2025 Belt and Road Academic Conference on TVET held at SZPU.

From May 23 to 24, the 2025 Belt and Road Academic Conference on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was held in Shenzhen. With the theme “New Responsibilities, New Actions, New Horizons”, the conference aimed to explore the new responsibilities of vocational education in advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, its new actions in promoting holistic human development and inclusive modernization, and its new horizons in fostering openness and digital empowerment. The conference further deepened and expanded international cooperation and exchange in TVET, contributing to the building of a global community of shared future.

The event gathered distinguished leaders and experts, including: Lu Xin, President of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education and former Vice Minister of Education; Li Kang, Vice President of the Society, former Vice Chairman of the Guangxi Committee of the CPPCC and former Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group; Yu Bin, Level-II Inspector of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, Ministry of Education (MOE); Ge Siying, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for UNESCO; Hu Zhiping, Deputy Director of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, MOE; Huang Hui, Deputy Director of the Center for Vocational Education Development, MOE; Zhang Jiajun, Director of the Department of Vocational and Lifelong Education, Department of Education of Guangdong Province; Tang Fei, Director of the Department of Vocational and Lifelong Education of Education Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality; Yang Xinbin, Party Secretary of SZPU and Vice President of the Society; Xu Jianling, President of SZPU; and Liu Xuanxuan, Deputy Party Secretary of the Open University of China. Liu Jiantong, Vice President and Secretary-General of the Society, presided over the opening ceremony.

In his remarks, Yu Bin reviewed the achievements in international cooperation in vocational education and offered four suggestions: focus on standards alignment, deepen industry-education integration, strengthen the synergy between Chinese language and technical skills, and build a smart TVET ecosystem. Ge Siying emphasized the crucial role of vocational education in driving industrial and shared development and called for enhanced international TVET cooperation to cultivate high-quality technical talent and support global educational transformation. Huang Hui highlighted China’s TVET development and international cooperation strengths and pledged to further serve key international industry cooperation areas by improving the structure, quality, and depth of partnerships. Yang Xinbin shared SZPU’s practical outcomes in international TVET collaboration and stressed the importance of digital transformation and global cooperation, hoping the conference would contribute new momentum to high-quality TVET development worldwide.

Lu Xin, President of the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education and former Vice Minister of Education, delivered a speech.

In her keynote address, Lu Xin summarized the outcomes of the six previous Belt and Road TVET academic conferences, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy and high-quality Belt and Road construction. She noted that the initiative has progressed from a Chinese proposal to a global public good, entering a new phase of high-quality development. She called on vocational education to embrace new missions in this context and proposed four key initiatives: 1. Promote Chinese Culture and Enrich Human Civilization: Use TVET as a bridge for intercultural exchange, supporting a globalization that is open, inclusive, balanced, and mutually beneficial. 2. Integrate Industry and Technological Innovation: Develop “AI + Skills” training models, promote internationalization of standards in smart manufacturing and green energy, and support the industrial upgrading of Belt and Road countries. 3. Reshape Talent and Skills Structures: Use AI to reform TVET disciplines, curricula, and teaching materials to nurture cross-disciplinary talent urgently needed by industry. 4. Enhance Digitalization and Internationalization: Integrate outcomes from the 2025 World Digital Education Conference into TVET digital transformation to better support Belt and Road cooperation.

The conference featured a series of vibrant sessions. In the keynote session, President Xu Jianling of SZPU shared experiences in internationalizing vocational education, including the Shenzhen Digital Workshop and the “Shenzhen Protocol”. Abdoulaye Salifou, Head of Education at the UNESCO Liaison Office to the African Union and UN Economic Commission for Africa, discussed UNESCO’s support for TVET digital transformation and its importance in Africa’s development. Jouni Koski, President of Laurea University of Applied Sciences and Chair of the Finnish Education Evaluation Council, explored how digital technologies drive openness and innovation in TVET. Wang Qiang, Vice President, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of the University of International Business and Economics, highlighted TVET’s role in fostering shared growth and cooperation under the BRI. Antoine Barnaart, Director of the Confucius Institute at Queensland University of Technology, emphasized the impact of cross-cultural exchange on TVET development. Wang Hailong, President of Tianjin Sino-German University of Applied Sciences, shared outcomes of TVET cooperation through Luban Workshops. Pierre Yourougou, Vice President of Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB), discussed the role of TVET in Côte d’Ivoire’s economic growth and shared the country’s achievements and future plans. Jahou Samba Faal, Secretary-General of the Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics in Africa (ATUPA), called for strengthened global cooperation in vocational education. Zhou Bin, Director, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of the Center for Chinese Calligraphy and Traditional Culture Integration and Innovation at Renmin University of China, explored how calligraphy cultivates craftsmanship spirit. Ulrike Horneber, Principal of the Nuremberg Office for Vocational Education, shared Nuremberg’s vocational education system and strategy and its impact on economic development.

Participants engaged in in-depth sharing and discussions.

Breakout sessions focused on topics such as “Digital Empowerment for Openness and Sharing” and “Industry-Education Integration for Collaborative Development”, during which participants engaged in in-depth sharing and discussions. Hu Zhiping, Deputy Director of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, MOE, shared the center’s efforts in integrating international Chinese language education with vocational skills training, pledging to nurture more interdisciplinary talent for the Belt and Road.

The conference was hosted by the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education and co-organized by Shenzhen Polytechnic University, the Society’s Foreign Language Education Committee, the International Cooperation and Exchange Committee, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road TVET Subcommittee, and the Research Consortium on Undergraduate Vocational Education. Nearly 300 delegates from 52 countries and regions and five international organizations attended the event.

(Source: The Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education)