To implement the guiding principle of President Xi Jinping’s speech and important instructions on “China-South Africa Friendship and Cooperation” during the BRICS 2023 and his state visit to South Africa, and promote exchanges, mutual learning and common development of vocational education between Jiangsu and South Africa, the Launching Ceremony of Jiangsu-South Africa Vocational College Principals Alliance and Principals Dialogue Event was held on November 6th in the Xianlin Campus of Nanjing Vocational University of Industry Technology.
Attendees of the event included Mookapele Mpho Gift, Commissioner of the Department of Higher Education & Training (DHET); Kula Thangithini Juliet, Deputy Chairman of the South African Public School Principals Organization; Ngcobo Jeffrey Themba, Deputy Secretary General of the South African Public School Principals Organization; Yang Shubing, Deputy Director-General of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education; Yang Jing, Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government; Wu Xuemin, Secretary of the Party Committee of NJUIT; and Xie Yonghua, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee & President of NJUIT. The event was moderated by Pan Xuhai, Vice President of NJUIT. Participants of the event also included heads of the relevant divisions and offices of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education and the Foreign Affairs Office of Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government. There were also more than 80 participants from 8 vocational education institutions in South Africa and 11 in Jiangsu Province, which are council members of the first Jiangsu-South Africa Vocational College Principals Alliance.
Mookapele Mpho Gift highlighted South Africa’s special features in vocational education, including the focus on practical teaching, innovation and teamwork. She also praised the achievements made by Jiangsu and South Africa in vocational college cooperation, especially the exchanges and cooperation in teaching philosophies, curriculum and teaching methods. She believed that the establishment of the Jiangsu-South Africa Vocational College Principals Alliance is of great significance, which will provide a more stable and lasting platform for the cooperation between vocational colleges of both sides. Through the cooperation in the Alliance, we can jointly explore innovative educational models and training mechanisms, and provide students with better educational resources and career opportunities.
Yang Shubing welcomed the delegation of the Department of Higher Education & Training (DHET). According to Mr. Yang, under the framework of the High-Level People-to-People Exchange Mechanism between South Africa and China, Jiangsu attaches great importance to educational exchanges and cooperation with South Africa, and in recent years, Jiangsu’s various educational indicators have ranked among the top in China. The Jiangsu-South Africa Vocational College Principals Alliance is a new platform for educational exchanges and cooperation between Jiangsu and South Africa. He required that firstly we should focus on strengthening the high-quality sustainable development of the Alliance; secondly, it is necessary to continuously improve the Alliance’s ability to serve economic and social development; thirdly, we should further expand the influence and contribution of the Alliance. He hoped that as the leading member, NJUIT will strengthen overall planning and provide good services, and that the member institutions of the Alliance will further build consensus and work together, continue to accelerate the pace of opening up, create new tracks and shape new advantages, and jointly build the Alliance into an important platform carrier and featured brand for exchange and cooperation in higher vocational education between China and South Africa.
Yang Jing pointed out that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Africa. In his important speech at BRICS 2023 in August this year, President Xi Jinping pointed out that BRICS countries should broaden cooperation in the field of education, give full play to the role of vocational education alliance and explore the establishment of a cooperation mechanism for digital education. This event has set up a platform for exchanges between vocational colleges in China and South Africa, and these colleges have actively explored the development path of vocational education in the future, which is of great significance for promoting the high-quality development of vocational education in both countries. We hope that on the basis of the traditional friendship, the educational circles of Jiangsu and South Africa will thoroughly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and fully implement the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the 2023 BRICS Summit, so that the achievements of China-South Africa education cooperation will benefit more people, and contribute more efforts from the grassroots to the building of a high-level China-South Africa community with a shared future.
Ngcobo Jeffrey Themba praised the advantages of public vocational colleges in Jiangsu, especially highlighting their focus on practical teaching and close cooperation with enterprises and the industry to ensure the successful careers of students after graduation. The establishment of the Jiangsu-South Africa Vocational College Principals Alliance is of great significance for the cooperation between public vocational colleges of both sides and will provide a more stable and lasting platform for cooperation. He believed that through enhanced collaboration, students will be able to gain a broader international perspective and opportunities for cross-cultural exchanges. This will help cultivate globally competitive talents and make greater contributions to the socio-economic development of both countries. He encouraged the heads of public vocational colleges of both countries to actively participate in the Alliance’s activities, share experiences and exchange ideas, and jointly promote the innovation and development of public vocational education.
