Hunan University Opens PACE Center and becomes program as Fifth University in China

This month at Hunan Changsha, we joined the opening ceremony for its new Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE) Center, to welcome Hunan University to be a PACE University in China. The facility will serve as an important training ground for Chinese automotive industry talent.PACE was introduced in China in 2002. Hunan University is the fifth Chinese university to participate, joining Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, Jilin University and Wuhan University of Technology.

Siemens PLM Software Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Greater China Leo Liang said, “Siemens is pleased to welcome Hunan University to PACE. With the latest digitalization software, Hunan University can now develop a stronger pipeline of engineering and digital manufacturing talent for the automotive industry. Their graduates will be highly trained in the same software that drives smart innovation at 29 of the 30 top automakers around the world.”

Student representatives delivered a speech to show how they are leveraging PACE in their education.”Teamwork globally is improving our ability, it bring us in real world during campus life.”

We visited PACE lab in HNU College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering. Gilbert Chan (Head of Alliance & Channel Partner Management and Development GO PLM Regional Director , Greater China, Siemens PLM Software ) talked with students to find out how they collaborate with other PACE schools and how the program improves their skills.

One student noted: “We have weekly meetings with teammates in other countries like Korea, Italy,US with Skype; through the program, we are not only learning how to use software to do design, but also improving our personal communication skill especially English speaking is improved a lot. Since all of our teammates are from different countries and in different culture, we are seeking final solution to achieve the target per conflicts and different ideas. We are learning and working in real world.”

Students are sharing their experience with NX software with Dora Smith (Global Director of Academic Program, Siemens PLM Software). Dora shared in a welcome speech: “PACE provides a very unique opportunity for you – future engineers – through global competitions. Students on this campus can now gain real-world skills as they collaborate with teammates at schools throughout the world to develop future mobility solutions. The number one thing PACE students tell me they learn through the competition is global collaboration. To close the skills gap and prepare a future workforce for more complex products, that real-world application is critical.”

As a founding partner of PACE, Siemens PLM Software works with GM to identify the most innovative academic institutions like Hunan that teach automotive design and engineering best practices on the latest technology. Siemens provides in-kind software grants to new PACE institutes.

After the welcoming ceremony, Ken Zhou provided an overview of Siemens complete digitalization software.

All five PACE China universities took part in a workshop providing best practices and program updates. In addition to the global PACE competitions, they are piloting PACE China projects.

For more information on PACE, visit www.pacepartners.org. For more information on Siemens global academic program, visit www.siemens.com/plm/academic.