bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Paul Moon

Paul Mooney

The cartoon cover kicked off a national debate  across the US:  a muscular China  standing on a beach, pushing a skinny Uncle Sam around in the sand. 'Is the US a 97-pound weakling?' the Forbes magazine cover story asked.

Inside, it argued that it was, stating that the US was losing its competitive edge to China, whose universities pumped out more than 800,000 engineers in 2004 compared to just 222,335 in the US. That unflattering comparison  flew around  America, appearing in think-tank reports, politicians' speeches  and newspaper editorials, all fretting that  the country was about to be overtaken by China.

Voices in the US began calling for a cold-war-like arms race to  churn out more scientists and engineers to help the US catch up with China. But while nervous Americans continue to wring their hands, it is becoming increasingly clear that China's army of engineers is not about to help  it elbow its way past the US - at least not  just yet.

This  was made clear last week at a conference on engineering education at the East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai, where Chinese educators were told that despite having the world's largest number of engineering students, China still lacked well-trained professionals.

University vice-president Tu Shandong  told the gathering of 100 engineering educators that while  the mainland could be proud of its engineering programmes, an increasing number of employers were beginning to ask 'embarrassing questions' about the lack of professional knowledge,  poor communication and teamwork skills among Chinese engineering majors.

Last October, McKinsey & Co, in a report entitled 'China's looming talent shortage', argued that despite the mainland's vast number of university graduates, few had the skills to work in world-class companies. It warned that the situation had 'serious implications for the multinationals now in China and for the growing number of Chinese companies with global ambitions'.

The report, based on interviews with 83 human resources professionals, said  that on average fewer than 10 per cent of Chinese job candidates were suitable  for work in  multinational  firms  in nine categories,  including engineering, accounting, finance and life sciences.

Fang Shimin  , a molecular biologist and  commentator on higher education,  said he saw no sign  that China would pose a serious challenge to  the US soon.

'Although the quantity of college and graduate students has been growing in China, the quality has drastically decreased,' he  said. He blamed this on the rapid expansion of university enrolments in recent years, which he  said was one of the biggest problems facing the mainland's education system. The number of university students in China has quadrupled to  23 million since 1998, the year before  Beijing began forcing universities to sharply  boost enrolments. And the numbers are  set to keep rising.

The percentage of college-aged students enrolled in universities  is expected to double to 40 per cent by 2020. 'There are simply too many students and the resources, such as faculties and facilities, are overstretched,'  said Dr Fang.

'It's not uncommon for a professor to mentor more than 40 graduate students at the same time, which means there is virtually no mentoring at all.'

Professor Tu said:  'Universities are facing a shortage of both software and hardware.  We don't have enough teachers, in terms of  quantity and quality, and we don't have enough equipment  or capital.'

He  said higher student numbers also meant  training and internships had to be reduced and simplified.

Professor Tu said engineering education in China started to develop much later than in developed countries  and that the government had not done enough to promote it.

He said the government should make improvement of engineering education a  national strategy.

Academics also lament the fact that not enough enterprises offer engineering students internships, which means that students lack practical training in the field.

A recent study by the East China University of Science and Technology, found  only 14 per cent of engineering graduates soon went on to become qualified engineers,  which Professor Tu attributed  to  excessive emphasis  on academic attainment.

'Our education should be closely combined with our rapidly growing industry to increase educational resources,' he said.

'We should establish some kind of policy to reduce taxes for companies accepting interns. Students need practical experience and experience in management and teamwork to gain an overall knowledge,  not just textbook education.'

The McKinsey report said  while China had 1.6 million engineers, accounting for 33 per cent of majors in the country, the main drawback was the education system's bias toward theory. It said Chinese students had little practical experience in projects and teamwork.

The result, it said, was that China's pool of young engineers considered suitable for work  at multinationals was just 160,000 - no larger than Britain's. Dr Fang said that many students in engineering and computer science complained that they had  gained little useful or practical knowledge at university, and that they and their advisers were preoccupied with churning out research papers - which he said were poorly produced - to meet school requirements.

Most universities in China require graduate students to publish at least two research papers each year in key journals and teachers often have to turn out many more. Some also argue  the official statistics for the number of trained engineering graduates may be  skewed.

In December researchers at Duke University in  the US  examined the numbers, which  they said had been used to 'fuel fears  America is losing its technological edge'.

Their report  concluded that China's Ministry of Education had gathered the data from provinces, which did not break down the numbers by major, and which had included not only people in traditional engineering disciplines, but also information technology specialists and technicians. It also  said while US  figures included only the annual  output of accredited four-year engineering programmes in the US, China also counted three-year  programmes and diploma holders.

According to Ministry of Education statistics quoted by Duke, China produced just 351,537 engineers with bachelor's degrees in 2003, with the remaining 292,569 having come out of two- and three-year programmes similar to community colleges in the US.

The Duke report said  that even these numbers were misleading as there was confusion in China over the definition of engineering programmes.

'Any bachelor's or short-cycle degree with the word 'engineering' in its title is included in these numbers,' the authors of the report said.

'This means that the reported number of engineers produced by China ... may very well include the equivalent of motor mechanics and industrial technicians.'

Andrew Grant, the author of the McKinsey report, said improving the quality of China's graduates would be a long-term effort, but even modest improvements could make a big difference.

'If the proportion of Chinese engineering graduates who could work at global companies increased to 25 per cent from today's 10 per cent,' he said, 'China's pool of qualified young engineers would be among the world's largest by 2008.'

Additional reporting by Priscilla Jiao



Educational engineering fails to close skills gap