TEDA Cooperation Zone Boosts New Development in China-Egypt Vocational Education Cooperation

Recently, the seminar titled “Dual-System Empowerment: School-Enterprise Collaboration—Innovative Development of Vocational Education in China and Egypt and the Construction of Luban Workshops,” jointly hosted by the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Vocational and Technical Education Cooperation Center, the Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education, Tianjin Light Industry Vocational and Technical College, and Tianjin Transportation Vocational College, was held in Tianjin. Attending the seminar were over 50 participants, including Tamer Najm El-Din, Director of the Directorate for Dual-System Education, Applied Technology, and Excellence at the Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education; Mohanmed Baioumy, Head of the Luban Workshop at the Cairo Higher Technical School of Maintenance; Geng Jie, Director of the Research Center for Vocational Education at the Tianjin Academy of Educational Sciences; Wei Jianqing, General Manager of China-Africa Teda Investment Co., Ltd.; Li Yunmei, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tianjin Light Industry Vocational and Technical College; Yan Fugang, Vice President of Tianjin Transportation Vocational College; heads of Egyptian Luban Workshop partner enterprises; as well as relevant subject teachers and representatives of international students.

As an important platform for pragmatic cooperation between China and Egypt and as a training and employment base for the Egyptian Luban Workshop, the China-Egypt Teda Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (Teda Cooperation Zone) plays a pivotal role in promoting the coordinated development of industry and education between the two countries, injecting new momentum into deepening the integration of industry and education and empowering local talent development.

At the seminar, Wei Jianqing, General Manager of China-Africa Teda Investment Co., Ltd., stated that the Teda Cooperation Zone, as a national-level demonstration project under the Belt and Road Initiative, has achieved remarkable construction results and is now entering a new phase of high-quality development. He emphasized that Egypt, as the only country in the world with two Luban Workshops, has made its Luban Workshop projects a benchmark for vocational education in Africa. The Teda Cooperation Zone, together with institutions such as Tianjin Light Industry Vocational and Technical College, Tianjin Transportation Vocational College, the Faculty of Engineering at Ain Shams University, and the Cairo Advanced Maintenance Technology School, is jointly building Luban Workshop training and employment bases, effectively linking Egypt’s “secondary and higher vocational” education systems and promoting the deepening and practical implementation of “industry-education integration and school-enterprise cooperation.” This collaboration not only provides a practical platform for Chinese vocational education to go global but also injects new vitality into Egypt’s industrial upgrading and youth employment.

Wei Jianqing stated that the TEDA Cooperation Zone will further deepen its collaborative mechanisms with the Luban Workshops, providing multifaceted support—including internships, training programs, job placement assistance, and technical training—to help Egyptian youth enhance their vocational skills and broaden their career development pathways. He expressed confidence that, through the joint efforts of both sides, the TEDA Cooperation Zone and the Luban Workshops will become a dual model for vocational education and industrial cooperation between China and Egypt, injecting new momentum into the economic and social development of both countries and strengthening the friendship between their peoples.

At this seminar, five companies—including China-Africa Teda Investment Co., Ltd.—were awarded the title of “Strategic Partner for International Exchange,” recognizing their contributions to promoting vocational education and international cooperation between China and Egypt. Taking this as an opportunity, the Teda Cooperation Zone will further deepen the substance of university-enterprise collaboration, explore innovative approaches to talent development through the integrated model of “Industrial Park + Workshop + Enterprise,” and cultivate more high-quality, application-oriented technical professionals for countries jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, thereby strengthening people-to-people bonds and fostering win-win development between China and Africa.

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