How to cultivate interdisciplinary and comprehensive practical abilities of engineering students—a case study of innovative design and advanced manufacturing center at South University of Science and Technology

Abstract

To enhance the innovation and engineering competence of undergraduate students, this study proposes a modular and progressive practical curriculum system based on three platforms: innovative design, advanced manufacturing, and automation/robotics/artificial intelligence. Diverse practical activities—including scientific research practice, engineering projects, industrial internships, competitions, innovation/entrepreneurship programs, and integrated design tasks—are designed to align with teaching objectives. To enhance effectiveness, a quality assurance mechanism spanning the entire project lifecycle is implemented. This includes establishing a diverse practice project library, standardizing credit certification procedures, assembling interdisciplinary mentorship teams, and adopting process-oriented evaluation that emphasizes both explicit outcomes (e.g., prototypes, patents) and implicit competencies (e.g., problem-solving, teamwork). Furthermore, a school-enterprise collaboration platform is established to integrate industry challenges into curricula, enabling students to address real-world engineering issues. Through the deep integration of “production-learning-research-application”, this framework bridges education, talent development, innovation, and industrial chains, thereby comprehensively improving students'creativity, practical skills, and capacity to solve complex engineering problems.