The Uganda Luban Workshop online unveiling and opening ceremony [Photo/lubanworkshop.cn]

Luban Workshop has been officially launched in Uganda. 

Luban Workshop, an important conduit for promoting Sino-African cooperation

At the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, President Xi Jinping announced that China will set up 10 Luban Workshops in Africa to provide professional skills training for young Africans. The proposal not only seeks to strengthen Sino-African friendships, train African talents and push forward economic development in Africa, but also provide talent support for Chinese enterprises operating abroad. 

Cultural exchanges between China and Africa create an important basis for Sino-African cooperation. 

The Luban Workshop launch ceremony [Photo/lubanworkshop.cn]

China has the world's largest education system, giving it significant experience in higher education, particularly higher and secondary vocational education, that it can share with African countries. 

Luban Workshops fully consider their host countries' requirements, politics, economies and cultures. The workshops, as a special form of education, will play an important role in Sino-African cultural exchange. 

Uganda Luban Workshop provides technical talent support

The 2040 Vision of Uganda lays out plans for the country to grow from a low-income country into a competitive middle and high-income country. To fulfill this goal, the Ugandan government lists advanced technology, industrialization and the service industry as the focus of the nation's development. However, these industries are in great need of technical talents. The Uganda Luban Workshop has been established to provide technical support for the country's social and economic development. 

The college-enterprise cooperation signing ceremony [Photo/lubanworkshop.cn]

The Uganda Luban Workshop has gained support from Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, president of Uganda, the ambassador of China to Uganda and people from all social circles. On November 25, President Museveni unveiled the Uganda Luban Workshop training base at the Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park, and offered the workshop his good wishes. Zheng Zhuqiang, ambassador of the Chinese embassy in Uganda, said that the Uganda Luban Workshop is a key achievement in the implementation of the "Belt and Road Initiative" and of a community with a shared future for China and Africa. It will further promote in-depth cooperation between the two countries' vocational education systems and provide a new skills training platform for Uganda's young people. 

Professional vocational education resources at the Uganda Luban Workshop 

Uganda Luban Workshop has been co-constructed by Tianjin Polytechnic College, Uganda Technical College Elgon and the Chinese enterprise Tian Tang Group. With the support of Tianjin's vocational education and teaching resources, Uganda Luban Workshop both aids the construction of the "Belt and Road Initiative" and meets Uganda's industrial needs. It uses the internationalized and professional vocational education teaching standards developed by Tianjin as well as practical engineering projects as teaching models in order to export China's outstanding vocational education and quality technologies to Uganda to train local technical talents. 

The meeting for the construction of Uganda Luban Workshop [Photo/lubanworkshop.cn]

Luban Workshop in Uganda Technical College Elgon covers an area of 745 square meters, including an electrical automation technology training center, a numerical control machining training center, an industrial simulation laboratory and an engineering practical innovation training room. 

The Uganda Luban Workshop's training base in Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park covers an area of 1,080 square meters and also includes four training centers. 

A good step towards the integration of production and education 

With more and more Chinese enterprises going abroad, Chinese technologies and brands have an increasing influence across the world. Tian Tang Group has been operating in Uganda for 20 years. It is dedicated to training more local talents and pushing forward the development of the local economy and society through the integration of production and education. 

The Uganda Luban Workshop launch ceremony [Photo/lubanworkshop.cn]

The Luban Workshop will certainly serve as a new platform for the technical training for Uganda's young people through international production cooperation, as well as for the integration of production and education. It is expected to help boost the social and economic development of Uganda and East Africa and Central Africa.

The opening of the Uganda Luban Workshop injects fresh energy into the implementation of the "Belt and Road Initiative" and the construction of a community with a shared future for China and Africa. The workshop will open a new page in Sino-Uganda friendship, raising the cooperation between the two countries to a new level.