Although Tianjin and Addis Ababa are thousands of miles away, they are cooperating in the field of vocational education.

On April 28, the online launch ceremony of the Ethiopian Luban Workshop was held simultaneously at Tianjin University of Technology and Education (TUTE) and Ethiopian Technical University (ETU) through Internet cloud technology.

In October 2019, TUTE and ETU signed a MoU of cooperation to establish a Luban Workshop in Ethiopia.

Luban was the ancestor of Chinese craftsmen, and the Luban Workshop is a global brand of vocational education initiated and implemented by Tianjin.

According to the Mou, the workshop specializes in the field of Artificial Intelligence, and connects three ETU undergraduate majors: Manufacturing Technology, Electronics and Communication Technology and Electrical and Control Technology. The contents involve the four areas of Industrial Sensor Technology, Mechatronics Technology, Industrial Control Technology and Industrial Robotics Technology, and serve Ethiopia’s industrial development goal of “becoming the manufacturing center of Africa by 2025”.

The workshop will help Ethiopian youths improve their technical skills and promote local economic and social development. It will also provide human resources support for Chinese-funded enterprises going global, and will become a bridge of friendship between China and Africa for dialogue, exchange and common development.

ETU President Teshale Berecha Yadessa extended his thanks to the government of Tianjin city for choosing ETU as the launch pad of the Luban Workshop project to carry out professional construction of academic education and skill training. He said that the workshop will help Ethiopia improve its level of education, teaching and technical training, train high-quality teachers, and promote local economic development.

Zhang Jingang, TUTE secretary of the Party committee, noted that the Ethiopian Luban Workshop is dedicated to becoming the teacher-training base for African Luban Workshops, promoting the systems of African Luban Workshops and making the Chinese contribution to the African “2063 Vision”. It can also help achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and realize the dream of common prosperity and development of China and Africa.

Adopting the teaching mode of EPIP, the Luban Workshop is equipped with world-advanced, industry-leading equipment that takes into account the actual production in enterprises and teaching and training of universities.

In terms of Luban Workshop teaching resources, TUTE has formulated three sets of international professional teaching standards and developed four sets of bilingual textbooks and four sets of EPIP teaching schemes and video tutorials.

In November 2020, TUTE conducted professional training for the first batch of teachers from ETU. The training team was led by national and municipal skill masters in China, together with Chinese technical teachers in Ethiopia, who conducted training and provided guidance in skills development.

In March 2021, TUTE conducted 100 hours of advanced training to three PhD and four Master’s candidates from ETU, who will be the backbone teachers of Luban Workshop upon their return to Ethiopia. The training adopted the course books recommended by the project of “Taking Chinese Culture to the Global Stage” published in the UK. The training provides theoretical knowledge, technical application, skill operation and EPIP teaching modes and application methods.

Tianjin Deputy Mayor Cao Xiaohong, Ambassador of Ethiopia to China Teshome Toga, Ambassador of China to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan and Pan Yumin, the counselor of the Department of Africa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, witnessed the inauguration of the Ethiopian Luban Workshop through the Internet.