Wu Xuemin introduced the overview of NJUIT and the achievements of its opening up, and reviewed the fruitful results of cooperation between NJUIT and the South Africa Chinese Culture and International Education Exchange Center. He pointed out that in the past 105 years, NJUIT has always carried forward Huang Yanpei’s vocational education thought, and regarded cooperation and exchanges with other countries as an important way to enhance its strength and social influence. South Africa, as the bridgehead of the “Belt and Road” Initiative to connect with African countries, is of great significance to the international development of NJUIT, and has attracted much attention from and maintained exchanges of visits with NJUIT. Since 2018, NJUIT has received 78 students in three batches from South African vocational and technical universities, and carried out study and internship programs for South African students in China. He said that we should take the launch of the Alliance as an opportunity to integrate the opening up of education into the development planning of each institution, provide orientation and institutional guarantee for enhancing education cooperation and exchanges with other countries, and promote the development results of vocational education to the international stage in multiple dimensions.
During the event, Xie Yonghua delivered a keynote speech titled “Contribute to the Co-building of the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative by Promoting Win-Win Cooperation of Vocational Education between China and (South) Africa”. He introduced the history, programs, and school-running characteristics of NJUIT, and the achievements made in the exploration and practice of international development in recent years. He pointed out that as the first public vocational college in China, NJUIT has boldly shouldered up the mission of developing vocational education in China and also in Jiangsu Province, made efforts in both aspects of “bringing in” and “going global”, and focused on the practice of NJUIT’s international development and cooperation with overseas colleges and universities. He said that the “Jiangsu-South Africa Vocational College Principals Alliance” and “China-South Africa Art and Design Innovation Exchange Center” led by NJUIT will have far-reaching significance for the development of China-South Africa vocational education cooperation. In the future, NJUIT will continue to carry out extensive educational cooperation between the governments and institutions of Jiangsu and South Africa, creating a new chapter for the vocational education exchanges and cooperation between both countries.
In the principal dialogue session, on behalf of the Alliance, Mabe Molifi Israel, Principal of Gert Sibande TVET College; Hlekane Basane Rashley, Principal of Vhembe TVET College; Monyamane Malose Joseph, Principal of Southwest Gauteng TVET College; Du Guoxiong, President of Nanjing Vocational Institute of Railway Technology; Pan Yongsheng, President of Jiangsu Vocational College of Agriculture and Forestry; Wang Zhifeng, President of Jiangsu Vocational Institute of Commerce; and Tian Min, President of Nanjing Vocational College of Information Technology, shared their understanding and practical experience of vocational education cooperation, and looked forward to the broad prospects of China-(South) Africa cooperation in the field of vocational education.
During the event, Yang Shubing and Mookapele Mpho Gift jointly unveiled the plaque of “Jiangsu-South Africa Vocational College Principals Alliance”. Yang Jing and Ngcobo Jeffrey Themba jointly unveiled the plaque of “China-South Africa Vocational School Art and Design Exchange Center”. Xie Yonghua, Ngcobo Jeffrey Themba and Dr. Lu Zhilei signed the alliance cooperation agreement on behalf of the vocational colleges of Jiangsu, the vocational colleges of South Africa and the South Africa Chinese Culture and International Education Exchange Center respectively. Yang Shubing and Yang Jing presented a plaque to the South African members of the council of the “Jiangsu-South Africa Vocational College Principals Alliance”. Commissioner Mookapele Mpho Gift, and Deputy Secretary General Ngcobo Jeffrey Themba presented a plaque to the Chinese members of the council of the “Jiangsu-South Africa Vocational College Principals Alliance”.
Before the event, the wonderful dance performance of South African students at NJUIT won the praise of the guests. After the event, all the guests visited the Intelligent Manufacturing Training Center (Beijing Jingdiao College) and the Tiantang Campus, and expressed their appreciation for NJUIT’s long history, advanced teaching equipment and successful cooperation with many internationally renowned enterprises.
As the first public vocational college in the country, NJUlT boldly shoulders up the mission of developing vocational education in China and Jiangsu Province, and makes efforts in both aspects of “bringing in” and “going global”. In this event, NJUIT cooperated closely with the South Africa Chinese Culture and International Education Exchange Center, gave full play to their professional advantages, optimized the cooperation mechanism, and jointly built the brand of China-Africa (South Africa) people-to-people exchanges, promoted the cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and South Africa, thus better serving the bilateral relations.
Group photo
Launching ceremony
Highlights
(International Education College
Edit / Chu Yang
Review / Zhang Haining)
