Journal of Higher Education Research

Driven by the “Educational Powerhouse” strategy and the deepening internationalization of higher education, education for international students in China is transitioning from scale expansion to quality-driven, intensive development. Innovation practice education, serving as a critical nexus for knowledge acquisition, capability cultivation, and cultural identity, plays a pivotal role in enhancing training quality and global educational influence. However, a systematic review of the current landscape reveals that universities face structural challenges, including a misalignment between educational supply and diverse student demands, uneven resource allocation, insufficient cross-cultural support, and lagging evaluation mechanisms. To address these issues, the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle theory is utilized to construct a comprehensive improvement framework. Strategies are proposed involving differentiated supply design, multi-stakeholder collaborative resource allocation, and reinforced process evaluation. It is argued that these measures effectively facilitate the transition of innovation practice education from fragmented exploration to systematic, sustainable development. Ultimately, this study provides an analytical framework with theoretical and practical implications for enriching the “Study in China” brand and advancing the construction of an educational powerhouse.