A university in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, has introduced new requirements for graduate students to complete annual industry immersion periods to align training with economic development better.

Master's candidates must complete at least six months each year, and doctoral candidates at least eight months.

At a launch event on Saturday, Xi'an University of Technology signed cooperation agreements with 36 companies that specify the required immersion periods for corporate projects. The agreements are designed to create channels for collaboration with industry on faculty exchanges, curriculum development, and research topics and outcomes.

The university also unveiled 13 new institutes, including an engineering school that will use a school and industry collaborative training model and draw on more than 280 practical training bases on and off campus.

Li Zhijun, Party secretary of Xi'an University of Technology, said the reforms aim to better align talent cultivation with economic and social needs while leveraging the university's strengths in equipment manufacturing, electronic information, and related fields.