ITT Launches Signature Engineering Education Program in China

Wednesday, 17 Dec 2014

ITT China launches initiative focused on fostering local engineering talent and spurring indigenous innovation

BEIJING, Dec. 17, 2014 – ITT Corporation (NYSE: ITT) recently completed the inaugural year of the ITT Golden Gear Academy, a program dedicated to offering educational opportunities to promising engineering and mechanics students in China. Developed in cooperation with local partners Science and Technology Daily and TusPark Co.Ltd, the program launched in September, bringing together senior professors, industry experts and elite students with the goal of cultivating China’s engineering technology talent and enhancing the competitiveness of the industry.

"As a diversified leading manufacturer, engineering is at the heart of what we do at ITT and is central to our heritage," said Jenny Schiavone, vice president and chief communications officer for ITT. "Our commitment to China is also a key part of our heritage because we believe that there is huge potential for engineering to help serve the needs of the rising middle class and enhance environmental sustainability. That is why a cornerstone of our corporate citizenship efforts is cultivating talented people for this important profession."

The program gave 45 elite engineering and manufacturing students from top universities in Beijing the opportunity to attend courses conducted by university professors, industry experts and ITT senior executives. The students also had the chance to team up to participate in an Innovation Competition in which they could apply their knowledge to real-life industry scenarios. This year 32 students from universities in Beijing received "ITT Golden Gear Academy" certificates. Of those, 17 outstanding students were awarded the "ITT Golden Gear Academy – Distinguished Future Engineer" scholarship. The students are also eligible to apply for an internship placement with ITT.

"At ITT, we believe it is our responsibility to help find and develop potential talent in the manufacturing and engineering industry," said Howard Luo, Executive Director for ITT in China. "The ITT Golden Gear Academy is an example of integrating education and training in order to promote the development of future engineers in China. Through programs like this, we will continue to support the growth and sustainable development of the manufacturing and engineering industries in China."

Jing Yang, the League Secretary of Science and Technology Daily, said, "China is transforming the role that science and technology play in its development and is investing in the future by actively promoting innovation in the industry. The ITT Golden Gear Academy offers engineering students an opportunity to learn about global science and technology developments from leading experts in the industry in order to develop their abilities."

Quanhong Shen, General Manager at TusPark Co. Ltd said, "Science, technology and education are the core focus of Tuspark. We seek to incubate science and technology companies in order to further the industry as a whole and talent cultivation plays an integral role in that. The ITT Golden Gear Academy that we supported in partnership with ITT and Science and Technology Daily aims to cultivate more innovative talents in engineering, therefore contributing to the development of the engineering industry in China."