“This is BYD’s latest blade battery. If problems arise, here’s how to handle them…” In a company in Dubai, a young Chinese man is skillfully guiding local automotive technicians through electric vehicle maintenance and repair in fluent English. The technicians are in awe of his impressive skills and smooth communication, unable to believe that he has just graduated from university.

This remarkable “tech expert” is Liao Yuyuan, a student from Class 3 of 2021 of the New Energy Vehicle Technology program at Shenzhen Polytechnic University. Three years ago, when he first enrolled, he never imagined that his exceptional skills would take him abroad. He is one of many students from the university who are now “going global”. These students are beneficiaries of the university’s “Teaching and Industry Integration” initiative, and they are spreading Chinese strength on the global vocational education stage.

“Exporting Equipment and Resources”

– Solving Urgent Needs

During the summer holidays, the training rooms at the School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering of Shenzhen Polytechnic University are still bustling with activity. The team is busy testing virtual simulation systems for electric vehicle power batteries, installing and debugging teaching equipment for electric motor control systems, and providing online technical guidance to overseas universities offering New Energy Vehicle programs. They are working overtime to develop and export teaching resources and equipment to overseas markets, putting their full effort into promoting China’s outstanding vocational education experience and resources globally. This has long become part of their everyday work.

Why such determination? Because they have heard the urgent call from abroad for skilled professionals in the new energy vehicle industry.

In February 2024, SZPU’s Overseas Team Visits the Thai Ministry of Education for Exchange

“According to the overseas research findings, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America are facing an urgent demand for skilled talents in the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry. However, the vocational schools and training institutions in these regions mostly offer traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle curricula, with little to no course system or practical training facilities for NEVs. The lack of relevant teaching resources and equipment leaves these countries unable to cultivate the necessary technical talents for this emerging industry. Especially in developing countries, the teaching equipment and resources are still rooted in the ICE vehicle era. Therefore, the overseas expansion of the NEV industry urgently requires the latest teaching equipment, resources, and methodologies.” said the relevant official of the university. In response to the national “vocational education going abroad” initiative, Shenzhen Polytechnic University formed an overseas team in January 2022. The team includes key elements such as equipment development, resource creation, and technology transfer, led by Vice Dean Cui Hongwei of the School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering. The team consists of eight core professional faculty members. Following the university’s “Joint Efforts to Go Abroad” guideline outlined in the “Nine Joint Efforts” in industry-education integration, the team has partnered with leading enterprises to build an overseas talent supply chain.

To address the shortage of NEV technical talents abroad, the team, leveraging its 20 years of expertise in vocational automotive education, has actively sought solutions. They have developed NEV equipment suitable for overseas training and have built a large collection of English-language virtual training resources covering the three major systems: “battery”, “motor”, and “electronic control”, as well as two key business areas: “maintenance” and “repair”. These resources and equipment are designed not only to reduce the trial-and-error process for overseas industries but also to cultivate highly skilled talents with a solid foundation in professional knowledge and strong practical application abilities. This supports foreign institutions in transitioning from traditional vehicle maintenance to NEV maintenance education.

SZPU leverages virtual simulation technology to create an immersive interactive training platform.

At the same time, the overseas team has leveraged virtual simulation technology to effectively address the “three highs and three difficulties” in teaching—high investment, high consumption, and high risk, as well as difficulties in implementation, observation, and reproduction. Currently, these self-developed resources are being widely used for the training of new energy vehicle technicians in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

“Professional Development Output”

Cultivating “Self-Sustaining” Capabilities

“Learn anytime, apply immediately.” The resource and technology output by Shenzhen Polytechnic University’s overseas team is like a fresh spring, helping the overseas new energy vehicle industry address urgent challenges. However, for the related industries abroad to grow sustainably, it is not enough to rely solely on “blood transfusions”; they must also develop their own “blood production”. How should professionals be developed? How should talent be nurtured? The overseas team at Shenzhen Polytechnic University has stepped in once again to initiate in-depth cooperation with the vocational education sector in Thailand.

