Jarun Youbrum, director of Ayutthaya Technical College

Thai student Nattawut Thusawut, who was raised by his grandmother, said attending a Luban Workshop at a college in his home country changed his life.

The 21-year-old studied mechatronics at Ayutthaya Technical College in Thailand, the first overseas institution to join the vocational technology training program launched by Tianjin education authorities in 2016.

Nattawut said his mother died when he was young and his father abandoned him. "My father only left me with a computer," he said in an interview with Tianjin TV and the Tianjin Bohai Vocational Technological College's TV station.

He said the workshop became his "second home" and he developed a close personal bond with his Chinese teachers and friends.

"I was lucky to speak fluent Chinese after the training course and shared many enjoyable moments with the teachers, including eating dumplings during Chinese folk festivals," Nattawut said.

Students accepted into the program not only acquire skills and knowledge, but also form ties with their Chinese instructors that result in closer bonds, he said.

Jarun Youbrum, Ayutthaya Technical College's 61-year-old director, said the Luban Workshop can help students from Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states gain a world-class education.

He said the Luban Workshop at his college was an example of how to boost global training and cross-cultural communications.

"Nothing is greater than sharing education," said Jarun, who was recently given the Haihe Friendship Award in Tianjin, the top award granted to foreigners contributing to the coastal city. He received the award for fostering Chinese vocational education overseas and fundraising for the Luban Workshop.

Over the past 5 years, the Luban Workshop in Ayutthaya has expanded from 232 square meters to 2,000 sq m. It offers courses in mechatronics and robotics, new energy vehicles, the internet of things, computing and high-speed train technology.

To date, more than 6,000 students have joined the project. The diploma issued by the Luban Workshop is recognized by Thai education authorities.

Workshop students have won many international and ASEAN competitions for automated machinery skills, which has burnished the school's reputation for excellence.

Enrollment applications have also come from other countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia.

Bai Haili, deputy director of the Tianjin Education Committee, said to honor the commitment President Xi Jinping made at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing in 2018, 10 Luban Workshops initiated by Tianjin's vocational training schools will be set up in Africa.

The workshops are named after the Chinese craftsman and inventor Lu Ban of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), who was revered as the embodiment of professional and technical excellence.

Ten workshops have been established in Asia, Africa and Europe, providing skills training and certification for more than 100,000 students in nearly 20 fields, including transportation, mechanics and new energy.