BY CN-VE INSTITUTE 11/1/2025

Introduction

In the 21st century, with the deepening development of globalization, technical skills have become an important driving force for economic and social development. Faced with increasingly fierce international competition and constantly changing industrial needs, countries around the world are actively seeking effective ways to cultivate high-quality technical and skilled talents. Against this background, Luban Workshop, an international cooperation brand in vocational education originally created and led by China, has emerged to provide valuable opportunities for young people around the world to learn advanced technology, master practical skills, and realize their life values.

Luban Workshop is not only an educational project, but also a skills bridge connecting China with the world, and a growth channel to help young people from various countries realize their career dreams. Through systematic vocational education and training, Luban Workshop is cultivating a new generation of technical and skilled talents for the world, injecting new vitality into the economic and social development of various countries.

Historical Origins and Cultural Connotations of Luban Workshop

Luban Workshop is named after Luban, an outstanding craftsman and inventor in ancient China. Luban, who lived during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods 2,500 years ago, is one of the most famous craftsmen in Chinese history and is known as the “ancestor of craftsmen.” He not only invented many practical tools such as saws, ink markers, and curved rulers, but more importantly, embodied the craftsman spirit of excellence, innovation, and pursuit of perfection.

In Chinese culture, Luban represents the wisdom and innovative spirit of the working people, symbolizing superb technical skills, excellent professional qualities, and continuous innovative consciousness. Naming this international vocational education cooperation project after Luban not only reflects the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture, but also expresses the expectation that students from various countries will become outstanding technical talents.

Luban Workshop adheres to the concept of “giving people fish and also teaching them how to fish,” not only providing advanced teaching equipment and technical training, but more importantly, imparting advanced concepts and teaching methods of Chinese vocational education, helping partner countries establish a sustainable technical talent training system.

Project Overview and Development History

Luban Workshop is a well-known brand of international cooperation in vocational education originally created by Tianjin and led under the guidance of the Chinese Ministry of Education. Since its launch in 2016, the project has gone through a process from exploratory pilot to large-scale development.

In March 2016, the world’s first Luban Workshop was built and operated at Ayutthaya Technical College in Ayutthaya Province, Thailand, marking the official launch of this international cooperation project. Subsequently, Luban Workshop began to rapidly deploy on a global scale, expanding from Asia to Europe and Africa, forming a global vocational education cooperation network.

By the end of 2024, China has built 34 Luban Workshops in more than 30 countries and regions across Asia, Europe, and Africa. Among them, 10 Luban Workshops have been built in Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries, including projects in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Egypt and other countries. These workshops cover multiple professional directions from traditional manufacturing to emerging fields such as new energy and digital economy.

The development of Luban Workshop has received high attention and strong support from governments at all levels in China. In January 2025, the “Education Powerhouse Construction Plan Outline (2024-2035)” was issued, emphasizing the need to enhance the overseas education capabilities of higher education and deepen brands such as Luban Workshop, marking that Luban Workshop has entered a new stage of quality and efficiency improvement.

Educational Philosophy and Teaching Model

Luban Workshop adopts a combination of academic education and vocational training to form a unique educational model. The project takes the “Engineering Practice Innovation Project (EPIP)” teaching model as the core, which is a Chinese vocational education teaching model based on Tianjin vocational education teaching and reform experience.

The EPIP teaching model guides students to learn through actual engineering projects, emphasizes the combination of theory and practice, and focuses on cultivating students’ practical innovation ability and ability to solve practical problems. This model can effectively shorten the running-in period of graduates after entering enterprises and enable them to adapt to job requirements more quickly.

In the teaching process, Luban Workshop adheres to the characteristics of “teaching follows output, industry and education go hand in hand,” and actively meets the local employment needs overseas. The project not only provides advanced teaching equipment and training venues, but also organizes Chinese teachers and technical personnel to carry out technical skills training for local teachers, and invites them to China for field exchanges, forming a two-way interactive cooperation mechanism.

The teaching content of Luban Workshop covers many fields, including automation, industrial robots, cloud computing, new energy, railway transportation, automotive technology, machinery manufacturing, electronic information, communication technology, catering services, Internet of Things technology, etc. These professional settings are carefully designed according to the industrial development needs and technical talent training needs of partner countries.

International Cooperation Network and Layout

Luban Workshop has established an extensive international cooperation network around the world, forming a regional layout with its own characteristics.

In Asia, Thailand’s Luban Workshop, as the first workshop, provides a learning and training platform for teachers and students of vocational colleges in ASEAN countries, and has trained more than 8,000 students. The Luban Workshop at the Chennai Institute of Technology in India has become a successful example of China-India vocational education cooperation, significantly improving the vocational education level of the local school. Pakistan’s Luban Workshop focuses on agricultural machinery training, and its courses have been incorporated into Pakistan’s Punjab Provincial Vocational Training Course System.

