Zaozhuang Vocational College has optimized the cultural brand of Zaozhuang, an important birthplace of China's spirit of craftsmanship in Shandong province, and explored historical and cultural resources of Lu Ban, Mo Zi and Xi Zhong, all of whom were master craftsmen in ancient China. 

The college has made them more relevant in the new era, implemented a program featuring the cultivation of the spirit of craftsmanship, built an education system on the practice of the spirit and worked hard to nurture a group of high-quality skilled talents with the spirit over recent years.

A poster featuring the spirit of craftsmanship [Photo/lubanworkshop.cn]

Regarding the spirit of craftsmanship as its essence, Zaozhuang Vocational College has attached great importance to it, held numerous symposiums and conferences on it, seen cultivation of a group of high-quality skilled talents who possess it as its ultimate objective, and integrated it into its entire training process.

Apart from building themed architecture on its campus, and remaining firmly positioned in its development and taking great pains to build its signature brands, Zaozhuang Vocational College has set up Lu Ban Workshops, Mo Zi Makers Spaces and Xi Zhong Innovation Offices.

The college also worked with the Zaozhuang Municipal Museum in the building of a special museum on craftsmanship culture in a drive to depict its history and create a professional base for its popularization with Xi Zhong, Lu Ban and Mo Zi as the mainstay.

Zaozhuang Vocational College has regularly held public lectures on the spirit of craftsmanship and other relevant activities, founded research societies and social associations associated with the spirit of craftsmanship and organized technical contests and arts festivals to further its practice as an integral part of campus life.

To incorporate the spirit of craftsmanship into the entire teaching procedures, Zaozhuang Vocational College has established a training mechanism that stresses coordination between governmental branches, educational institutes and enterprises, a seamless connection between classrooms and employment opportunities, and an integrated mosaic of learning, teaching and professional contests.

With the aim of cultivating a group of high-quality skilled talents with the spirit of craftsmanship, Zaozhuang Vocational College has made a comprehensive revision of its training outline and added the spirit to its curricular arrangements in a move to plant it in the hearts of students.

Zaozhuang Vocational College has deepened the reform of its teaching, aligned with the latest professional standards, ethics and regulations, adjusted its curricular programs to meet new demands at the workplace, and employed strict criteria to hone the skills and techniques of its students and nurture the correct spirit among them.

Meanwhile, Zaozhuang Vocational College has integrated the spirit with its curricular activities, which range from compulsory and selective courses to internship and employment guidance, assessment and appraisal. Priority has been given to the cultivation of virtues and the training and evaluation of the spirit of craftsmanship in a bid to help students better understand it and complete their academic tasks with excellence.

To further carry the spirit forward, Zaozhuang Vocational College has adopted a pilot program on apprenticeship as a breakthrough point, strengthened its cooperation with enterprises in training.

The college built the Manbotong Animation Academy in cooperation with Jinan Manbotong Animation Production Company, founded the Sino-Germany Knowhow Automobile Institute along with F+U Sachsen Vocational Training College of Germany, hosted themed lectures and invited master craftsmen to share their expertise with young students on campus.

To build a technical competition platform, Zaozhuang Vocational College has made a special arrangement of technical contests at separate stages in its classrooms, organized students to take part in national and provincial competitions, and utilized Lu Ban, Mo Zi and Xi Zhong as contest brands in a move to integrate the spirit of craftsmanship into technical contests.

To build professional platforms on innovation and entrepreneurship, Zaozhuang Vocational College has created an entrepreneurship park for vocational and college students, set up a center on guiding students in their innovation and entrepreneurship, founded a special institute on entrepreneurship, introduced a technological innovation center and entrepreneurship incubation base featuring internship and production, and rolled out a set of courses on innovation and entrepreneurship. 

It has won more than 100 awards in national and provincial contests over the past years. For instance, it received the first prize in the category of chemical production technology during the National Vocational Students Skills Competition.

To nurture the spirit of craftsmanship under the influence of master craftsmen, Zaozhuang Vocational College has adopted a special scheme to cultivate and select master craftsmen, popularize the stories of role models, and build an atmosphere in which all faculty members and students show their respect to master craftsmen and aspire to join them.

To build a platform for master craftsmen in sharing their expertise with others, Zaozhuang Vocational College has followed positive practices and experience gained by Jinan Manbotong Animation Production Company in the implementation of a modern apprenticeship scheme, and invited master craftsmen and intangible cultural heritage inheritors to the campus, with the goal of building a positive interaction between master craftsmen and young students in the inheritance of traditional crafts. 

A number of recipients and graduates from the college have become technical experts at the workplace. For instance, Zhao Feng, deputy chief engineer in Shandong Lunan Machine Tools Co grew from a junior maintenance worker to a national model laborer with special allowance from the State Council. Stories about him are very popular on campus.

Zaozhuang Vocational College added the project of inculcating the spirit of craftsmanship into its 13th five-year plan (2016-2020) as a strategic task, established a leadership group on the implementation of the project, improved relevant working mechanisms and built a long-term system with special funding.