The global manufacturing industry is accelerating its transformation towards high-end, intelligent, and green industries, and cultivating applied talents who can adapt to industrial changes has become a common issue for education in various countries. The "dual system" education model originating from Germany has undergone over 40 years of localization exploration in China, among which the practice of Tianjin Sino German University of Applied Sciences can be regarded as an important observation sample. As the first university in China to be named an applied technology university, the word "Sino German" in its name marks the starting point of introducing German experience and witnesses the complete process from learning and borrowing to integrated innovation. Tianjin Sino German University of Applied Sciences celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2025. Recently, Guan Zhiwei, Vice President of Tianjin Sino German University of Applied Sciences, was interviewed to share how the university has localized the German "dual system" education model in China, and developed a set of applied education programs with "Chinese characteristics" that can provide reference for the world. The summary of the interview transcript is as follows: Reporter: Tianjin Sino German University of Applied Sciences is closely related to Germany in terms of its name and origin. What do you think is the most core concept learned by the school from the German model, and what key localization transformations have been completed? Guan Zhiwei: The words "Sino German" are a clear symbol of the school's educational genes. 40 years ago, schools emerged with the mission of "introducing advanced vocational education experience from Germany and serving the country's industrial modernization". The key to the success of Germany's "dual system" lies in the institutionalized design of deep participation of industries and enterprises in talent cultivation. In the context of China's national conditions, we have taken a path of "early imitation, long-term heavy damage, combination of imitation and innovation, and emphasis on innovation", deeply integrating the German "dual system" with the actual Chinese industry, and forming a localized "Sino German experience". We have not only introduced the teaching philosophy of "engineering alternation and action oriented" from Germany, but also built an applied technical and skilled talent training channel that connects middle and high school undergraduate and graduate programs on this basis. From enterprise employee training to national demonstration vocational colleges, and then to the country's first applied technology university and professional master's authorized unit, we always adhere to resonance with industrial development. This training system provides replicable and promotable practical samples for the construction of China's modern vocational education system. Reporter: In the process of sinicizing Germany's "rigid" system that emphasizes standards and processes, how can schools inject "flexible" wisdom that emphasizes adaptation and transformation? Guan Zhiwei: "Rigidity" is our adherence to rigorous standards. The talent cultivation plan, curriculum standards, and practical teaching norms are strictly aligned with the enterprise's technical standards. For example, we adhere to a 4-year continuous engineering practice education and collaborate with industry leaders to develop professional standards. Flexibility is reflected in our agility in dynamically responding to industrial changes. At the professional level, we have established a "micro specialty" mechanism to meet the demand for applied talents in emerging fields such as intelligent manufacturing and intelligent connected new energy vehicles. Through joint training between schools and enterprises, modular courses are quickly offered; At the curriculum level, the professional core course group is based on the goal of cultivating core competencies, while the professional characteristic direction course group adopts an elective mode of school enterprise collaborative construction. This mechanism endows students with creativity and adaptability to cope with uncertainty. Reporter: The wave of artificial intelligence and digitization is reshaping the global manufacturing industry. How can schools ensure that education does not fall behind the explosive iteration of technology? How to keep the curriculum system "dynamically updated"? Guan Zhiwei: We have internalized "dynamic updates" as the fundamental mechanism of the talent cultivation system. Firstly, there is the "systematic restructuring and agile iteration" of the talent development plan. We implement a three-year major overhaul and annual fine-tuning, which is reflected in our talent development plan, including general courses on artificial intelligence, professional courses on typical application scenarios of artificial intelligence, and practical courses on artificial intelligence. Secondly, the construction of course content relies on the "closed loop of real scene data". We promote teachers to go deep into the front line of the industry, transform real problems of enterprises into teaching resources, and have built a dynamic case library covering 10 key industrial chains in Tianjin, including 732 industry practice cases. Once again, empowering "immersive learning" with digital technology, widely applying digital twins, VR and other technologies, constructing complex system digital teaching models, allowing students to safely conduct high difficulty training in a virtual environment, and then verify it on physical devices. Reporter: In what aspects has the model formed by the school gone beyond simple learning and demonstrated a unique "Chinese temperament"? Guan Zhiwei: I think it mainly manifests in the following three aspects. One is to focus on integrating the spirit of craftsmanship, engineering ethics, and other aspects into the entire process. Establishing labor and aesthetic education courses that integrate with professional education, building "labor education workshops", inviting skilled craftsmen from major countries to campus, and cultivating the character of "perseverance, focus, and excellence" in real industrial labor. The second is a sustainable innovation mechanism that deeply integrates industry and education. We not only allow students to "enter enterprises", but also bring "real problems" and "real projects" of enterprises into the campus. For example, the cooperation with Blue Arrow Aerospace started with undertaking the rocket pipeline measurement project and gradually upgraded to jointly building the "Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Innovation Center". The jointly developed "Thrust Chamber Nozzle Laser Welding Automatic Visual Calibration and Welding Technology" solved the bottleneck of enterprise production capacity and increased efficiency by three times. The third is the response speed towards rapid industrial transformation. China's vast industrial scale and rapid technological upgrading provide us with rich "experimental fields," "sample libraries," and "application scenarios. This rapid response capability also to some extent solves the "lag" problem that the German model may encounter when dealing with explosive technological iterations. Reporter: The so-called "German model" has made many developing countries "hesitant" due to its high requirements for industrial environment and social consensus. Does school practice provide a more adaptable path? Guan Zhiwei: Based on the 40 year accumulation of the essence of the "dual system" and the inheritance of craftsmanship spirit, the school has gradually formed a set of "decomposable, reconfigurable, and exportable" models. It is not a simple mode transfer, but provides a "menu style" cooperation plan: it can be the construction of a complete professional system, or the co construction of individual course ability modules, teacher training, or practical training platforms. For example, at the Luban Workshop in Nigeria, we innovatively adopt a distributed architecture of "one workshop, two centers, and one base" (academic center, enterprise training center, off campus training base), and deeply collaborate with Abuja University and China Civil Engineering Group Nigeria Company. We have jointly developed 9 international courses and 28 bilingual textbooks, trained 441 students in academic education, and achieved the closed-loop integration of the "teaching chain" and "production chain" in the local area. The Nigerian university stated, "The workshop has provided crucial talent support for the development of Nigeria's industry." (Xinhua News Agency) Interviewee profile: Guan Zhiwei, Professor, PhD, Vice President of Tianjin Sino German University of Applied Sciences. Member of the 8th China Association of Higher Education, Vice Chairman of the Teaching Guidance Committee for the National Automotive Vocational Education Industry, and Chairman of the Tianjin Society of Automotive Engineering.