The 7th EPIP International Education Alliance Academic Annual Conference is held in Thailand from June 26 to 28. [Photo provided to Tianjin.chinadaily.com]

The 7th EPIP International Education Alliance Academic Annual Conference took place in Thailand, from June 26 to 28, to promote the Engineering Practice Innovation Project (EPIP), a vocational education concept developed by the Luban Workshop.

Pioneered in Tianjin, the EPIP aims to raise students' professional standards, as well as their comprehensive practical and innovative abilities.

Somporn Pandam, deputy secretary general of the office of the Vocational Education Commission of Thailand, expressed a strong willingness to deepen cooperation in the area of vocational education with China. He highlighted the importance of the new cooperation situation led by the Belt and Road Initiative, which will continuously open up opportunities for both China and Thailand.

Xu Lan, educational counsellor of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Kingdom of Thailand, pointed out that EPIP is an important support mechanism for the promotion of the Luban Workshop brand. The Thailand Luban Workshop has effectively promoted the integration of China's vocational education characteristics and Thailand's academic education system, and its work has been complemented by both the Chinese and Thai governments.

According to Lyu Jingquan, vice-president of Tianjin University of Technology and Education, to date 22 EPIP teaching and research centers, application and promotion centers and certification test centers have been established in 16 countries, including Thailand, Ethiopia, India and Portugal.

The conference released English language versions of several EPIP and Luban Workshop research papers. In addition, Somporn Pandam and Lyu Jingquan jointly inaugurated the Thailand Engineering Practice Course EPIP Certification Test Center, while five members of the Thailand Luban Workshop were appointed as key teachers at the center.

More than 100 experts and scholars from EPIP International Education Alliance units, university scientific research institutes and industry enterprises attended the event, which was sponsored by the Vocational Education Committee of Thailand's Ministry of Education.