced foreign universities, draws on advanced international experience in vocational education, broadens the international vision of faculty and students to improve the teaching level, and enhance the ability of operation and internal governance. Meanwhile, through cooperation with foreign high-end industries and advanced enterprises, the university promotes international integration of industry and education to cultivate outstanding industrial talents with an international perspective.
Accredited by ACQUIN will help the university play a more important role in international education and expand its international impact. The university has taken a solid step towards internationalization by establishing an International Advisory Committee with 14 members from four countries (China, USA, Germany and France) to advise the university on internationalization. During the last ten years, through the relentless pursuit of quality excellence and continuous improvement, Zhongqiao University has established a sustainable governance system in line with international accreditation rules and standards. The president Prof. Huo predicted that one third of our graduates will go on to pursue professional master's degree, one third will work or study overseas along with those companies that go abroad, and one third will be employed by various technical positions in China.
Zhongqiao University actively promoting international exchange and cooperation, continuously improving the level of international education, has established cooperation with high-quality universities in Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Spain, Japan, Korea and other countries. In order to accelerate the implementation of its international development strategy and action plans, the university has made an invest of about 135 thousand euros in 2023 to sponsor a hundred outstanding students for exchange and study in foreign universities. About 74 students have already been selected so far. Meanwhile, the university will receive students from Germany, Korea and Indonesia in the summer for short-term professional skills courses and Chinese traditional culture courses. In line with the strategy of strengthening the university with talents, we are also actively promoting the internationalization of faculty, via implementing the Project of Faculty Internationalization and Improvement, formulating faculty training plans, , and supporting faculty to participate in international exchange activities.
Obtaining ACQUIN accreditation is an important achievement and development milestone of the university's internationalization strategy. It is also an important symbol of the university's transformation from a relatively traditional vocational education to a vocational undergraduate university with a global vision and international landscape.
