The university has established deep partnerships with more than 300 industry-leading companies, operating over 20 "order classes" with employers including Air China's Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corporation, or Ameco, and JD Group. Nearly 50 percent of students are enrolled in those training programs that guarantee employment, he said.

　　"For example, our JD robot maintenance order class selects about 40 students from freshmen each year," Xia said. "Students have dual identities — both as enrolled students and as prospective employees. It's a model of 'enrollment equals employment'."

　　Li Ziyu, an 18-year-old from Beijing who scored 554 points on the national college entrance exam — well above the undergraduate cutoff — chose to enroll in Beijing Polytechnic University's mechanical and electronic engineering program.

　　Li said he prefers a learning style that combines theory with handson practice, and the university has very rich practical courses that fit his needs perfectly.

　　Wang Huizhuo, a student from Hebei province who scored 571 points — about 70 to 80 points above the undergraduate cutoff — chose the university's new energy vehicle engineering program.

　　"I felt that vocational universities place more emphasis on practical ability," he said. "I can learn solid, real skills there."

　　When asked whether he felt he was "wasting" his high score, Wang replied: "As long as it's something I like, it's not a waste. If I used my score to go to a school I didn't like, even with a high score, I'd be miserable later."

　　Hu Yihang, another incoming freshman from Beijing who scored above 450 points, chose the same program. She said the program combines theoretical teaching with practical training. The industry really needs engineering talent that understands both theory and can execute on the ground, she added.