“What attracts me most is that this program combines localized learning with the opportunity to pursue further studies in Germany.” At the end of last year, the Hainan Free Trade Port officially launched its island-wide customs closure operation. Hainan Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (hereinafter referred to as “Hainan Bielefeld University”), located in western Hainan Island, immediately held its first campus open day after the closure. Jing Yujuan, a 2024 student majoring in Computer Science and Technology, shared her feelings at the open day. The event attracted hundreds of high school students from two local middle schools to visit the university.
As the first overseas university to operate independently in China, Hainan University of Applied Sciences is attempting to provide students with education based on the standards of German universities of applied sciences, cultivating high-level, innovative, and interdisciplinary talents with an international perspective.
This seamless integration of "local roots" and "global connectivity" is a vivid example of Hainan's efforts to promote the "repatriation of overseas education consumption" as proposed in the "15th Five-Year Plan" recommendations. It is also the core of Hainan University of Science and Technology's exploration of a "localized transplantation and innovation" education model.
Localized Classrooms, Global Standards: "Practice-Embedded" Teaching Enables Knowledge to Grow in Real-World Scenarios
"A big reason I chose this program was because I liked the 'practical embedded systems' teaching model," said Li Xuyuxin, a 2024 student at Hainan University of Science and Technology. She added that participating in practical projects in enterprises while learning the theory helps her better understand the course content, "instead of just staying at the level of books."
This teaching model is the core of the school's educational philosophy. Zeng Weilu, Party Secretary and Vice President of Hainan University of Science and Technology, emphasized: "We are not simply copying and pasting, but rather carrying out high-standard localization and innovation." He explained that starting from the second year, students will enter partner companies each semester for 8-10 weeks of in-depth on-the-job training, "allowing students to continuously hone their skills in real project scenarios."
Zeng Weilu stated that this training model directly aligns with the industrial needs of the Hainan Free Trade Port. The undergraduate programs offered by the university include key areas such as Computer Science and Technology and Logistics Engineering. This can provide Hainan Free Trade Port with targeted application-oriented talents, quickly filling talent gaps in fields such as information technology, port and shipping logistics, and advanced manufacturing. Through university-enterprise cooperation and other forms, it can also contribute to industrial transformation and upgrading.
Kamran Aziz, a foreign faculty member at Hainan University of Science and Technology, said, “In our teaching, we adhere to a curriculum design oriented towards industry needs. Each semester, we dynamically update practical teaching content through enterprise cases, real datasets, and project-based tasks that align with the current state of the industry. At the same time, we continuously track major policy milestones, especially after the island-wide customs closure on December 18, 2025. We will transform these into teaching scenarios such as cross-border e-commerce processes, smart logistics, compliant data management, and cybersecurity risk prevention, and integrate them into our actual teaching.”
A diverse platform for intellectual exchange: International faculty brings more than just language.
At Hainan University of Science and Technology, the all-English or bilingual (Chinese and German) teaching environment is the first international experience students perceive. For Tan Chang, a senior high school student from Yangpu Foreign Language School who came to visit, this was undoubtedly a completely new experience. She said, "What I remember most is feeling the challenge to my English ability in an all-English teaching environment."
A deeper level of internationalization is achieved through an international faculty team rooted in Hainan. The favorable policies implemented by the Hainan Free Trade Port provided crucial support for the formation of this team, enabling the school to conduct precise recruitment and successfully attract many experienced teachers. By providing supporting apartments and assisting in integrating into local life, the school ensures that foreign teachers not only come but also stay.
“Currently, foreign teachers account for 20% of the faculty, and this proportion will be increased to over 50% in the future. These teachers not only bring their own experience, but more importantly, they will deeply embed logical, practical, and cross-cultural collaborative thinking into daily teaching and culture,” Zeng Weilu said.
Dirk Klann, a German lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley in Hainan, has long been engaged in aviation research. The policies and locational advantages of the Hainan Free Trade Port provide a unique setting for his teaching and research. "The local airport and logistics hub can serve as a real-world platform for our research on low-altitude economy and multimodal transport, making research and teaching tangible and concrete, rather than just theoretical," he said.
Rooted in the Free Trade Port, Dynamically Immersed: Providing Students with a Clear Path to the World
On campus, a "Sino-German Friendship Bridge" connects two teaching buildings. Ma Junzhe, a 2024 student majoring in Computer Science and Technology at Hainan University of Science and Technology, said in an interview: "While completing our undergraduate studies, we also need to participate in internship projects, which not only allows me to learn theory but also improves my engineering practice skills. In addition, I will be going to the main campus in Germany for another year to gain a deeper understanding of the German academic environment, which will be very helpful for my future development."
Hainan University of Science and Technology has built a continuous "interchange loop" through its systematic "Spring, Summer, and Autumn School" program. "Our internationalization is dynamic and immersive," Zeng Weilu explained. "Students can team up with visiting German students in Hainan to complete projects, go to Germany for immersive language and cultural learning, or take short-term internships at German partner companies. This short-cycle, high-frequency interaction constitutes a complete experience chain."
With the Hainan Free Trade Port officially commencing full island-wide customs operations, the convenience of connectivity will be further highlighted, and students have high expectations for this. "After the customs closure, thanks to policy advantages, we can easily access international companies' technology projects through Hainan as a window," said Ma Junzhe.
Zeng Weilu believes that from the school name stone engraved with Su Dongpo's calligraphy to the buildings that embody modern German concepts, Hainan University of Science and Technology not only carries the Chinese cultural heritage but also witnesses the modern exploration of Sino-German education: allowing international educational resources to take root in Hainan while maintaining smooth connections with the global network, providing students with a clear path to be rooted in the local area and reach the world.
Intern Liu Yuqi, reporter Ren Mingchao from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network. Source: China Youth Daily
January 12, 2026, Page 1
