Recently, Talent Work Division of Shanghai Education and Health Work Committee (SEHWC), in collaboration with relevant departments of Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau, screened foreign teachers teaching in universities of Shanghai. Professor Ulrich Schell, a long-term overseas teacher at SDJU KKIP (Kaiserslautern Kolleg für Intelligente Produktion), was successfully selected as one of the Top 10 Renowned Overseas Teachers of Shanghai (2023-2024) for his outstanding teaching achievements and innovative teaching philosophy.
Professor Ulrich Schell has previously served as Dean of Computer Sciences Department, Vice President, and President of Hochschule Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences (HKUAS)successively. Since 2003, he has been actively participating in teaching of cooperative programs between SDJU and HKUAS, serving as a long-term SDJU Renowned Overseas Professor (ROP). He has made significant contributions to the long-term and close cooperative relationship and the profound friendship between the two institutions, over the past two decades.
Professor Ulrich Schell actively facilitated the construction and development of KKIP. In 2015, SDJU began preparations for establishing CDKIP. As a senior professor and HKUAS leader, Professor Schell provided invaluable advice. In 2021, with the approval of the Ministry of Education, CDKIP became the eighth Sino-German cooperatively-run educational institution in China and the second in Shanghai, and was successfully renamed KKIP, opening a new chapter in our university’s cooperation with German university.
Professor Ulrich Schell (center), Hu Sheng (former SDJU President, left), and Li Xiaojun (Vice President) attending The First Meeting of the High-Level German-Chinese Dialogue for Societal and Cultural Exchange at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in 2017
Professor Ulrich Schell has introduced advanced German teaching concepts and methods. Professor Ulrich Schell teaches core courses in mechatronic engineering and electrical engineering and automation at SDJU. His Five-Step Teaching Method, through a teaching model that combines theory and practice, greatly enhances students’ practical skills and innovative thinking. In his teaching, Professor Ulrich Schell focuses on cultivating students’ engineering thinking. The experimental courses he designs are detailed and close to actual engineering applications, allowing students to master cutting-edge technologies through practice. In addition, Professor Ulrich Schell is also committed to innovation of teaching materials and lecture notes. His German lecture notes are ready to be translated into Chinese to better facilitate domestic teaching.
Professor Ulrich Schell conducting group-based physics lab interviews and providing experimental guidance
A series of academic seminars, workshops, and German cultural activities were implemented. Professor Ulrich Schell’s academic seminars and teaching workshops share international leading knowledge and teaching philosophies with faculty and students, incorporating his practical experience in corporate and university, broadening the international perspective of SDJU faculty and students with valuable insights. The German music and wine culture events he proposed have been held three times at our university, allowing participants to learn about German culture amidst music and the sweetness of wine, enhancing cultural exchange.
Professor Ulrich Schell participating and making reporting in the Sino-German International Forum on Talent Development in Intelligent Manufacturing and delivering
In the future, SDJU will continue to implement opening-up strategy and further ROP Program. On the one hand, we will learn from Professor Ulrich Schell’s excellent teaching model and experience, optimize teaching methods and curriculum systems, form a good paradigm for Sino-German cooperative education, and promote it in our university. On the other hand, SDJU will continue to attract more ROPs, strengthen the construction of international courses, and improve quality of international programs.
SDJU will also actively explore in-depth cooperation with domestic and international universities and enterprises to create a better teaching and research environment for world-class educators. By enhancing financial support, optimizing teaching facilities, and improving living conditions, the university aims to attract more outstanding international talents. These efforts will contribute to greater breakthroughs in international talent cultivation and scientific research innovation, further advancing the internationalization of higher education.