In Central Asia, Tajikistan’s Luban Workshop is the first Luban Workshop in Central Asia, with a construction area of 1,138 square meters. Its teaching content covers 13 majors in 9 teaching and research offices such as the Civil Engineering and Architecture Department of Tajikistan Technical University. Currently, about 1,500 students have received training. Kazakhstan’s Luban Workshop began trial operation in December 2023, building a training base for new energy vehicles and intelligent network connection technology, and connecting the complete chain of “teaching standards-industry certification-enterprise employment.”

In Africa, Djibouti’s Luban Workshop is the first Luban Workshop in Africa. It offers four majors in the first phase, including railway operation management and business, and has trained a large number of technical and skilled talents for major projects such as the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway. Egypt’s Luban Workshop is very popular locally, and the majors studied by students are widely used in many fields such as automobiles and construction. Mali’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Luban Workshop is the world’s first Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Luban Workshop. By introducing the concept of “medicine and food sharing the same origin,” it makes it easier for local people to accept Traditional Chinese Medicine culture.

In Europe, Portugal’s Luban Workshop is jointly built by Tianjin Vocational and Technical College of Mechanics and Electrical Technology and Setúbal Polytechnic Institute of Portugal, jointly cultivating talents in electrical automation and industrial robots. The “Chinese cooking technology” academic education offered by the British Luban Workshop has been incorporated into the British National Qualifications Framework, and the courses receive financial support from the British government.

Talent Training Effectiveness and Student Development

Luban Workshop has achieved remarkable results in talent training and has trained a large number of high-quality technical and skilled talents for partner countries. According to statistics, Luban Workshop has trained nearly 10,000 students in academic education and implemented more than 31,000 vocational education trainings.

Many students have not only mastered advanced technical skills through Luban Workshop learning, but also obtained better employment opportunities and development prospects. Taking Djibouti’s Luban Workshop as an example, the story of student Osman is typical. After graduating from school in 2018, although Osman had excellent academic performance, he could not find an ideal job in an environment where the youth unemployment rate in his country was as high as 86%. He had aspired to work on the railway since he was a child, but because Djibouti did not have a railway major, he could only bury this dream in his heart.

The arrival of Luban Workshop changed Osman’s fate. He stood out from more than 1,000 applicants and became one of the first batch of students at Djibouti Luban Workshop. At the Nagad Station training base of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, Osman learned the work standards and procedures of railway engineering and transportation positions on site under the guidance of Chinese masters. Due to his outstanding performance, he received an employment notice from China Civil Engineering Djibouti Company during his internship, realizing his career dream.

There are many similar success stories in Luban Workshops around the world. Graduates of Thailand’s Luban Workshop have either continued their studies at undergraduate institutions or have successfully found employment. Students from Chennai Institute of Technology in India have entered large companies to start successful careers through the Luban Workshop project.

Graduates of Luban Workshop are widely welcomed by local companies, Chinese-funded companies and multinational companies. Many companies come to Luban Workshop to find the technical talents they need, which provides students with diversified employment choices and development opportunities.

Technical Standards and Educational Resource Export

Luban Workshop not only exports technical skills, but more importantly, exports China’s vocational education standards, teaching resources and educational concepts. The project has developed more than 100 international professional courses, published 145 bilingual textbooks, and developed 420 training manuals and loose-leaf textbooks, forming a complete teaching resource system.

In terms of technical standards, Luban Workshop has promoted the integration of a number of Chinese vocational education standards into the national education systems of partner countries, achieving a strategic upgrade from single technology export to the trinity of “standards-technology-governance.” Fourteen international professional teaching standards have been incorporated into the national education systems of partner countries, marking that Chinese vocational education standards have been recognized internationally.

Luban Workshop has also established a complete quality assurance system. At the end of 2020, 72 colleges, enterprises, scientific research institutions and social organizations formed the “Luban Workshop” Construction Alliance to study and formulate “Luban Workshop” construction standards, carry out project establishment, quality supervision and termination work, and promote the acceleration of project construction around the world, improve school quality, and expand influence.

Cultural Exchange and People-to-People Cooperation

Luban Workshop is not only a platform for technical and skill exchanges, but also an important bridge for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. The project has created a new paradigm of mutual learning in the technical era with the model of “skills as the body, humanities as the soul.”

