The UPV and Geely step up their strategic partnership

The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the Chinese technology and automotive group Geely have agreed to move towards signing a framework agreement for collaboration in training, artificial intelligence and innovation, which will enable the development of new joint initiatives between the UPV and two strategic divisions of the group: Geely Technology and Geely Education.

The agreement was announced by the Rector of the UPV, José E. Capilla, during his visit to Geely's global headquarters in Hangzhou, at a meeting also attended by the Regional Minister for Education, Culture and Universities, María del Carmen Ortí Ferre, and which was attended by three vice-presidents of Geely: Devin Dan Lu, CEO of Geely Group for Talent Development; Tony Pan, Senior Vice-President and Head of Human Resources at Geely Holding Group; and Alex Nan, Vice-President of Geely Automobile Group.

For the Rector of the UPV, the significance of the meeting highlights both parties' commitment to rapidly advancing their collaboration. Capilla noted that this was his second visit to Geely's headquarters and pointed out that, compared to the first meeting, "we are now in a completely different situation".

"We can announce that we are set to sign a framework agreement to work with Geely Technology and Geely Education, two key divisions of this multinational," the Rector emphasised.

Artificial intelligence and training for the industry of the future

The future agreement will be wide-ranging and will enable the development of various areas of collaboration. These include joint training programmes, the updating and transformation of curricula, bespoke training, internships and the incorporation of technologies and knowledge related to artificial intelligence.

One of the priority areas will be precisely the application of artificial intelligence to both manufacturing processes and the training programmes themselves. The collaboration will enable an analysis of how to incorporate experiences and technologies already being developed and used in China into the UPV's academic programmes.

"Geely is a modern, cutting-edge company. It is demonstrating this through all the developments it is undertaking and the investments it is making," said Capilla.

The agreement also opens the door for Geely to outline specific technological challenges to UPV research staff and groups, based on which joint research and innovation projects can be developed.

In this regard, during the meeting, the UPV presented its capabilities in research, innovation, and technology transfer, as well as results and patents that have already been applied internationally.

"There may be joint projects on developments that they see as innovation challenges and which lead to patents, as has happened in other cases with the UPV," explained the Rector.

The agreement also provides for the development of new training initiatives aligned with industry needs. Capilla pointed out that discussions have even touched upon the possibility of adapting existing curricula to incorporate artificial intelligence, as well as developing joint training programmes.

The Rector emphasised that this collaboration will have a direct impact on the Valencian Community: "I believe this is great news for the Valencian Community and for all students at the Universitat Politècnica de València".

For her part, the regional minister stressed that "there is a great deal of innovative talent in the Valencian Community. We have start-ups, we have innovation, and we have training resources; this collaboration stems from providing dual training opportunities to both vocational training students and university students."

From Geely to Unitree: the UPV connects its campus with Hangzhou's technology ecosystem.

Following the visit to Geely's global headquarters, the delegation from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the Valencian Regional Government met with Min Zhang, vice-president of Unitree, a technology company specialising in advanced robotics with which the UPV already has a collaboration agreement.

The meeting provided an opportunity to review ongoing lines of work between the two institutions and to explore new opportunities for collaboration in fields such as robotics, artificial intelligence, training, and innovation.

Nearly 400 students in the first academic year at the UPV's campus in China

These corporate agreements are produced at the start of the academic year at the Beihang Valencia Polytechnic Institute (BVPI), the UPV's international campus in Hangzhou, which began its academic year on 7 September with 383 students.

Of the total, 243 students are enrolled on undergraduate programmes and 140 in master's programmes. By country of origin, 306 are from China and 77 from Spain, of whom 37 are on undergraduate programmes and 40 on postgraduate programmes.

The initial academic offering comprises four bachelor's degrees and six master's programmes, all taught entirely in English, as well as doctoral programmes currently under development.

The BVPI is the first school of a Spanish university in China to be registered with the RUCT. It represents a new dimension in the UPV's international strategy, combining teaching, research, innovation and links with the country's business community.