International Grand Event Unveils Talent Cultivation Models for Intelligent Manufacturing
Last Friday, the "2025 World Intelligent Manufacturing Conference – Intelligent Manufacturing Talent Forum" was successfully held at the Nanjing International Expo Conference Center.
The forum was held during the "2025 World Intelligent Manufacturing Conference". More than 200 guests including experts, scholars, entrepreneurs, and technical backbones in the field of intelligent manufacturing attended the event to exchange and discuss the training paths and model innovations of intelligent manufacturing talents.
Ms. Ying Liang, Secretary-General of the International Coalition of Intelligent Manufacturing, attended the conference and delivered a speech. The event invited distinguished experts such as Professor Peigen Li, Fellow of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor Ömer Sahin Ganiyusufoglu, Fellow of Acatech, Consultant Professor of Tongji University, Professor Zhe Lyu, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and Professor of Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Dr. Pei Huang, Member of the National Intelligent Manufacturing Expert Committee and e-works CEO, Ms. Zhenzhen Ni, Managing Director of GSP Automotive Group, and Mr. Shubo Yi, Director of University-Enterprise Cooperation of Phoenix Contact (China) to give wonderful reports and exchanges. Guests including Mr. Bin Wen, Deputy General Manager of VDMA Beijing Representative Office, and Mr. Chunfeng Wang, Dean of the School of Intelligent Manufacturing at Nanjing Vocational College of Information Technology, were also invited to attend the conference.
Ms. Ying Liang stated in her enthusiastic speech that intelligent manufacturing has become the core driving force for the transformation and upgrading of the global manufacturing industry. It has not only reconstructed production methods but also put forward new requirements for the talent structure. Talent is the most precious resource for intelligent manufacturing and the foundation for us to face the future together. To this end, the International Coalition of Intelligent Manufacturing has established a Talent Working Group to promote the sharing of education and training resources and transnational project cooperation. She hoped that the participating guests would conduct in-depth discussions on the training paths and model innovations of intelligent manufacturing talents, contributing wisdom and strength to promoting the high-quality development of the global manufacturing industry.
Professor Peigen Li, Fellow of Chinese Academy of Engineering delivered an excellent speech themed "Several Key Awareness Required for High-End Talents in Intelligent Manufacturing". Centering on three core dimensions—people-oriented awareness, data awareness, and innovation awareness—Academician Li deeply explained the key qualities that high-end intelligent manufacturing talents should possess. He pointed out that smart factories are data-driven, and the operation of core systems such as PLM, MES, CRM, and ERP in enterprises cannot do without data support. Academician Li emphasized that for high-end talents in intelligent manufacturing, vision and awareness are more important.
Professor Ömer Sahin Ganiyusufoglu, Fellow of Acatech and Consultant Professor of Tongji University gave a speech themed "Development and Current Situation of Intelligent Manufacturing in Germany and Talent Cultivation". Taking the automobile production line as the entry point, Academician Ge deeply analyzed the evolution process of automobile industry engines and the future production methods of automobiles equipped with different power engines. In addition, he detailed Germany's two major talent training models—vocational education and applied research—and analyzed the development characteristics of Germany's deep cultivation in traditional industry and China's focus on the digital industry. He emphasized that China and Germany complement each other in industries and capabilities, making them a "golden partner". 
Professor Zhe Lyu, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and Professor of Suzhou University of Science and Technology shared his insights on "Research on Industry-University-Research Practice of Intelligent Manufacturing Talents". He built an industry-university-research collaborative platform, constructed a distinctive talent training model integrating production and education, and formed an interdisciplinary team to tackle core technologies, delivering practical talents suitable for industrial development to the field of intelligent manufacturing.
Dr. Pei Huang, Member of the National Intelligent Manufacturing Expert Committee and e-work CEO s, gave a speech themed "Exploration and Practice in Intelligent Manufacturing Talent Training". Dr. Huang analyzed the approaches and difficulties in intelligent manufacturing talent training, explained the overall structure of the intelligent manufacturing talent system from four dimensions—leading talents, promotion talents, application talents, and skilled talents—and put forward thoughts and suggestions on the talent training model of intelligent manufacturing in universities. He said that to promote intelligent manufacturing, enterprises need leading talents who can steer the direction and strategy, promotion talents who understand business needs and ensure project implementation, application talents proficient in specific business areas, and skilled talents who can operate production equipment and systems proficiently.