In February 2024, the Shenzhen Polytechnic University overseas team visited the Thai Ministry of Education for discussions, conducting an in-depth study of the current state and needs of vocational education for new energy vehicles in Thailand. The two parties reached an agreement on training teachers in new energy vehicle technologies. After four months of careful preparation, they customized and developed five English-language courses and practical projects on new energy vehicle technology. In June, they launched the first training session for new energy vehicle teachers at vocational colleges in Thailand. In September, the second training session was held, with the Thai Ministry of Education organizing the participation of key automotive faculty members from vocational colleges across Thailand. Seventy-nine Thai teachers who completed the training received course certificates issued by Shenzhen Polytechnic University’s BYD Institute of Applied Technology. The university also signed a formal cooperation agreement with Eastern College of Technology of Thailand to jointly train technical talent for Thailand’s BYD industrial chain.

In June 2024, SZPU’s overseas team began online training for new energy vehicle teachers in vocational education across Thailand

Starting in June, Shenzhen Polytechnic University’s faculty members Cui Hongwei, Ma Deliang, and Liang Songfeng began providing online training for teachers at Eastern College of Technology of Thailand, covering the basic theory, equipment principles, and teaching methods of new energy vehicle technologies. In July, the teachers traveled to Thailand, where they not only taught their Thai counterparts how to use new energy vehicle training equipment and the methods of hands-on teaching but also developed a tailored professional development plan for new energy vehicle programs, specifically designed to meet the needs of Thailand’s local industry. The training lasted for eight days, with ten hours of lessons each day. The Thai teachers were eager to learn, and the Shenzhen Polytechnic University instructors shared their knowledge freely. The two sides worked closely together, jointly contributing to the development of the new energy vehicle industry in Thailand.

In July 2024, SZPU’s teacher Ma Deliang conducted new energy vehicle technology training for teachers at Eastern College of Technology in Thailand

“External Technical Empowerment”

Rooting Development Internally

In addition to benefiting externally, vocational education’s “going global” is also continuously “rooting internally”.

The overseas initiative has helped Shenzhen Polytechnic University expand its influence internationally through skills competitions. In 2022, the team’s teachers guided the formation of a Sino-foreign “1+1” joint team composed of students from Shenzhen Polytechnic University’s School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering and Moscow State University. This team participated in the automotive technology competition at the first World Vocational College Skills Competition. The process, from team formation and competition training to winning, took six months. Training teams were established both on and off-campus, focusing on every technical detail and overcoming training difficulties. The team engaged in process training, technical briefings, analysis of English-language technical materials, and online communication between internal and external teams. The work schedule was intense, often running from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. Due to a shared goal and passion for the competition, the team remained energized, and ultimately, the joint Sino-foreign team won the silver medal in the automotive technology event at the first World Vocational College Skills Competition.

SZPU’s Overseas Team Guides Sino-Foreign Joint Team to Win Silver Medal in the Automotive Technology Event at the First World Vocational College Skills Competition

The overseas initiative has also paved the way for outstanding students at Shenzhen Polytechnic University to reach the global stage. One such beneficiary is student Liao Yuyuan. The university, in collaboration with leading new energy vehicle companies, established a training camp, which provided 108 positions across its overseas divisions in regions such as Europe, South America, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and North America. The school and enterprise jointly trained the first batch of 41 students, who visited showrooms, laboratories, and factories of new energy vehicle companies. Companies sent their Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific Automotive Sales Divisions to provide on-site and online training for the students. In March, Liao Yuyuan began an internship in the Middle East and Africa Automotive Sales Division. After three months of training in China, Liao moved to Dubai and became an after-sales technical service engineer for BYD’s Middle East and Africa automotive division.

Currently, the Shenzhen Polytechnic University overseas team has completed the development of two UNESCO Chair on Digitalization in TVET online courses in English and is working to create a global digital technology vocational education demonstration course in the new energy vehicle sector. The team has been invited to present a special report for UNESCO’s “2023 Joint Action for Vocational Education” project, with participation from over 60 teachers from institutions such as Singapore’s Temasek Polytechnic and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. The team is dedicated to providing effective solutions for “vocational education going global”.

Vocational education’s international outreach is a valuable exploration of China’s high-level educational openness. It not only serves Chinese enterprises as they expand internationally but also spreads knowledge and skills, sharing China’s solutions for vocational education with the world while conveying Chinese culture and values. Shenzhen Polytechnic University’s overseas team, while honing their internal skills, is committed to fulfilling its mission of ensuring that the strongest voice of China’s vocational education is heard around the world!

(Correspondent Cui Hongwei)