The Tongji-Australian Institute of Technology was founded jointly by Tongji University and La Trobe University, Australia in 1998. The goal of the Institute is to provide higher vocational and technical education for Chinese students. The Institute aims to produce professionals with English and technical knowledge to meet the needs of the Shanghai Economic Development. This will be accomplished by gaining insight from the Australian experience in higher vocational and technical education. The Institute has adopted flexible mechanism in its management operation so that its curriculum reflects the distinctive features of higher vocational and technical education.
The Institute offers joint programs with universities in Australia and the U.K. These programs operate on a 2+2 model: students study for the first two years at file Institute on a diploma program and then proceed to do another two years in the said university in Australia or the U.K in a degree program. Seventy percent of the students completing two-years of study in the Institute have gone to Australia, New Zealand or the U.K.
