On October 25th, 2002, “Taking along the top technology, educating cross-century talents
-------Signing Ceremony for education cooperation between Neusoft IIT and IBM” was held in the institute. Neusoft IIT and IBM signed the Cooperative Agreement on Software Talents’ Education and Agreement on Purchasing 3,800 ThinkPad Notebook PC. This signals that Neusoft IIT deeply exploring an innovative IT educational mode, profoundly and successfully created the digital campus and IBM “ThinkPad University” Program.

    We learned at the Signing Ceremony that IBM will still develop a series of educational cooperative programs with Neusoft IIT in the future. Dai Yulin, Vice Mayor of Dalian City, Dr. Liu Jiren, Chairman and President of Neusoft Group, Li Qingping, General Manager, IBM Government and Public Enterprise Development—China, Dr. Wen Tao, Vice president of Neusoft Group and President of Neusoft IIT (Dalian) and Ms Ju Li, general manager of PC Enterprise Department, IBM-China attended the Signing Ceremony.

    Dr. Wen Tao, vice president of Neusoft Group and President of Neusoft IIT (Dalian) said: “ Neusoft IIT insists on ‘Education Creates the Values of Students’ as it’s educational philosophy, stresses that ‘Applying knowledge is more important than knowledge itself.’, and seeks the seamless link of talents training and industry. I firmly believe that our deep cooperation with IBM will definitely have a far-reaching influence on our institute’s related subject construction and talent training. Over more than two year’s development, IBM greatly supported us as Neusoft’s strategic cooperative partner. We cooperated in many aspects in the fields of technique and product. We are looking forward to developing our cooperation with IBM bringing our respective resource advantages into play and applying ourselves to cultivate large quantities of multi-disciplinary IT talents with ‘internationalized, pragmatic and individualized’ quality for China. The institute, as always, will explore and innovate IT educational patterns, and develop in step with the latest technology so as to create a competitive circle for students.

    Li Qingping, General Manager, Government and Public Enterprise Development, IBM—China restated IBM’s long-term promises regarding Chinese education at the Signing Ceremony: “ IBM is the best strategic partner of Chinese universities. It can provide Chinese universities with all-around and customized solutions such as a digital campus, long-distance multimedia teaching, a digital library, high-powered calculation, an university campus network as well as a “ThinkPad University” and so on. IBM sincerely hopes to continue cooperation with the Ministry of Education as well as domestic universities so as to contribute to China’s high-qualified talents’ training and the rapid advancement of Chinese education. IBM will spare no effort to support the innovation and development of public education. IBM’s long-term and successful cooperation with Neusoft IIT is not only an outstanding example but also an absolutely new beginning of cooperation with Chinese universities.

    In addition, IBM and Neusoft IIT signed a Cooperative Agreement on Software Talents’ Education. At the annual meeting of China’s Ministry of Education and IBM regarding university cooperative project held in April, 2002, IBM began its cooperative program on software talent’s education---- developing all-sided cooperation with every model software institute and providing China’s Ministry of Education’s first thirty-five model software institutes as well as IBM’s partner universities with use of IBM’s software product line (WebSphere, DB2, Tivoli and Lotus) at no charge. The software products and solutions, which IBM donated to Neusoft IIT at this time were worth RMB 2 million. The two sides will establish a unique all-around cooperative relationship according to Neusoft IIT’s condition on the following 12 specific aspects: course system construction, teachers’ demonstrative education, specialized technology certificate, teaching platform’s common construction, compiling and publishing textbooks, researching and developing together, scholar’s exchange & visit , awarding students, teachers as well as researchers, experts’ academic speech tours, campus activities on science and technology, practice & job-hunting and technique supportive services.

    The meeting attendees continued on in deep discussion and exchange with countrywide media on difficulties and solutions met in the university informationalization process. IBM’s “two focal points” facing Chinese university informationalization construction was commonly agreed on by the attendees. IBM states that firstly, the campus network serves for campus teaching, which is the basic point different from the company network and government network. Although these kinds of network are similar on many aspects, their using purposes not only lead to their different application and needs but also decide their emphasis, which should be considered when being constructed. Secondly, simply connecting different computers and servers together by using network cables and devices can’t be called a real campus network, because IBM’s purpose of constructing campus network is to maximize efficiency using network function. While the network function must be realized by software to some extent, the organic combination of hardware devices and software is needed. Neusoft IIT has led the way to the top on this aspect in the field of education in China. This advanced digital campus ensures that our institute can combine to the more advanced campus network education and face to face instruction so as to explore and practice an absolutely new education system.

