Strategic Initiatives for New Engineering Education in China

The New Engineering Education represents a reformative direction in engineering education, and it is grounded in the evolving needs of China’s strategic development and international competition. This study conducted comprehensive interviews at 15 representative universities in the field of New Engineering Education, aiming to clarify the strategies for New Engineering Education in China and offer valuable insights for its future development. Specifically, this study aims to address the following research questions: (1) What are the core implementation strategies for New Engineering Education in China? (2) How to determine suitable New Engineering Education strategies for different types of universities? (3) Which transformation strategies are most suitable for traditional and emerging engineering fields? Initially, a theoretical model for New Engineering Education was formulated based on the literature. Subsequently, through semi-structured interviews, first-hand data on New Engineering Education strategies in 15 universities were collected. Methods of content analysis were then adopted to process the data to further verify the conceptual model. The findings reveal that discipline integration, discipline derivation, industry-led and discipline-driven approaches are primary pathways for New Engineering Education. In addition, the New Engineering Education pathway has been widely recognized by several universities. The discipline type and institution characteristics significantly determines the chosen strategies (path). Local universities tend to face more limited options in terms of New Engineering Education strategies. © 2025 TEMPUS Publications.