On the afternoon of November 24, the Sino–Pakistan Academy of Excellence for Engineers (hereinafter referred to as the “Academy”), jointly established by Shanghai Electric Group and Shanghai Dianji University, was officially launched. Zhu Zhaokai, Deputy Party Secretary and President of Shanghai Electric Group, and Gong Siyi, Deputy Party Secretary and President of Shanghai Dianji University, attended the launch ceremony and delivered remarks.

The ceremony was held simultaneously in three locations across China and Pakistan, adopting a hybrid online–offline format. As the first international engineer training program under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor framework led by a Chinese enterprise, the Academy will focus on the practical needs of the Thar project. Centered on the “Energy + Electrical Engineering” disciplines, the program will offer customized master’s-level training, implement a dual-supervisor system between university and enterprise, and encourage students to engage in research tackling real-world technical challenges faced by the company, ensuring that learning is applied in practice, and practice strengthens learning. The Academy aims to cultivate multidisciplinary engineers with a global outlook and the skills to solve complex cross-disciplinary problems, while serving as an important platform for China–Pakistan technical and cultural exchange.

In his speech, Zhu Zhaokai noted that amid profound shifts in the global industrial landscape, enterprises increasingly require versatile talents who possess solid theoretical foundations, strong engineering practice, an international vision, and cross-cultural collaboration capabilities. The Academy is a key initiative of the Group to enhance the integration of industry, academia, research, and application, and to build an internationalized talent development system. Leveraging Shanghai Dianji University’s strengths in advanced manufacturing, the Group will expand joint scientific research, practical teaching, and faculty sharing, working together to set a new benchmark for international talent cultivation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Gong Siyi stated that Shanghai Dianji University will position the Academy as a flagship overseas demonstration project, integrating top-tier faculty and instructional resources, maintaining high standards in training programs, teaching quality, and service support, and striving to build a talent bridge for China–Pakistan friendship and technical cooperation.

At the launch ceremony, the nameplate of the Academy was officially unveiled. The Thar project team and Shanghai Dianji University signed a cooperation agreement for the first cohort of the training program via online connection, marking the transition from planning to implementation.