Ms. Zhenzhen Ni, Managing Director of GSP Automotive Group, introduced the way of intelligent manufacturing talent team building in GSP. She analyzed the talent needs of enterprises in the field of intelligent manufacturing and systematically shared the construction ideas and practical paths of Guan Sheng's intelligent manufacturing talent training system from three dimensions: operation level, application level, and strategic level. She said that Guan Sheng's vision for intelligent manufacturing talent training is to form a hierarchical manufacturing talent training system for digital transformation and upgrading based on top-level architecture, middle-level implementation, and grass-roots operation. 
Mr. Shubo Yi, Director of University-Enterprise Cooperation of Phoenix Contact (China) shared their practice of intelligent manufacturing and integrating production and education. Phoenix Contact has constructed nine cooperation models for the integration of production and education, specifically including major co-construction, teacher team co-construction, base co-construction, scientific research co-creation, international exchange, academic competitions etc. He emphasized that for the integration of production and education, a single tree cannot make a forest; we believe in the power of the ecosystem. 
In the high-end dialogue session, Dr. Pei Huang served as the host and discussed with Professor Zhe Lyu, Mr. Chunfeng Wang, Ms. Zhenzhen Ni, and Mr. Shubo Yi on questions such as "How can manufacturing enterprises build a talent cultivation system for intelligent manufacturing?" and "How should universities and vocational schools position themselves to promote the cultivation of intelligent manufacturing talents and meet the multi-level talent demands?" etc. They shared their perspectives from different angles, which strongly resonated with the audiences.
High-end Dialogue
This forum concluded successfully. It revealed the future development direction of intelligent manufacturing and the cultivation paths for intelligent manufacturing talents. After years of development, China has made remarkable achievements in building industrial talent teams, but there are still prominent problems such as a shortage of leading talents and high-quality talents, as well as the coexistence of structural surplus and shortage. To further promote the transformation and upgrading of intelligent manufacturing, there is an urgent need to cultivate a large number of innovative talents. Both the training and the ecosystem require the joint cooperation of various parties. e-works is also looking forward to in-depth cooperation with all sectors in talent training and ecological cooperation in the future.
Ms. Ying Liang, Secretary-General of the International Coalition of Intelligent Manufacturing, attended the conference and delivered a speech. The event invited distinguished experts such as Professor Peigen Li, Fellow of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor Ömer Sahin Ganiyusufoglu, Fellow of Acatech, Consultant Professor of Tongji University, Professor Zhe Lyu, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and Professor of Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Dr. Pei Huang, Member of the National Intelligent Manufacturing Expert Committee and e-works CEO, Ms. Zhenzhen Ni, Managing Director of GSP Automotive Group, and Mr. Shubo Yi, Director of University-Enterprise Cooperation of Phoenix Contact (China) to give wonderful reports and exchanges. Guests including Mr. Bin Wen, Deputy General Manager of VDMA Beijing Representative Office, and Mr. Chunfeng Wang, Dean of the School of Intelligent Manufacturing at Nanjing Vocational College of Information Technology, were also invited to attend the conference.
Ms. Ying Liang stated in her enthusiastic speech that intelligent manufacturing has become the core driving force for the transformation and upgrading of the global manufacturing industry. It has not only reconstructed production methods but also put forward new requirements for the talent structure. Talent is the most precious resource for intelligent manufacturing and the foundation for us to face the future together. To this end, the International Coalition of Intelligent Manufacturing has established a Talent Working Group to promote the sharing of education and training resources and transnational project cooperation. She hoped that the participating guests would conduct in-depth discussions on the training paths and model innovations of intelligent manufacturing talents, contributing wisdom and strength to promoting the high-quality development of the global manufacturing industry.
