On September 12, the EducationPlus 2024 Wuxi International Vocational Education Conference and Industry-Education Integration Expo grandly opened at the Wuxi Taihu International Expo Center. The conference was co-guided by the China Vocational Education Association, the People's Government of Wuxi City, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the German Embassy in China, the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and the EU-China Belt and Road Cultural, Educational, Tourism, and Economic-Trade Development Committee. It received special support from the Education and Vocation magazine, the Wuxi Municipal Education Bureau, and the Administrative Committee of Wuxi Economic Development Zone, and was organized by the EducationPlus International Vocational Education Conference Organizing Committee. Xu Chaoshan, President of our university, was invited to attend the conference and delivered keynote speeches at multiple parallel forums.
This conference integrates an international conference with an industry-education integration expo. In addition to the opening ceremony, it featured over 20 seminars and parallel forums, sharing best practices in international vocational education, exploring future industry trends, and jointly promoting the high-quality development of vocational education.
At the 2024 China-Tajikistan Vocational Education Seminar, Xu Chaoshan stated that the university is committed to deepening vocational education cooperation with Tajikistan and jointly exploring new models for cultivating international students. The university has been collaborating with Tajikistan since 2017, promoting cultural exchange and skills transmission through international student education, international Chinese language teacher training, and online teaching programs. He noted that, in this new stage of China-Tajikistan relations, the university has joined the China-Tajikistan Technical Skills Enhancement and Development Alliance and serves as a training base institution under the Study in China Plan. He expressed anticipation for working with Tajik vocational education institutions to seek common development, innovate cooperation models, and contribute to the synergistic development of vocational education in both countries. Furthermore, through initiatives like the Jiangsu Aid-Xinjiang program, the university is advancing vocational education in border regions, contributing to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
At the 2024 (7th) Chinese + Vocational Skills Academic Exchange Seminar, Xu Chaoshan shared the university's achievements and vision in international education, focusing on building an 'ecosystem chain' for industry-education integration in cultivating international high-skilled talents and the Chinese + Vocational Skills education model. He emphasized that, against the backdrop of globalization and technological innovation, constructing such an ecosystem chain is crucial, and nurturing high-skilled talents with international perspectives and innovative capabilities is a shared mission for education and industry. As a practitioner of the Chinese + Vocational Skills model, the university is dedicated to enhancing the quality of education for international students in China and contributing Chinese strength to vocational education. He called on all parties to work together to build an interconnected, mutually beneficial industry-education integration ecosystem, using educational innovation to shape the future.
During the conference, the university received multiple awards, including Model Institution for Vocational Education International Exchange and Cooperation, the 2024 'Belt and Road' Outstanding Contribution Award for Vocational Education Internationalization, and Outstanding Educator in Vocational Education International Exchange and Cooperation. Two international students won one second prize and one third prize, respectively, in the Silk Road Chinese Language World College Student International Chinese Competition. Additionally, a sample book of the cross-border e-commerce Chinese volume from the Silk Road Craftsmanship Chinese + Vocational Skills textbook series, led and edited by our university, was released at the event.
