Establishment of A UNESCO Chair Formally Approved for SZPT

Recently, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and SZPT President Xu Jianling, on behalf of each party respectively, signed an agreement concerning the establishment of a UNESCO chair on digitalization in technical and vocational education and training (“Chair on Digitalization”), which approves Yang Xinbin, Secretary of the Party Committee of SZPT, as the moderator of chair on digitalization, marking the formal approval of SZPT’s application for the establishment of a UNESCO chair on digitalization.

UNESCO Chair is a research project launched by the UNESCO in 1992 for colleges, universities and research institutions around the world in the key fields of education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, communication and information, etc., and one of the main components of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme. The institution applying for chair shall submit an application to the UNESCO, and the approved project will be carried out by a dedicated team of the institution.

In March 2021, SZPT’s project team, upon full investigation and demonstration, submitted an application for “Chair on Digitalization in Technical and Vocational Education and Training” to the Secretariat of China National Commission for UNESCO according to the UNESCO’s priorities, medium-term strategic objectives, and strategic priority and action areas for vocational education, combined with SZPT’s own advantages in the field of vocational education. After nearly one year of rigorous review by the UNESCO, SZPT won the approval of the UNESCO for the establishment of “Chair on Digitalization in Technical and Vocational Education and Training” after fierce competition with nearly 200 top research universities and research institutions worldwide. Chair on Digitalization is the first UNESCO chair successfully applied for by Shenzhen; the first UNESCO chair in education successfully applied for by Guangdong Province; the first UNESCO chair in vocational education in China; the first UNESCO chair successfully applied for by the first vocational college in China; the only UNESCO chair set for a higher vocational college; and the only UNESCO chair on digitalization in technical and vocational education in the world.

Chair on Digitalization consists of six sub-projects, namely: digitization theory and action research project for technical and vocational education, digital technology research and development project for technical and vocational education, digital transformation project for technical and vocational education, vocational qualification certificate and teaching standard development project for general digital technology, digital revolution project for teaching and learning techniques and approaches in technical and vocational education, and digital capacity building project for technical and vocational education. These six sub-projects are closely aligned with the strategies of the United Nations, UNESCO, and UNESCO-UNEVOC, and will, based on the principle of “consultation, co-construction and sharing”, through South-South cooperation and multi-party cooperation, carry out theoretical research on digitalization in technical and vocational education, develop digital technology majors and teaching resource libraries, promote the transformation of traditional majors, develop vocational qualification certificates and teaching standards for general digital technology, build smart classrooms and virtual training ecosystems, strengthen the training of teachers for digital capabilities, explore new technologies and methods for enabling teaching and learning through digital technologies, enhance the digital governance and teaching capabilities of vocational colleges, narrow the “digital divide”, and promote the educational equity, lifelong learning and sustainable global economic and social development.

Through this chair project, SZPT will play an active role in theoretical innovation, policy consultation, digital solutions, digital transformation of majors and courses, development of digital skill certificates, and digital credit research and innovation, promote the digital transformation of global vocational education and the construction of digital cooperation network, empower young people and vulnerable groups in digital capacity building, enhance the digital level of developing countries, narrow the digital divide, and make new and greater contribution to global sustainable development.

(Text by Zeng Xiuzhen, Asia-Africa Center)