On October 22, 2025, the celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the joint establishment of Hefei University（HFU） by China and Germany, as well as the 10th anniversary of the dual-system “Continental Class” program was held at Hefei University. Luo Yunfeng, Mayor of Hefei City, Wang Xiaoji, General Manager of Continental Tires (China) Co., Ltd., and HFU principals attended the event, who jointly signed the agreement and unveiled the plaque for the Continental Tires Academy.
Wu Pingchuan Chair of the University Council stated, the “Continental Class” is a model of university-enterprise collaboration and industry-education integration, and the establishment of the “Continental Tires Academy” marks a new achievement in the 40-year Sino-German partnership at HFU, a major milestone in the ten-year development of the “Continental Class,” as well as a new step forward in Sino-German industry-education integration.
Ren Yong, President of HFU, delivered a report on the development of the “Continental Class.” He stated, over the past decade, the “Continental Class” has continuously improved its dual-education training system and deepened the integration of education-enterprise practice with remarkable results, so on this foundation, HFU will further deepen reforms to promote the high-quality development of the “Continental Tires Academy”.
Wang Xiaoji stated, the rapid growth of Continental Tires has benefited from the HFU talents cultivated through the dual-system program: more than 200 students from ten cohorts have joined the Continental Class, with over 40 graduates from six cohorts becoming core members of the Continental Tires team, which reflects the achievements of university-enterprise cooperation and success of the Sino-German dual-system education.
Luo Yunfeng emphasized, Hefei University stands as a successful model of Sino-German cooperation in such fields as scientific and technological innovation, industrial cultivation, and cultural exchanges, and the establishment of the Continental Tires Academy marks a new stage in HFU’s partnership with German universities, and Hefei Municipal Government will, as always, support Hefei University and Sino-German cooperation, contributing to the development of a high-level application-oriented university.
In 2016, China’s first dual-education undergraduate program—the “Continental Class” (Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation)—was launched at Hefei University, pioneering a new talent cultivation model featuring government-university-enterprise-Germany collaboration. Looking ahead, the University will take advantage of the “Continental Tires Academy” as a platform to explore dual-education Master’s programs in such key fields as new energy vehicles and intelligent connected systems, upgrading cooperation from project-based connections to platform-based collaboration, and cultivating high-level applied talents with technical expertise, practical skills, and a global perspective.
