The opening ceremony of the Chinese Workshop’s "Chinese + Vocational Skills" training program was held on April 21 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, marking another milestone of the university’s vocational education going global. Four teachers from the School of Electrical Engineering, School of Smart City and School of International Education of the university traveled to Ethiopia to deliver the training.
Strong support came from the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia. H.E. Chen Hai, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, put forward requirements and expectations for the project; Liu Xiaoguang, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the embassy, and Meles Mathews, Deputy Mayor of Addis Ababa, attended and addressed the launch ceremony.
The 12-week training adopts a hybrid offline-online mode, including a 10-day intensive offline session. Featuring an innovative teaching model of "Chinese + Construction" and "Chinese + Electrification", it serves over 100 local employees of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) Ethiopia and graduates from Wingate Technical Vocational College. The program aims to cultivate local versatile talents proficient in Chinese language, Chinese culture and practical engineering expertise.
Counselor Liu remarked the training implements the consensus between Chinese and African leaders and fuels bilateral talent development for shared growth. Deputy Mayor Meles noted the tripartite cooperation will upgrade Ethiopia’s vocational education and foster globally competitive innovative technical professionals.
Backed by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) under China’s Ministry of Education, the university teamed up with CRBC to set up Ethiopia’s first Chinese Workshop in 2022. Since its founding, the workshop has lifted local youngsters’ employability via integrated online-and-offline Chinese and vocational training.
As 2026 is designated the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, the university will deepen vocational education ties with Ethiopia based on the Chinese Workshop platform. It will advance industry-education integration alongside Chinese enterprises’ overseas investment, contributing to high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative and the building of a China-Ethiopia community with a shared future.
