On January 8, SJTU Paris Elite Institute of Technology held a corporate-academic collaboration exchange meeting with Saint-Gobain, a globally renowned materials company. Discussions centered on talent development, scientific research cooperation, and internship programs, laying the groundwork for deepening future collaboration. Attendees included Alain ZANOLI, Vice President of Innovation for Asia at Saint-Gobain; Li Li, Director of Human Resources; Zhu Jia, Data Scientist and CIT Team Leader; Zied MOUMNI, French Dean of SPEIT; Zhong Shengyi, Vice Dean of SPEIT; Wang Shaobo, Dean's Assistant of SPEIT; and Hamza BOUKILI, Mathematics Teacher.
During the meeting, Wang Shaobo introduced SPEIT's distinctive Sino-French integrated engineering education model. He emphasized that through its “foundation + specialization + practice” training system and deep industry partnerships, SPEIT is committed to cultivating outstanding engineers with international competitiveness. Currently, SPEIT has established long-term collaborations with multiple high-quality enterprises, continuously advancing industry-academia-research integration through co-developed curricula, joint mentoring, and internship programs.
Alain ZANOLI then outlined Saint-Gobain's strategic layout and development direction in China. He noted that Saint-Gobain operates over 60 production bases across China, with its research center in Shanghai serving as a key innovation hub for the Asia-Pacific region, continuously driving research and innovation in green building, new energy materials, robotic components, and other fields. Alain emphasized that Saint-Gobain places high importance on university partnerships and looks forward to collaborating with the college on cutting-edge initiatives including new material R&D, digital transformation, and carbon neutrality, aiming to establish a long-term industry-academia mechanism.
During the discussion session, participants engaged in in-depth exchanges on key areas for future collaboration and reached multiple consensus points. These include Saint-Gobain providing internship positions and corporate project opportunities for students, jointly developing courses and conducting research collaborations in fields such as artificial intelligence and materials science, and supporting the establishment of SPEIT's Corporate Advisory Board. Together, they will build an integrated talent development ecosystem that combines industry, academia, research, and application.
In his concluding remarks, Zied MOUMNI emphasized that SPEIT remains committed to cultivating outstanding engineers with international perspectives, engineering expertise, and innovative capabilities. Collaborating with industry leaders like Saint-Gobain will provide students with broader development platforms while supplying enterprises with more high-caliber talent suited for future growth. Representatives from Saint-Gobain also expressed their eagerness to expedite the implementation of specific projects, achieving mutual benefits for both the university and the company. Moving forward, both parties will establish a regular communication mechanism to progressively implement multi-dimensional cooperation initiatives.
The successful convening of this exchange meeting marks a substantive advancement in the collaboration between SPEIT and Saint-Gobain. Moving forward, SPEIT will continue to deepen partnerships with leading domestic and international enterprises, continuously expanding the breadth and depth of university-industry collaborative education to contribute to the cultivation of outstanding engineers for the future.