Officials pose for a group photo at the opening ceremony of the Sihanoukville Institute of Business and Technology in Cambodia on Dec 16. [Photo/wxic.edu.cn]

School-enterprise cooperation is finally leading to concrete results, as the Sihanoukville Institute of Business and Technology opened in Cambodia on Dec 16. 

The institute, jointly founded by the Jiangsu-based garment company Hodo Group and the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Commerce, is the first of its kind in Cambodia and is expected to help turn the Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone into a talent hub. 

The Wuxi Vocational Institute of Commerce will be primarily responsible for operating the new institute, with help from Jiangsu University, Jiangsu Normal University, Jiangsu Agri-Animal Husbandry Vocational College and Jiangxi Vocational Technical College of Industry Trade. 

The schools will work together to formulate a curriculum, cultivate skilled workers, construct teaching facilities, develop a strong faculty, and carry out scientific research. 

Zhu Qinhua, president of the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Commerce, was confident in the school developing into a leader in applied sciences and breaking new ground in the fields of education, science and culture. 

A group of Cambodian students were awarded scholarships at the ceremony. 

The Sihanoukville Institute of Business and Technology was approved by the Cambodian Council of Ministers in October 2018.