(Yicai Global) May 6 -- Top philanthropist Cao Dewang, who shot to fame as the chairman of the Chinese auto glass giant featured in the Oscar-winning documentary American Factory, will invest CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion) through his personal charity to set up a university for the applied sciences to help resolve the current gap in available skilled talent.

The Fuyao University of Science and Technology, to be located in the Fuzhou High-Tech Zone in southeastern Fujian province, will offer majors in areas of science and technology that are poorly represented in other institutions of higher learning, the Heren Charity Foundation said. It will offer places to between 3,000 and 5,000 students and provide training through to the graduate level.

The foundation will provide the financial wherewithal to construct the university, appoint the board of directors and supervise the use of funds, it added.

Cao is founder and chairman of Fuyao Glass Industry Group, one of the world’s largest producers of glass for cars with a 25 percent market share as of last year. The company logged a 85.9 percent jump in profit in the first quarter year on year to CNY855 million (USD132 million). Revenue for the period was up 36.8 percent to CNY5.7 billion (USD880 million).

Cao, who has topped the Hurun China Charity List several times, set up the Heren Charity Foundation in 2011 with 300 million shares from Fuyao Glass. As of September last year, Cao had donated CNY12 billion of his own fortune to the foundation.

Editor: Kim Taylor