AI-Empowered Talent Cultivation for Smart Manufacturing: Reconstructing Emerging Engineering Curricula and Innovating Multimodal Pedagogies

Amidst the deepening implementation of the Made in China 2025 strategy and the next-generation artificial intelligence revolution, this research addresses critical imperatives for digital transformation in mechanical engineering education. Centered on an AI-driven curricular reconstruction framework, we establish a tripartite reform paradigm integrating knowledge deconstruction, scenario reconstruction, and capability regeneration. Systematic innovations—including intelligent content iteration, cyber-physical teaching spaces, and data-driven assessment transformation—cultivate emerging engineering leaders equipped with systemic cognition of intelligent equipment, proficiency in industrial algorithm development, and cross-disciplinary innovation competencies. The approach constructs deeply coupled ecosystems bridging curricula, industrial demands, and research frontiers, delivering replicable, scalable, and certifiable AI-empowered solutions for core smart manufacturing programs within mechanical engineering disciplines.