Teachers from the East Kazakhstan Technical University attend a theory lesson at Tianjin Vocational Institute on August 7, 2023. Photo: Lin Xiaoyi/GT

 
The Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan is set to be ready for unveiling by the end of October, with the first group of Kazakhstani teachers already in China for training. From August 1 to 25, 15 professional teachers from the East Kazakhstan Technical University (EKTU) will participate in a four-week teacher training program at Tianjin Vocational Institute in preparation for the opening of the Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan. The Global Times learnt that the Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan is close to completing its core equipment procurement and site renovation, and is expected to be ready for the official launch in Kazakhstan by the end of October.

The Luban Workshop is China's international cooperation project in the field of vocational education, named after the famous Chinese craftsman and inventor Lu Ban, who lived 2,500 years ago. On March 2, 2023, Tianjin Vocational Institute and the EKTU signed a memorandum of understanding, expressing their willingness to jointly establish the first Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan at the EKTU. 

During the China-Central Asia Summit on May 18 and 19, 2023, Tianjin Municipality and the East Kazakhstan Region signed a cooperation agreement to establish the Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan, officially launching the project. Analysts believe that this project will provide strong support for high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) between China and Kazakhstan.

"In the past few months, the cooperation between the two sides has been smooth, and the Luban Workshop program in Kazakhstan is progressing quickly," Meng Zheng, deputy director of the International Exchange Department of Tianjin Vocational Institute, told the Global Times. 

In the future, the Chinese side will provide more in-depth and professional technical skill training to Kazakhstan's vocational education teachers through the Luban Workshop program, as well as cooperating and exchanging teaching resources with them.  

During this month, the first group of Kazakhstani teachers from the Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan who came to Tianjin will receive 20 training courses in three modules, including traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles, and intelligent connected vehicles, with a total of 160 hours of training content. At the same time, the two sides will also exchange and discuss key issues in talent cultivation, professional construction, and curriculum standard construction.

Samat Baigereyev, deputy dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering at the EKTU, is one of the Kazakhstani teachers participating in the training. He told the Global Times that he and his colleagues are particularly interested in the maintenance technology of new energy and intelligent connected vehicles. 

Teachers from the East Kazakhstan Technical University attend a theory lesson at Tianjin Vocational Institute on August 7, 2023. Photo: Lin Xiaoyi/GT

"Currently, Kazakhstan has more traditional energy vehicles, and there are few people familiar with new energy vehicle technology. However, the country has been vigorously developing new energy vehicles, especially in recent years. It has purchased a large number of new energy vehicles from China," he said, noting that he believes that the future demand for talent in this field in Kazakhstan will be high. 

Another participating teacher, Murat Muzdybayev, a leading researcher at the School of Mechanical Engineering at the EKTU, told the Global Times that through the cooperation of the Luban Workshop, training equipment and resource sharing from China will greatly enhance the vocational training level of related majors such as automotive maintenance at their university. "Everyone is very interested in this training and believes that China's level in this field is very high. Visiting automobile companies such as Great Wall Motors in person has been eye-opening and beneficial," Muzdybayev said.

"The Luban Workshop is not only a place of vocational education but also a platform for cultural exchanges," said Meng Zheng, expressing his expectation that the construction of the Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan will go smoothly so that it is ready for the official launch in Kazakhstan by the end of October.

Meng hopes that this project will train more professional talent locally, promote the development of related industries, and become a new window for promoting mutual understanding between China and Central Asian people.