Germany's Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and the government of south China's Hainan Province have signed an agreement to open a campus in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone on the island.

The campus will be the first one run independently by a German public university overseas. It will start enrolling students in 2021.

The project will introduce German practice-orientated higher education model, offer programs for bachelor's and master's degrees to cultivate high-quality and international talent, sources with the university said.

The first batch of majors includes economic information, intelligent logistics, intelligent science and technology, mechatronics, data science, and engineering management, the sources said.

Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia is the largest application-oriented university in the East Westphalia-Lippe region, with 37 undergraduate majors, 25 master majors and a number of vocational certificate education majors. It has been playing a leading role among German public universities in providing technical support for Germany's industrial intelligent manufacturing cluster.

On June 1, China released a master plan for constructing a free trade port on Hainan, a resort island with tourism as a mainstay industry, arousing interest both abroad and at home.