Companies also have a stake in what students are being taught today - many within the tech industry have lamented about the lack of talent with the right skills to navigate today's highly digital landscape.

Recruitment agency Michael Page last year released a survey, which found that 92 percent of fintech companies in China agreed that they were facing a shortage of talent.

Rupert Forster, managing director of Michael Page North and East China, told China Daily in an earlier interview that the company has noticed that there is a growing demand for people with skills related to AI, machine learning and deep learning.

Lim Eng Gee, director of the AI research center at XJTLU, says the university can help to bridge the skills gap as the new Taicang campus would have close ties with industry players.