    IBM’s ThinkPad university solution aroused extensive interests and the present audience delivered plenty of recognition towards IBM’s technical strength. IBM’s “ThinkPad university” solution pays great detail to specific needs including “keep the connection of students and school”, “access from every corner of the campus”, “communicate simutaneously” and “low device cost” and shows “ThinkPad university” solution’s superior on the aspects of “leading notebook PC”, “network management summarization”, “ system security summarization” and “curriculum development”. Ms Ju Li, General Manager of PC Enterprise Department, IBM—China said: “ IBM’s ThinkPad university solution completely embodies IBM’s ‘ Ten Basic Principles’ of education: practicality, advancement, dependability, security, flexibility, extensiveness, openness, interlinkage, economy and manageable quality.

    In June, 2001, Neusoft IIT (Nanhai) declared its existence. In August, 2002, the Groundbreaking Ceremony of Neusoft IIT(Nanhai) was held in Dujingyan City, Sichuan Province. It marks that Neusoft IIT’s IT teaching pattern and exploration of three-institute interaction, shared resources and uniform management has taken initial shape. Neusoft IIT (Dalian) and Neusoft IIT (Nanhai) enrolled about 4100 students combined this year. And they continued practicing and exploring the modern “face-to-face & e-Learning”IIT education pattern, developing diploma education of junior college courses and offering, Bachelor degree program and graduate program in the computer field. Students become acclimatized to modern e-Education by using a digital bag ( notebook PC). Dr. Zhang Wei, vice-Dean of Neusoft IIT introduced the constructing process of Neusoft IIT’s digital campus at the meeting. The attendees expressed their sincere support for the institute’s innovative education pattern and talent training system.

    Neusoft IIT integrated IT educational resources from Northeastern University and Neusoft Group as well as international partners in the DLSP on a global scale to successively form an international strategic cooperative partnership with universities and educational organizations from the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Ireland and so on. It also shares global advanced educational resources to allow all the students obtain the most advanced modern e-Education.

    Dr. Liu Jiren, President of Neusoft Group expressed that the successful cooperation of Neusoft IIT and IBM is our institute’s successful experiment and an absolutely new exploration of a school running pattern and talent training method. IT education related to the future fate of the software industry, Neusoft IIT’s education was the extension of Neusoft’s entire industrial value chain and an important part of Neusoft’s solutions. Investing capital to establish Neusoft IIT and achieving the benign ecologic system of industry and education can improve Neusoft’s solutions to create better value for clients. Neusoft Group and IBM have been strategic cooperative partners for many years. The two sides have developed many kinds of cooperation in the fields of technology, products, market and service. The institute could deepen it cooperation with IBM, this time as an important part of Neusoft Group’s client solution, which will set a good example for China’s IT education. While sending our sincere gratitude to IBM for supporting Neusoft’s education, we also hoped that we can develop a closer cooperation in more fields in the future.

    Dai Yulin, Vice Mayor of Dalian stated the strategic significance which informationalization has effected higher education. Highly valueing the cooperation between Neusoft Group and IBM, he states: “ Many a far-sighted-country see developing science and education vigorously as an important strategy of promoting a country’s advancement. Our country’s main educational pattern at present was formed during the early industrialized society, of which knowledge increased slowly and teaching methods were laggard and unitary. Information technology will definitely arouse an educational “innovation” and some men of insight defined it as the fourth innovation in educational history. The strategic means of information technology is not only the innovation of education and teaching but also an entire and all-sided innovation. In order to realize this aim, we must apply the “bring-doctrine” to learn the overseas advanced educational informationalization solution.

    The educational cooperation between Neusoft IIT and IBM has strategic significance. We expect that IBM will develop an all-around cooperation with other universities in Dalian and contribute greatly to Dalian’s higher education.