In the Advanced Manufacturing Center, students from the Exquisite Craftsman CNC Club are concentrating on operating CNC machine tools, rushing to produce components for the Durability Fatigue Control Cabinet project of Aiant (Changzhou) Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. Xu Bin, Vice Dean of the School of New Industrialization, keeps moving back and forth among the machines, his eyes fixed on the operation panels in the students’ hands. From time to time he bends down to remind them:“The cutting parameters of this part directly affect machining accuracy. Be sure to check the spindle speed and feed rate carefully against the tolerance range marked on the drawing. Each of these 45 specifications has its own process requirements. After the first piece trial machining, the dimensional inspection must not be taken lightly to avoid batch errors.”
This scene is a vivid reflection of our university’s project-based teaching. By enabling students to participate in the “training ground” of real enterprise projects, tempering their core professional skills through hands-on practice, and truly achieving “learning by doing and innovating while learning”, this has become the most distinctive feature of our university’s education.
Real Combat Training! Enterprise Projects Brought into Practical Classrooms
Since its establishment in April 2025, the Exquisite Craftsman CNC Club has become a core practice base for project-based teaching. From 6 to 8 p.m. every Monday to Friday, the venue is always brightly lit, with students immersed in CNC practical operation, honing their skills and improving their professional abilities.This semester, the club has successively undertaken 4 enterprise projects. Among them, the Aiant Durability Fatigue Control Cabinet project, launched on March 11, requires the processing of more than 130 parts in 45 specifications to be completed within 14 days.
When the task was assigned, all 27 club members stepped up. Each student took charge of two professional drawings and independently completed the entire process: from process planning and CNC programming, to part machining and accuracy inspection. "Be sure to set up tool compensation properly during programming, and pay close attention to subtle changes in cutting force during machining. These are the most essential and practical technical points in actual production." Professor Xu Bin’s professional guidance has enabled students not only to fulfill project requirements but also to master professional industrial standards and understand the practical "know-how" of enterprise operations.Today, real enterprise projects have been deeply integrated into the university’s classroom teaching and talent development system.
At the Shenyang Institute of Technology–Aiant Intelligent Manufacturing Industry College, the university has joined hands with the technical team of Aiant to carefully develop a three-level post competency map: Basic Skills – Specialized Competencies – Comprehensive Application. Traditional courses such as Mechanical Drawing and CNC Machine Tools and Programming have been integrated and upgraded into two modular courses: Machining and Inspection of Automation Equipment Parts and Assembly and Commissioning of Automation Equipment.
Taking real enterprise projects including Aiant’s dual-cell manipulator gripper and automotive seat assembly fixture as teaching carriers, abstract knowledge is integrated into concrete practical operations, making it visible, tangible and applicable for students. Meanwhile, the university has developed new forms of teaching materials such as loose-leaf textbooks and work manuals, embedded with AR assembly animations and troubleshooting micro-videos, making teaching content more industry-aligned and the learning process more vivid and efficient.
Mode Innovation! University-Enterprise Cooperation Builds a New Closed Loop for Talent Cultivation
In terms of teaching mode, the Shenyang Institute of Technology–Aiant Intelligent Manufacturing Industry College has innovatively launched a dual-drive model of "Real Projects + IPD Process". Taking project teams as units, students strictly follow enterprise standard processes and complete the full-process practical operation of "part analysis — process planning — machining and inspection — assembly and commissioning — acceptance and delivery", thus experiencing the real production rhythm of enterprises in an immersive way.
The production task of automotive seat assembly fixtures undertaken on February 12 left a particularly deep impression on the students. They pursued excellence in every link, strictly controlled the technological standards, and finally successfully delivered 11 sets of fixtures, truly experiencing the efficiency requirements and quality standards of enterprise production.
The dual support of practical platforms and faculty teams has made the implementation of project-based teaching more solid and efficient. The productive industrial college (a "factory within the university") co-built by the university and enterprise has introduced real production lines from Aiant and operates in strict accordance with the "5S" standards, truly realizing "training is production" and making every practical operation of students have actual value.
In terms of faculty construction, Aiant has selected senior engineers to serve as industrial mentors, who provide hands-on guidance to students in practical operations. Professional teachers from the university take two-month on-the-job training in enterprises every year, deeply engaging in the frontline of the industry to learn the latest technologies and processes.
The two-way flow of talents between the university and enterprises has built a "double-qualified" teaching team with excellent professional capabilities and rich practical experience. Meanwhile, the university has established a diversified evaluation system of "process performance + project achievements + skill certificates + enterprise evaluation". It integrates the standards of vocational skill certificates such as CNC lathe operation and CNC milling machine operation into the curriculum teaching. These certificates can also be used to replace credits, making the growth of students' abilities visible, tangible and quantifiable.
Skill Boost! Students of Shenyang Institute of Technology Hone Professional Competence in Projects
The in-depth advancement of project-based teaching has greatly benefited students. Through practical training in real enterprise projects, their professional skills and professional literacy have improved rapidly, and they have truly developed solid core competencies to take on responsibilities and accomplish tasks.
Lu Chongxian, a student majoring in Mechanical Design and Manufacturing in Grade 2022, once participated in production tasks at Shenyang Javier Surface Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. and Aiant (Changzhou) Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. Talking about this practical experience, he was full of gains: "I participated in the entire enterprise delivery project from start to finish, and every step was carried out in strict accordance with enterprise standards. Although I stayed up all night, when the finished products passed the enterprise's strict quality inspection and were successfully delivered, I was filled with a strong sense of accomplishment. Now, when I learn professional knowledge, I will take the initiative to connect it with actual production, clearly understand the practical application of each knowledge point in the post, and have a clearer and more firm direction for my future career development."
Guo Junyue, a student majoring in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Grade 2023 who is also a member of the Precision Craftsmanship CNC Club, said: "In the past, when learning CNC programming, I only stayed at the level of textbook examples, which was mostly theoretical. Now, I am actually making parts required by enterprises. With Teacher Xu’s professional guidance, I have thoroughly mastered the core of CNC machining technology. This experience has greatly improved my practical operation speed and processing accuracy, and filled me with confidence in my future employment."
Nowadays, more and more students from our university are polishing their skills and developing real capabilities beside the machine tools and in various projects. This teaching reform, with projects as the link and university-enterprise cooperation as the support, is constantly cultivating high-quality applied talents for industrial development.
Translated by Basic Courses Department
