Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University opens Taicang campus

XJTLU officially opens the doors of its Taicang campus, the new home of XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang)

SUZHOU, China, Sept. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As the new academic year approaches, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University unveils its award-winning Taicang campus to students, staff and the public on 5 September. XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang), established in 2019, will be moving to the new campus.

The campus was made possible with help and investment from the local Taicang government and will eventually be able to support up to 10,000 students and 1,200 staff members.

It was designed with entrepreneurialism, industry, interdisciplinarity and the community in mind. The main building has a circular structure linking its magnet-shaped schools, connecting them physically and symbolically.

Professor Stuart Perrin, Associate Principal of XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang), says: "I'm excited about how the campus will bring together staff and students from different schools. Every space is a potential learning space."

Professor Youmin Xi, Executive President of XJTLU, says: "This opening marks the College becoming a bigger part of the Taicang community and the industry-community-university ecosystem."  

In addition to XJTLU's partnership with the local government, the College features industry partners for each school, giving students a unique learning environment and experience.

ECOVACS, a robotic vacuum cleaner company, is one of the College's partners. Liang Zhao, Dean of Research Institute of Innovation Ecology at ECOVACS, believes the industry-supported labs will "provide fertile soil for developing cutting-edge scientific research projects and innovation technologies."

Xiang Ao, manager of Xingwen Zhijiao Company, a branch of partner Haier Group, says the College combines a love of learning with hands-on experience. "When our corporate engineers go to the College to teach, they find that the students actively ask questions, and our engineers actively help them solve their queries."

Additionally, the College arranges site visits and internships for students.

Tianhe Sun, Year Three student in BEng Data Science and Big Data Technology with Contemporary Entrepreneurialism, says: "I secured my second internship thanks to Taicang's Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Hub courses. Learning here is different – we can get real-world experience."

Malaysian student Adrian Heng Hwa Onn, a Year Three student in the same programme, says: "When I first came to XJTLU's SIP campus, I was impressed with the gorgeous architecture and well-equipped facilities. But I'm more excited about studying in Taicang. I mean, who doesn't want to be a part of something new?"