Cooperative EU-Chinese engineering
The EU promotes and supports collaborative research relationships with various non-EU countries. For several years, one such set of relationships has included Chinese organisations. The EU-funded EC-HVEN (Europe-China high value engineering network (EC-HVEN): Shaping sustainable engineering sectors in Europe and China) project established a framework for global network collaborations. The consortium's subject areas concerned high-value engineering, advanced manufacturing and innovation. Participants developed numerous collaborative research projects in six core areas. Topics included: engineering and technology management, engineering design and innovation, international manufacturing and engineering, global engineering services, and industrial sustainability and engineering. The final topic was telecommunication technologies for high-value engineering networks. Researchers compared the latest engineering trends and applications in China and Europe. They also developed conceptual models to illustrate critical research issues, and suggested practical guidance for effective value creation through global collaborative networks. Work yielded nearly 200 publications, including 83 journal papers, 4 books and 1 special issue, plus numerous conference papers and reports. The project also organised more than 90 workshops, seminars and other gatherings, which supported knowledge transfer and dissemination. EC-HVEN illustrated the potential of collaborative engineering research. The consortium provided a foundation for continuing growth of this body of knowledge.
Keywords
Engineering, research relationships, China, collaborative research, EC-HVEN