
Cooperation with Dalian Maritime University in China bears fruit
CADMATIC Marketing Communications Specialist Jiawen Zhang interviews Linfang Su from Dalian Maritime University
Written by Jiawen Zhang
Posted on April 26, 2021
When I contacted Linfang Su from the Dalian Maritime University (DMU), she was busy preparing the publication of textbooks for the course Computer-aided ship design and production. It was in 2014 when she came to the Netherlands and introduced the idea of creating the course. I still remember the sparkle in her eye and excitement about the project. This was the beginning of long and fruitful cooperation between CADMATIC and the university
Linfang Su works as Vice Professor in the in the Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering. She is active in building relationships between the university and various companies in the marine industry. Her goal is to get more resources to build the course and to provide her students with more opportunities. In 2019, CADMATIC’s cooperation with DMU received recognition from the China Association of Higher Education, when it was listed as one of the top 100 case studies in the country.
In a recent interview with Linfang Su, I reflected with her on the constructive collaboration between our two organizations over the years.

Jiawen Zhang (left) and Linfang Su (right) with Olga Dvirnaya (middle) from Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding.
Jiawen: “2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. I am pleased to see that your course Computer-aided ship design and production has received much positive feedback. Could you please briefly introduce the course?”
Linfang: “Indeed, last year was tough. Thanks to the support from the university and various companies, the Computer-aided ship design and production course has been launched. It is our achievement. The course is highly valued by both the university and the “Shipbuilding and Offshore” program. We aim to realise the digital transformation of education by combining the course contents with real projects and utilising the advantages of universities and companies. The course has 32 hours and lasts 2 months. Six hours are planned for students to use CADMATIC Marine Software in Hull and Outfitting design. Besides me, there are five more teachers from Haerbin Engineering University, Dalian Maritime University, and the Dalian Technical University that bring their expertise in marine design, marine engineering and information engineering to the course. The course is offered twice a year and so far more than 1000 students have applied.”

Jiawen: “You just mentioned that 6 hours of the course are assigned for software use. What advantages do you see in combining theory and practice?”
Linfang: “To meet the trends of the marine industry, we need to integrate multiple disciplines across various industries. Therefore, we hope this course will meet the need to deliver multi-talented marine experts. CADMATIC Marine Design Software has been well received in China. Its powerful functionalities have been recommended by many companies in the marine industry. The opportunity to experience ship design in real 3D environments allows the seamless integration between theory and practice. Students become more capable of solving complicated engineering problems, which benefits them in their future internships and professional careers.
Jiawen: “Talking about multi-talented marine experts, I know that Dalian Maritime University encourages and helps students to do their internships at design institutions and shipyards. Doubtlessly, the cooperation between the university and companies will play a great role here. This time, CADMATIC was listed as one of the top 100 case studies in China. What value do you think the cooperation will bring to higher education?”
Linfang: “Firstly, I highly appreciate CADMATIC’s contribution to higher education. In fact, our cooperation mode can be regarded as a leading exemplary case study. We have received free software licenses from CADMATIC and established a joint ship design lab. Our cooperation keeps bearing fruit. We are sharing our success with more students through the course, and we actively promote CADMATIC 3D design. It has not been easy, however, but we have never given up. Now, besides CADMATIC, we have also signed cooperation agreements with companies like SDARI, Shanghai Respect and the Wuhan Design and Research Institute. We invite companies to develop the course with us and send excellent students to companies to gain more knowledge and experience. I feel great happiness when I see students getting their ideal job offers. If students are waves, our cooperation is the wind.”
Jiawen: “Well said! Before we conclude, I have heard that the course will be improved further. Could you reveal some details?”
Linfang: “We need to add more contents. We are experiencing a digital revolution and both shipbuilding and information science are undergoing transformations. Shipyards and design institutions are coping with the trends, and education should follow as well. We hope to bring the most advanced CAD shipbuilding technologies to students with the help of the course.”

Chuande Lu from CADMATIC and Xiaoyong Wang, Vice President of Dalian Maritime University at the opening ceremony of the CADMATIC laboratory.
More about Dalian Maritime University
Dalian Maritime University is a maritime institution under the Ministry of Transport, People’s Republic of China. In 1960, the University was designated a national key university. The University consists of 21 teaching and research units and has 50 undergraduate programs and confers professional master degrees in 14 fields. The university is designated as one of the "Project 211" institutions. Only about six percent of the universities across China were selected in this project.