Chinese vocational workshop in Egypt prepares graduates for labor market

Mohamed Ahmed Awad, executive director of Luban Workshop at Egypt's Ain Shams University, introduces Luban Workshop to the trainees at the university in Cairo, Egypt, Aug. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

CAIRO, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- An engineering professor was taking a group of students on a tour inside a spacious vocational training workshop, Luban Workshop, at Cairo-based Ain Shams University, introducing its courses to them.

Under the cooperation among China's Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College, Tianjin Transportation Technical College and Egypt's Ain Shams University, Luban Workshop was set up to provide vocational training for Egyptian youth and prepare them for the labor market.

Opened in late November 2020, Luban Workshop covers an area of around 1,200 square meters, dividing into three training sections. The total cost of the workshop's equipment is 9.35 million yuan (about 1.4 million U.S. dollars).

The first section is designed for training students on computer numerical control equipment application and maintenance, the second for new energy application technology and the third for automobile application and maintenance technology.

Motivated by the successful experiences of such workshops in China, Ain Shams University President Mahmoud al-Metini welcomed the idea of establishing the Luban Workshop, showing his gratitude for the contribution of the two colleges in Tianjin.

In the workshop, a white SUV car stood at one corner of the section for training on automobile maintenance technology, while the workshop director showed the students a showcase at another corner next to a large screen featuring parts of a vehicle and how they function.

He then took the students to the new energy section and showed them a unit of solar energy production and how it works.

Mohamed Ahmed Awad, executive director of Luban Workshop, said that the workshop was reopened a month ago after it was closed as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

It has provided two training courses and the current is the third, the professor said, adding that at least 20 more students will join the workshop within a few days.

"Luban Workshop boosts the students' practical experience and gives them the opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge. This is a huge step in the development of education, especially for students of engineering," Awad said.

He also spoke of future plans to make the workshop an independent college with a dual Egyptian-Chinese degree given to graduates.

Ibrahim Abdel Ghaffar, a 22-year-old student at the Faculty of Engineering, has been receiving training at Luban Workshop for two weeks. He commended the specialized training programs and the well-equipped labs provided by the workshop.

"I practically applied what I learn in the faculty through the training program of the workshop," he said.

"Luban Workshop project is a success story between Egyptian and Chinese universities," said Omar Mohamed el-Husseiny, dean of the Faculty of Engineering.

"It will boost the students' skills and their future interaction with the labor market," the dean told Xinhua, pointing out that "practical training is much more important than theoretical training, especially in engineering fields."