·        In 2023, Youth Summit will visit five Chinese universities, inspiring young talent to showcase their unique ideas and innovations around future mobility. Events at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Hefei University have already concluded.

·        This year, the project will focus on five mobility topics: “inclusive mobility in cities”, “vehicle structure innovation”, “big data solutions for safer mobility”, “emotional design for intelligent vehicles”, and “the future mobility ecosystem”. The objective is to help students gain a deeper understanding of the automotive industry and future mobility as well as support their interdisciplinary learning.

·        Jens Pfitzinger: “Volkswagen Group China is committed to cultivating young talent with a pioneering mindset and essential skills. Recently, we collaborated with Hefei University to establish Volkswagen College. This future mobility-oriented College sets a great example of school-enterprise cooperation in the field of higher education. The Youth Summit event at Hefei University was a fantastic opportunity for young talents to exchange ideas with industry experts. We look forward to seeing students showcase their creativity and explore the infinite possibilities of future mobility.”

Volkswagen Group China “Youth Summit” Project’s campus event at Hefei University

Hefei, May 15, 2023. This year, Youth Summit will visit five Chinese universities, inspiring young talent to showcase their unique ideas and innovations in future mobility. Events have already concluded at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Hefei University, where students envisioned future mobility through a variety of interactive activities, such as panel discussions, innovation camps, and group presentations. The project also invited Group executives and industry experts to share the latest mobility trends and cutting-edge industry insights with students.

Jens Pfitzinger, Executive Vice President of Volkswagen Group China, responsible for Human Resources, Organization & ITP, said: “Volkswagen Group China is committed to cultivating young talent with a pioneering mindset and essential skills. Recently, we collaborated with Hefei University to establish Volkswagen College. This future mobility-oriented College sets a great example of school-enterprise cooperation in the field of higher education. The Youth Summit event at Hefei University was a fantastic opportunity for young talents to exchange ideas with industry experts. We look forward to seeing students showcase their creativity and explore the infinite possibilities of future mobility.”

Cheng Liang, the Deputy Secretary General of the China Education Development Foundation, added: “We co-initiated the Youth Summit with Volkswagen Group China in 2021. We are grateful to Volkswagen Group China’s continuous investment in China’s young talent. We hope Youth Summit can create a platform where students can show their creativeness and potentials. We look forward to seeing more young people build their skills and broaden their horizons through this project.”

In 2023, under the theme of “Creating Future Mobility”, Youth Summit invited university students to propose topics and present their ideas around future mobility. Experts in automotive, design, artificial intelligence, and relevant industry sectors evaluated their topics in terms of “social benefits”, “innovation and feasibility”, and “integrity and comprehensiveness”. Five mobility topics were selected: “inclusive mobility in cities”, “vehicle structure innovation”, “big data solutions for safer mobility”, “emotional design for intelligent vehicles”, and “the future mobility ecosystem”. The objective is to help students gain a deeper understanding of the automotive industry and future mobility as well as support their interdisciplinary learning.

At the Shanghai Jiao Tong University event, Dr. Yu Kai, founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics, shared his pioneering perspectives on intelligent mobility in a keynote speech. The Hefei University event attracted students from several nearby universities. In a compelling panel discussion, Li Bin, visiting professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s School of Design, Dr. He Qi, an expert from Volkswagen Group China’s R&D department and outstanding student teams from 2022 Youth Summit project discussed the implications of the five mobility topics in terms of social media buzzwords to help students identify consumer pain points and drive mobility transformation. Young talents from Volkswagen College took part as well, applying what they learned as they presented their creative future mobility solutions.

Looking ahead, Youth Summit will visit three more universities in three cities. The project will also provide diversified online capacity-building training that covers topics including innovation, automotive industry trends, and career development to support students’ overall development.

Volkswagen Group China “Youth Summit” Project’s campus event at Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Source: Volkswagen Group China