Connectivity product maker linking future innovators with the world
Connectivity and sensor product manufacturer TE Connectivity headquartered in Schaffhausen of Switzerland is planning to donate digital devices to seven Chinese universities and engineering colleges as the company celebrates its 30th anniversary in China this year.
TE Connectivity announced during its 2018 China Innovation Summit in July that it will donate personal computers worth more than 300,000 yuan ($43,598) to seven Chinese universities and colleges. This is part of the company’s program aimed at connecting China’s future engineers with the world, which is also a key initiative in its celebrations of its 30 years in China.
The seven academic institutions are Nanjing University of Science and Technology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Suzhou Industrial Park Institute of Vocational Technology, Suzhou Vocational Institute of Industrial Technology and Shunde Polytechnic.
According to Reggie Lai, vice-president and general manager of TE Connectivity China, the company wishes to help future innovators in China to “embrace a connected future” by providing digital products and industry knowhow to the schools.
“For the past three decades, we have been enabling a connected China with our products, technologies and services,” said Lai.
“To celebrate 30 years in China, we are taking a step further by initiating a corporate social responsibility program with support from our employees, customers and partners in China.”
Apart from the donation of digital devices, TE Connectivity will also roll out a number of lectures in China over the next few months. The first took place at the 2018 China Innovation Summit, which had an artificial intelligence theme.
TE Connectivity entered China in 1988 and now has more than 20,000 employees in 14 manufacturing sites in the country. It provides connectivity and sensor products and services to Chinese companies involved in the railway, automotive, energy, home appliances and aerospace engineering industries.
According to Lai, the company’s emphasis on research and development strength in China is one major reason for its rapid development in the country.
To date, TE connectivity has more than 2,000 engineers in China, which is onethird of the company’s global total. In 2006, it set up its China R&D center in Shanghai, which is one of the company’s six global R&D centers. Meanwhile, China is one of the leading countries in terms of patent applications for TE Connectivity worldwide.
“With continuous hardware investment and the training of local talents, TE has been able to build a strong engineering and manufacturing capability in China,” Lai said.
“Our clients have participated in the early stages of many projects. In this sense, we have participated in the development of China’s forefront technologies such as high-speed trains, new energy vehicles, telecommunication and smart home devices,” Lai added.
TE is also keeping an eye on the innovation capability of Chinese engineers by releasing the Chinese Engineers’ Innovation Index in 2015 and 2016 in conjunction with government institutions. The move is in the hope of providing valuable references to overseas firms and institutions operating in China.
“We will continue to improve our production capacity and innovation strength in China by investing more to train Chinese talents,” Lai said.“It is our hope to make our contribution while the country is undergoing the transformation to build up its manufacturing capability. ”