Professor Peigen Li, Fellow of Chinese Academy of Engineering delivered an excellent speech themed "Several Key Awareness Required for High-End Talents in Intelligent Manufacturing". Centering on three core dimensions—people-oriented awareness, data awareness, and innovation awareness—Academician Li deeply explained the key qualities that high-end intelligent manufacturing talents should possess. He pointed out that smart factories are data-driven, and the operation of core systems such as PLM, MES, CRM, and ERP in enterprises cannot do without data support. Academician Li emphasized that for high-end talents in intelligent manufacturing, vision and awareness are more important.
Professor Ömer Sahin Ganiyusufoglu, Fellow of Acatech and Consultant Professor of Tongji University gave a speech themed "Development and Current Situation of Intelligent Manufacturing in Germany and Talent Cultivation". Taking the automobile production line as the entry point, Academician Ge deeply analyzed the evolution process of automobile industry engines and the future production methods of automobiles equipped with different power engines. In addition, he detailed Germany's two major talent training models—vocational education and applied research—and analyzed the development characteristics of Germany's deep cultivation in traditional industry and China's focus on the digital industry. He emphasized that China and Germany complement each other in industries and capabilities, making them a "golden partner".
Professor Zhe Lyu, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and Professor of Suzhou University of Science and Technology shared his insights on "Research on Industry-University-Research Practice of Intelligent Manufacturing Talents". He built an industry-university-research collaborative platform, constructed a distinctive talent training model integrating production and education, and formed an interdisciplinary team to tackle core technologies, delivering practical talents suitable for industrial development to the field of intelligent manufacturing.
Dr. Pei Huang, Member of the National Intelligent Manufacturing Expert Committee and e-work CEO s, gave a speech themed "Exploration and Practice in Intelligent Manufacturing Talent Training". Dr. Huang analyzed the approaches and difficulties in intelligent manufacturing talent training, explained the overall structure of the intelligent manufacturing talent system from four dimensions—leading talents, promotion talents, application talents, and skilled talents—and put forward thoughts and suggestions on the talent training model of intelligent manufacturing in universities. He said that to promote intelligent manufacturing, enterprises need leading talents who can steer the direction and strategy, promotion talents who understand business needs and ensure project implementation, application talents proficient in specific business areas, and skilled talents who can operate production equipment and systems proficiently.
Ms. Zhenzhen Ni, Managing Director of GSP Automotive Group, introduced the way of intelligent manufacturing talent team building in GSP. She analyzed the talent needs of enterprises in the field of intelligent manufacturing and systematically shared the construction ideas and practical paths of Guan Sheng's intelligent manufacturing talent training system from three dimensions: operation level, application level, and strategic level. She said that Guan Sheng's vision for intelligent manufacturing talent training is to form a hierarchical manufacturing talent training system for digital transformation and upgrading based on top-level architecture, middle-level implementation, and grass-roots operation.
Mr. Shubo Yi, Director of University-Enterprise Cooperation of Phoenix Contact (China) shared their practice of intelligent manufacturing and integrating production and education. Phoenix Contact has constructed nine cooperation models for the integration of production and education, specifically including major co-construction, teacher team co-construction, base co-construction, scientific research co-creation, international exchange, academic competitions etc. He emphasized that for the integration of production and education, a single tree cannot make a forest; we believe in the power of the ecosystem.
In the high-end dialogue session, Dr. Pei Huang served as the host and discussed with Professor Zhe Lyu, Mr. Chunfeng Wang, Ms. Zhenzhen Ni, and Mr. Shubo Yi on questions such as "How can manufacturing enterprises build a talent cultivation system for intelligent manufacturing?" and "How should universities and vocational schools position themselves to promote the cultivation of intelligent manufacturing talents and meet the multi-level talent demands?" etc. They shared their perspectives from different angles, which strongly resonated with the audiences.
High-end Dialogue
This forum concluded successfully. It revealed the future development direction of intelligent manufacturing and the cultivation paths for intelligent manufacturing talents. After years of development, China has made remarkable achievements in building industrial talent teams, but there are still prominent problems such as a shortage of leading talents and high-quality talents, as well as the coexistence of structural surplus and shortage. To further promote the transformation and upgrading of intelligent manufacturing, there is an urgent need to cultivate a large number of innovative talents. Both the training and the ecosystem require the joint cooperation of various parties. e-works is also looking forward to in-depth cooperation with all sectors in talent training and ecological cooperation in the future.
