A new Sino-US education program that aims to promote the development of the Chinese automotive industry was recently announced in Shanghai.

The Automotive Executive Development Program was jointly launched by the UM-SJTU Joint Institute and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

The UM-SJTU Joint Institute was established by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Michigan with the objective of providing a world-class institute for the training of global innovation leaders in China.

The Automotive Executive Development Program aims to bolster the development of China's automotive and smart car industries by inviting renowned professors and scholars to share innovative ideas and insights with Chinese automotive executives in areas such as strategic planning, future business trends, organization and management models, and consumer research.

The program is designed for senior managers and business leaders with more than 10 years of management experience in the automotive and related industries such as supply, technology, finance, banking, and mergers and acquisitions.

Participants of the program - it accepts around 25 people per cohort - get to embark on a two-week immersive learning experience in North America where they will visit famous enterprises and engage in high-level exchanges with academic experts. Organizers said that the program will help participants better understand the causes and processes of changes in the automotive industry and master the strategies involved.

Huang Peisen, the dean of the joint institute, said that the automotive industry will be playing a major role in achieving innovation-driven transformation and upgrading in the manufacturing industry as part of the "Made in China 2025" initiative. In order to better survive and develop in the global automotive market, China's auto industry and professionals must understand future trends, pick up new knowledge and implement upgrades, he added.

"We will continue to improve the quality of education and introduce more multidisciplinary education programs in the future so as to meet industrial demands for highly skilled professionals," Huang said.

"In addition to the latest management research and theory, the program also provides practical methods and tools for China and the global market. It helps senior managers build a comprehensive set of skills," said M.S. Krishnan, Associate Dean of the UM Ross School of Business.

"Participants will gain deeper and broader insight into promoting China's auto industry in Asia and in the increasingly globalized market upon their completion of the program," he added.