EIREducational Innovation Research3029-18443029-1852WHIOCE PUBLISHING PTE. LTD.10.18063/EIR.v3i10.1476ArticleExploration of the Path of Private Colleges' Specialization and Internationalization under the Guidance of Industrial Demand in Hainan Free Trade Porthttps://artdesignp.com/journal/EIR/3/10/10.18063/EIR.v3i10.1476QiuWusen,JiangYude20253102025-11-26The development of Hainan Free Trade Port has driven key industries such as tourism, modern services, and high-tech sectors toward internationalization, premiumization, and agglomeration, creating a demand for specialized, internationally-oriented technical professionals with precise and distinctive characteristics. As a vital component of Hainan's higher education system, private universities have become the core platform for aligning with the Free Trade Port's industrial needs and cultivating specialized international talents, leveraging their flexible operational mechanisms and strong market adaptability. However, current internationalization efforts in Hainan's private universities face challenges including disconnection from industrial demands, ambiguous institutional positioning, and insufficient resource integration capabilities, making it difficult to meet the differentiated talent requirements of the Free Trade Port. Guided by the industrial needs of Hainan Free Trade Port and considering the actual positioning and development realities of private universities, this paper defines the core connotations and adaptive features of specialized international education. It analyzes the intrinsic alignment between industrial demands and university operations, explores pathways for specialized international education through four dimensions—institutional positioning, talent cultivation, resource integration, and university-local collaboration—and proposes supporting strategies. The study aims to provide theoretical references and practical models for Hainan's private universities to establish specialized international education models aligned with Free Trade Port development, thereby enhancing the alignment between talent cultivation and industrial needs.Hainan Free Trade Port, industrial demand, private universities, specialization and internationalization, educational development path

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