In terms of cultural exchanges, Luban Workshop focuses on combining the Chinese craftsman spirit with the local cultures of various countries. The Egyptian project has promoted the localized inheritance of “Ban Mo Culture” and innovatively built a two-way empowerment system of “intangible cultural heritage + vocational education.” The Ugandan project has adapted to African educational traditions and created new cultural exchange symbols.

Many teachers and students participating in the Luban Workshop project have become messengers of cultural exchanges. Xiao Ming, an Egyptian student studying in Tianjin, said that after graduation, he plans to bring the knowledge and experience he has learned in China back to Egypt to promote technical exchanges between the two countries and help the development of vocational education in Egypt. Xiao Ming, who has been in China for a year, said: “Luban Workshop has given me the opportunity to come to China for exchanges and study, to attend classes and participate in practice with Chinese classmates. I feel that the theoretical knowledge I have learned has come to life, and I have gained unprecedented learning motivation and passion.”

Teacher training is also an important part of cultural exchanges. Wu Zhengpeng, a Chinese teacher at Tajikistan’s Luban Workshop, has launched a “two-way journey” across the Pamir Plateau since 2022. He conducts teaching in the local area through China’s advanced instruments and equipment and three-dimensional teaching resources, while fully communicating with Tajik teachers to jointly formulate teaching plans and discuss teaching paths. In July last year, teachers and students from Tajikistan Technical University came to Tianjin as scheduled, and the “appointment of thousands of miles” was fulfilled, bringing hearts closer and deepening friendship.

Value for Students’ Personal Development

For overseas students, participating in the Luban Workshop project has multiple values and significance.

First, students can obtain advanced technical skills training. Luban Workshop is equipped with advanced teaching equipment and data processing centers from China, which can enable students to transform theoretical knowledge into practical ability and adapt to the work environment faster. Students have many opportunities to visit enterprises, participate in internships, and contact more practical projects, which has laid a solid foundation for their future career development.

Second, students can obtain internationally recognized academic certificates and skill certifications. The academic education of Luban Workshop is incorporated into the national education system of the partner countries, which means that the academic certificates obtained by students have official recognition in their home countries, providing a strong guarantee for their employment and further education.

Third, students can gain an international learning experience. Many Luban Workshop projects provide opportunities to study and exchange in China, allowing students to experience China’s culture, education and technological development firsthand. This international learning experience can not only broaden students’ horizons, but also enhance their cross-cultural communication skills, providing advantages for their career development in the context of globalization.

Fourth, students can get better employment prospects. Graduates of Luban Workshop are welcomed by all types of employers because of their solid skills foundation and good practical abilities. Many students can get job offers from companies before graduation, achieving a smooth transition from students to professionals.

Future Development Prospects

Looking to the future, Luban Workshop is facing new development opportunities and challenges. With the in-depth advancement of the “Belt and Road” initiative and the continuous growth of global demand for technical and skilled talents, Luban Workshop has broad prospects for development.

In terms of development planning, Luban Workshop will continue to deepen local integration, establish a normalized strategic dialogue mechanism, jointly formulate development goals and plans with partner countries, and improve strategic synergy. The project will form a more professional team to deeply analyze the development needs of the co-construction sites and the overseas talent needs of enterprises, ensuring that talent training is closely integrated with local realities and the core development strategies of enterprises.

In terms of international communication, Luban Workshop will formulate a comprehensive international communication strategy, clarify audience positioning and core information, integrate resources, and build a multi-language and multi-form communication matrix. The project will increase the output of content that is close to the life and interests of the audience, such as skill sharing and teacher and student stories, and actively participate in education exhibitions, academic forums and other activities to enhance its discourse power and influence in the field of international education.

In terms of professional setting, Luban Workshop will continue to expand into emerging fields, strengthen the integration with cutting-edge technologies such as digital economy, artificial intelligence, and green energy, and cultivate future-oriented technical and skilled talents for the world.

Conclusion

As an important brand of Chinese vocational education “going global,” Luban Workshop is providing an important platform for young people around the world to learn advanced technology and realize their career dreams. Through systematic vocational education training and international learning experience, Luban Workshop not only helps students master practical technical skills, but also opens up new paths for their personal development and career growth.

For students from overseas countries, Luban Workshop represents opportunity, growth and hope. Here, they can not only learn advanced technical knowledge, but also experience different cultures, meet friends from all over the world, and create more possibilities for their future. As many students have said, Luban Workshop has changed their destiny and brought hope to them and their countries.

With the continuous deepening of globalization and the rapid development of technology, Luban Workshop will continue to play its unique role, contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and pave the way for young talents from all over the world to succeed through skills. In this era full of opportunities and challenges, Luban Workshop will continue to uphold the craftsman spirit, cultivate more outstanding technical and skilled talents, and inject new vitality and impetus into global economic and social development.