Online signing ceremony venue

On April 25, SZPT and Félix Houphout-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INP-HB) held an online signing ceremony of China-Africa TVET Cooperation Agreement. Mr. Adama Dosso, Cote d'Ivoire Ambassador to China, Mr. Moussa Diaby, President of Félix Houphout-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INP-HB), Mr. Dennis Conan, Dean of School of Public Works, Mr. Xue Nan, Head of AVIC International in Cote d'Ivoire, Xu Jianling, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of SZPT, Li Yue, Vice President of SZPT, Tang Kesheng, Head of International Office, Wang Qun, Vice Dean of School of Construction Engineering, and faculty representatives of School of Construction Engineering attended the online signing ceremony, which was presided over by Li Yue.

Xu Jianling said that since its inception, the project has received strong support from the governments and enterprises of the two countries. He expressed heartfelt thanks to the Embassy of Cote d'Ivoire in China and AVIC International for their care and help. SZPT takes it as its duty “to be the first assault boat for innovation and development of vocational education in China”, makes faster steps in reform and innovation, and ranks first in multiple aspects of vocational education in China. SZPT makes full use of its regional and own advantages for continued extensive international exchanges and cooperation, and contributes to building a brand of vocational education with Chinese characteristics. He hoped that by participating in the “Future Africa – Sino-Africa TVET Cooperation Program”, SZPT would jointly train high-skilled talents with African colleges and universities to serve local economic development, and strive to set a model for Sino-Africa vocational education cooperation, so as to add new connotation to Sino-Africa friendly cooperation.

Mr. Moussa Diaby thanked the Chinese government and Shenzhen Polytechnic for their trust in Félix Houphout-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INP-HB), which is the first and largest higher vocational and technical college in West Africa. In recent years, with the increasing demand for highly skilled talents in the context of economic development, the society has higher requirements for vocational education. He is very glad that the school can participate in the “Future Africa – Sino-Africa TVET Cooperation Program” and cooperate with China’s vocational colleges to cultivate talents, so as to contribute to the vocational education and economic development of Cote d'Ivoire and the West African region. The joint talent training program between the two colleges is deeply favored by students, and the number of applicants far exceeds the scheduled enrollments. It is hoped that in the future, more students will have the opportunity to study in Shenzhen, and return to Cote d'Ivoire to make contributions to the national economic development.

Xue Nan, on behalf of AVIC International, said that they would continue to support the cooperation between the two colleges and give full play to the role of “going global” enterprises in Sino-Africa vocational education cooperation.

Ambassador Adama Dosso, on behalf of the Embassy of Cote d'Ivoire in China, congratulated the two colleges on the formal signing of the cooperation agreement. He noted that China has become Cote d'Ivoire’s largest bilateral financing partner and third largest trade partner, and bilateral infrastructure and livelihood cooperation projects have achieved good economic and social benefits. The cooperation between Shenzhen Polytechnic and Félix Houphout-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INP-HB) marks the broadening of cooperation between the two countries into vocational education. The Embassy of Cote d'Ivoire in China will vigorously support the cooperation between the two colleges and push for more tangible results in Sino-Africa cooperation. Subsequently, the presidents of the two colleges signed the cooperation agreement in the presence of participants.

It is reported that the “Future Africa – Sino-Africa TVET Cooperation Program” is a key project to expand exchanges and cooperation in the field of vocational education on the basis of demand for highly skilled talents at the initial stage of infrastructure construction and industrialization in each African country, under the framework of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, designed to give full play to the advantages of China’s vocational education and Africa's population, and explore a viable path to jointly train highly skilled talents for Africa. SZPT serves as one of the first pilot colleges to cooperate with Félix Houphout-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INP-HB) to cultivate applied talents in architectural engineering. The cooperative education of the two sides adopts the mode of “1.5+1.5+0.5”, i.e. students study in Cote d'Ivoire and China successively, and after passing the examination, they can obtain a graduation certificate from each college. The program has officially started enrollment in September 2021, and the first batch of 25 students are scheduled to study in the School of Construction Engineering at SZPT in February 2023. (Li Simin, International Office)