The Indonesia Luban Workshop, which was built in the same place where the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road was initiated, passed its acceptance evaluation on Dec 20 in Tianjin, a coastal city in North China.

Officials and experts take a group photo during the Indonesia Luban Workshop Acceptance Evaluation Meeting in Tianjin on Dec 20. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Launched in December 2017, the workshop has developed new innovations, helping cultivate skilled talents sponsored by the Vocational Education Center School in Tianjin and the No 2 Vocational and Technical School of Ponorogo, East Java. 

The Tianjin Luban Workshop Research and Promotion Center formed an expert group to appraise the workshop's management, construction effectiveness and characteristic results.  

During their evaluation meeting, the experts listened to a report from the Chinese sponsor college, paid a field trip to the workshop's EPIP Research Center, reviewed files and third-party training quality assessment materials, and heard feedback from business executives, officials and representatives of teachers and students through on-site and online surveys.

Officials and experts attend the Indonesia Luban Workshop Acceptance Evaluation Meeting in Tianjin on Dec 20. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

They agreed that the Indonesian Luban Workshop has achieved good results in terms of urgently-needed professional cultivation, people-to-people exchanges, faculty training, skill competitions and school-enterprise cooperation.

Indonesian vocational teachers show thumps-up during an closing ceremony of the workshop's training of EPIP teaching model. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The workshop serve as a center of excellence across three major areas－automotive engineering and maintenance, electronic technology application and Chinese culinary arts.

To date, 460 Indonesian students have completed school record education and 1,748 have received skills training. The workshop has carried out nine EPIP teacher training sessions for vocational schools in East Java, benefiting 48 local teachers. EPIP uses engineering, practice, innovation and projects to integrate theoretical teaching and practice. It brings students into real life work situations to nurture and develop students' comprehensive professional competence and innovative skills.

An instructor (C) teaches automotive engineering and maintenance skills in class. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In 2018, a vocational education research center was established in East Java. It assisted in hosting a skills competition for more than 130 students from 65 schools in the province, leading vocational education reforms in the area.

Students from the Indonesian Luban Workshop China IEEE Micromouse International Invitetional Competition. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

To promote the China-Indonesia Julong Agricultural Industry Cooperation Zone, a palm-planting base, the workshop developed a project featuring plant protection machine production, sales and maintenance based on local needs.

Indonesia Luban Workshop's agriculture drone wins the first prize during an equipment exhibition in East Java. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Indonesian President Joko Widodo spoke highly of the workshop during his field work. It has also been designated as an international talent training base by the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Education.

Students from the Indonesian Luban Workshop have a sports meet.  [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Indonesia is one of the main cooperating countries in the Belt and Road initiative, and the construction of Luban workshop is of great significance," said Bai Haili, deputy director of the Tianjin Municipal Education Commission.