Dr. Jari Grosse-Ruyken, President of Hainan Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, and Ms. Zhang Qiao, Head of the University-Industry Cooperation Department, together with 12 students, visited Weidmüller’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Shanghai on Wednesday and participate in the company’s Open Day event.
This event is a significant part of Hainan Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences’ “Practice-Integrated” talent development model, designed to help students understand business operations, solve real-world problems, and enhance practical skills, laying a solid foundation for future internships and career development.
Weidmüller is a leading global company in the field of electrical connectivity technology. Mr. Lance Zhao, Executive Vice President of Weidmüller Asia Pacific, warmly welcomed the president and students from Hainan Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and shared Weidmüller’s development journey in China. He mentioned that Weidmüller’s growth in the Chinese market has been full of both challenges and opportunities.
Unlike the German market, the Chinese market demands faster response times and higher innovation capabilities. Through persistent efforts, Weidmüller’s China division has become a benchmark in the Asia-Pacific region, widely recognized for its efficient and high-quality products and services.
In his speech, President. Jari Grosse-Ruyken stated that the university shares the same development goals as Weidmüller China: pursuing fast and high-quality growth. He specifically introduced the university’s newly launched Industrial Engineering program, emphasizing that the program aims to cultivate well-rounded talent who possess both technical knowledge and management skills to meet the demand for high-quality talent in modern enterprises.
Dr. Grosse-Ruyken also highlighted the university’s “Practice-Integrated” talent cultivation model and small-class teaching approach, focusing on the integration of theory and practice. The university is committed to providing students with high-quality educational resources and practical opportunities. Additionally, the upcoming permanent campus in Yangpu will become an important talent development base for future business growth in Hainan.
Both parties agreed that young students are the key to future development. Through university-industry cooperation, students can better apply theoretical knowledge to practice and prepare for future career development.
The core of the Open Day event was the “Entrepreneurship Hero Contest” project, where Weidmüller sent four senior experts as mentors to guide students in creating project proposals. The students, under the guidance of the mentors, actively participated in discussions, proposed innovative ideas, and worked together in teams to complete the project proposals and presentations.
During the project, students not only learned the processes involved in launching a business project but also gained a deeper understanding of the challenges and difficulties faced by companies in actual operations. Through teamwork, they enhanced their problem-solving abilities as well as communication and collaboration skills. Participating students expressed that the experience was highly beneficial, broadening their horizons and providing valuable practical experience for their future careers.
Weidmüller’s project mentors highly praised the students for their active participation and outstanding performance. “ Thanks to the students’ interest in our activity, and their performance was really impressive which gave us a strong confidence in the promising success of them and BiUH’s practice-integrated education model,” they remarked.
The Open Day event concluded in a lively atmosphere. Students not only deepened their understanding of theoretical knowledge but also developed their ability to solve complex problems through hands-on experience with business operations.
Looking ahead, Hainan Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Weidmüller will continue to deepen their collaboration, jointly fostering more high-quality, well-rounded talent, and injecting new vitality into the industry’s development.
About Weidmüller
Weidmüller Interface GmbH & Co. KG is a German company in the field of Electromechanics. The company’s headquarters is in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia.
The company has production facilities, sales companies and representatives in 80 countries. In the 2019 financial year, Weidmüller generated sales of 830 million euros. The company employs around 5,000 people worldwide. With its products, Weidmüller is mainly active in mechanical engineering, the process industry, energy generation and renewable energies, transport technology, building infrastructure and equipment manufacturery.
Since 2013, the company has been dealing with the topic of Industry 4.0. Weidmüller is involved in the Leading-Edge Cluster it’s OWL as well as numerous other research collaborations, such as the Robotation Academy Foshan, Smart Factory KL and the Centrum Industrial IT in Lemgo.
