The 2nd BRICS TVET Institution President Forum was held at the Ekurhuleni West TVET College in Gauteng Province, South Africa, from July 11th to 13th. The forum was organized by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training and the South African Public Colleges Organization (SAPCO), which was co-hosted by the Chinese Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), the secretariat of the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance (also known as the Alliance). President Ma Yuxia, as the representative of Chinese TVET institutions in the alliance, delivered a speech entitled Engage, Enable, Empower to build a better future.
In her speech, Dr. Ma Yuxia pointed out that in the face of the current trend of vocational education reform and the need for students' innovation and development, it is essential to empower young people with knowledge, skills, beliefs, and courage, enabling them to confidently face future challenges. This not only concerns the future of young people but also relates to the world’s future. To achieve this, ZZRVTC has taken a series of measures to empower the growth of young people and nurture future leaders. First, it has established a curriculum system that integrates professional education with innovation and entrepreneurship education to inspire students’ awareness of innovation and entrepreneurship. Second, it has implemented a credit conversion mechanism, guiding and encouraging students to participate in disciplinary competitions and innovation and entrepreneurship contests, which converts the competition results into course credits that count toward academic achievement. Third, it has established high-level innovation and entrepreneurship practice platforms, supporting entrepreneurial projects and incubating startup companies to realize the educational, scientific, technological, and economic values of innovation and entrepreneurship projects. In addition, she also emphasized that in the future, ZZRVTC will further open up its internal resources and associated social resources. It will precisely polish innovation and entrepreneurship training projects, strengthen support for project transformation, and strive to create a favorable atmosphere of everyone paying attention to innovation, everyone supporting innovation, and everyone participating in innovation.
South Africa will hold the rotating presidency of the BRICS in 2023. This Forum is an important supporting event for the 2023 BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting. More than 300 participants from the five BRICS countries in the field of education participated in in-depth exchanges and discussions on the theme of Skilling for Growth, Development and Poverty Reduction through Vocational Education and Training”
