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 memorandum of understanding (MoU) of cooperation to establish a Luban Workshop in Ethiopia.

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.

ETU President Teshale Berecha Yadessa extended his thanks to the government of Tianjin municipality 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.

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.

The Luban Workshop Industry and Education Integration Development Alliance was officially established in Tianjin on April 29 with 32 enterprises including Huawei and CREC and 18 colleges involved in building Luban Workshops coming aboard.

The alliance will give full play to the resource advantages of colleges and enterprises, and is committed to actively serving optimization of the business environment of the port city, promoting closer international integration of industry and education between schools and enterprises, and serving the projects of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Chen Sichang, general manager of China Civil Engineering Corporation, said that the alliance will provide intellectual support and resource guarantees for the high-quality and sustainable development of Luban Workshops, and provide skilled personnel training and technological innovation services for the overseas development of Chinese companies.

Cao Xiaohong, deputy mayor of the municipality, noted that the alliance can actively play a leading role, combine collective action with bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and strive to build an international talent training collaboration network for academic exchanges, collaborative research, and resource sharing.