IT was not an exaggerated figure: 350 million yuan (US$42 million) was being invested in a non-government college. As the field was a new business in the country, this was a risky investment.

But Zhou Xiaodi, chairman of the Shanghai-based Zhoushi Group, went ahead with his decision to make the enormous investment in the Shanghai I&C Foreign Languages College in Nanhui District.

"When I would decide to invest in real estate, hotel and international trade, few people would be against me," Zhou said. "But when I said I wanted to invest in education, many people doubted and even opposed it. They thought such an investment may not have good return but must be high-risk."

As a successful entrepreneur, the 48-year-old thought it was an opportunity to make some return to society.

Zhou signed the contract in March 2001. His dream was to build a first-class college on 21 hectares of land with a total constructive area of 160,000 square metres. The campus is a highlight among all the non-governmental colleges in Shanghai.

There is also a big sculpture of Confucius on campus. "I take the college not only as a business, but also as an education project," Zhou said.

"To build a quality college, the quality of the teachers is the key," said Zou Rongxiang, president of the college.

The school employs a group of head teachers who are all graduated from key universities in China. In addition, Zou demanded that all the head teachers must have had experience abroad with the aim of giving classes in foreign language by those who have worked overseas and who can be more practical.

As the country's universities start enlarging enrollment, the job market is becoming less hopeful to more and more graduates. It is also a big problem to most non-governmental colleges. People wonder if graduates from non-governmental schools can compete with those from public colleges which enjoy higher reputation?

"We invited experts to do research about the market demand every year with the aim to adjust courses," the president said. "I think no public schools will do such detailed research about the market."

Every year, the college presents new courses according to the demand in the market which will help graduates find it easier to find a job.

As a school featuring foreign language, Zou said they put focus on the combination of language and skill instead of setting pure language major like other universities. All the majors in the college combine English, Japanese, German and French education into business, travel, technology, administration, computer and art.

"Language is just an appliance, if combined with professional skills, our students will be more competitive in the job market," Zou said. This year, the school will see its first batch of graduates.

"Up to now, the job hunting for them is quite good," said Huang Ping, vice-president of the college.