Research on Nurturing Innovative Talents Outside the Classroom Under The "Emerging Engineering Education" Concept
Authors: He Guoqiang , Yu Tao , Zhang Mu , Sun Haozhe , Chen Gang 
Published: December 2022

The formulation of the "emerging engineering education" concept has promoted the reform of talent nurturing. In the exploration and practice of nurturing innovative talent, the learning outside the classroom has become an important medium of quality education with its flexible, extensive, and novel qualities, alongside the irreplaceable role of the classroom in educating individuals. This paper objectively analyzes some problems of nurturing innovative talents in colleges and universities under the "emerging engineering" concept, discusses the positive role of learning outside the classroom in cultivating the innovation skills of college engineering students, puts forward principles to be followed in the systemic design of nurturing innovative talents and proposes suggestions to better fulfil the role of learning outside the classroom. At present, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, marked by the application of the Internet, big data and cloud computing has spread rapidly, and in the coming decades, a new wave of scientific and technological revolution and industrial change will form a historic intersection with the development of human society, and the progress and innovation of engineering science and technology will become an important driver of human development. Facing the challenges of the new wave of scientific and industrial changes under the new arena of international competition, the concept of "emerging engineering education" has guided the direction of development and reform of Chinese engineering colleges and universities, and the formulation of "emerging engineering education" requires that the engineering talents nurtured must have a mindset that fulfils the needs of the new economy, especially innovation awareness and ability. As an important medium to nurture students' innovation skills and quality development, learning outside the classroom in colleges and universities plays an increasingly prominent role in cultivating innovation consciousness, stimulating potential, and shaping personality. With its flexible, extensive, and novel qualities, alongside the nurturing role that cannot be replaced by classrooms, learning outside the classroom is crucial for quality education. After years of exploration and development by the education sector and higher-education institutions, learning outside the classroom in colleges and universities is not just a simple supplement and extension of classroom teaching, but has gradually developed into an important educational and teaching component for nurturing talents and platform for cultivating students' innovation skills and improving their overall development. Therefore, it is extremely meaningful to objectively analyze the problems of nurturing innovative talents outside the classroom under the "emerging engineering education" concept and give corresponding suggestions, so as to nurture students with strong practical abilities, creativity, and internationally-competitive, comprehensive engineering talents in colleges and universities.