From August 10th to 18th, a delegation led by Vice President Li Fusheng visited Tanzania and Ethiopia, successively visiting the National Institute of Transport (NIT) in Tanzania and the Ethiopian Railway Corporation-Railway Academy, participated in the inaugural East African Community Regional Education Summit in 2024, and exchanged ideas with the China Railway Second Bureau Group (CREGC) Tanzania Branch, the Ethiopian-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway (EDR), the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) Ethiopia, and the CREGC Ethiopia Branch. The visit resulted in multiple cooperation intentions. Relevant persons in charge from the College's International Affairs Office, Academic Affairs Office, and the School of Electrical Engineering accompanied the delegation.
On August 11th, Li Fusheng and his delegation visited the CREGC Tanzania Branch and held talks with General Manager Hu Bin, Deputy General Manager Fu Jianjun, and Deputy General Manager and Deputy Project Manager He Jiaxiu. Li Fusheng introduced the College's educational history, development achievements, international cooperation practices of bringing in and going out, and the effectiveness of Sino-foreign cultural exchanges. He expressed the desire to deepen cooperation in talent cultivation, development of international teaching resources, scientific research, and other areas to contribute to the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road initiative. Hu Bin warmly welcomed Li Fusheng and his delegation and provided a detailed overview of the international projects undertaken by the CREGC Tanzania Branch, particularly the China-Laos Railway and the Tanzanian cooperation project. Subsequently, both parties engaged in in-depth discussions on scientific cooperation, standard setting, and talent cultivation related to the three-rail parallel operation at the Port of Dar es Salaam in the United Republic of Tanzania, reaching a consensus on cooperation.
On August 12th, Li Fusheng and his delegation, in conjunction with Fu Jianjun, Deputy General Manager of the China Railway Second Bureau Group Tanzania Branch, visited the National Institute of Transport in Tanzania. They met with the Principal, Prosper Mgaya, and other relevant college leaders. The two parties discussed the implementation of the Letter of Intent signed in 2019 and the cooperation agreement for the establishment of the China-Tanzania Zhan Tianyou Institute. Li Fusheng presented an overview of the school's development over recent years, focusing on its achievements in international education, international vocational education standards and resource development, and localized training of railway skilled talents in service of the Belt and Road initiative. Prosper Mgaya outlined the school's development trajectory and operational status, providing detailed insights into the cooperative programs, talent cultivation plans, teaching resource development, and teacher training for the China-Tanzania Zhan Tianyou Institute. During the talks, both parties clarified the specific content, advancement measures, and objectives of the cooperation agreement. They agreed to develop a detailed work schedule to solidly advance the establishment of the China-Tanzania Zhan Tianyou Institute, contributing to Sino-Tanzanian educational cooperation. The meeting culminated in the unveiling ceremony of the China-Tanzania Zhan Tianyou Institute.
On August 13th-14th, Li Fusheng and his delegation attended the inaugural East African Community Regional Education Summit in 2024. Li Fusheng delivered a keynote speech titled Joining Hands to Forge a New Era of China-Africa Vocational Education Community, discussing new opportunities, challenges, and paths for China-Africa vocational education cooperation in the new era with friends from the East African region and the Chinese vocational education sector.
On the morning of August 15th, Li Fusheng and his delegation visited the Ethiopian Railway Corporation-Railway Academy and held talks with Principal Bekele Atto, Director of International Exchange and Cooperation Sisay Guta, and other leaders on educational cooperation between the two institutions. They conducted a comprehensive review of the China-Ethiopia Zhan Tianyou Institute over the past three years, discussed issues with the talent cultivation plan, teaching resource construction, and teacher training established in 2021, and proposed improvements for cooperative programs, enrollment and employment, student registration management, and teaching management. They also discussed and reached a consensus on the development and construction of vocational standards and teacher professional assessment standards, teaching resources, and practical teaching bases proposed by Principal Bekele Atto. Li Fusheng stated that, based on the development of the six railway vocational standards, the College would fully cooperate with the Railways College in teacher training, vocational qualification standard development, and strengthening Chinese language teaching, to solidly advance the China-Ethiopia Zhan Tianyou Institute and contribute to China-Ethiopia educational cooperation, while also providing intellectual support and talent support for Chinese enterprises and local economic development in Ethiopia.
On the afternoon of August 15th, Li Fusheng and his delegation toured the new and old campuses of the Ethiopian Railways - Railways College, inspecting classrooms, reading rooms, practical training bases, and dormitories. The Ethiopian Railways - Railways College is the only railway institution under the Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC).
On August 16th, Li Fusheng and his delegation visited the Ethiopian-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway (EDR) and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) Ethiopia, where both companies introduced their development history and expressed full affirmation and recognition of the two cohorts of train drivers trained by the College for the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway. To better conduct talent training in the future, both parties had in-depth discussions on Chinese + Vocational Skills, Chinese Workshop Construction, and Vocational Capacity Building.
In the morning, Li Fusheng and his delegation met with Samuel Biru Zeberga, Director of Capacity Building at EDR, Mebratu Delelegn Endalemaw, Operations Director, Daniel Hailemichael Workofa, Technical Director, and Yang Anwei, Executive General Manager of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway Operation and Maintenance Project, and Song Zhen Gang, Director of Capacity Building. Li Fusheng introduced the College's overall development in recent years, focusing on its international education, international vocational education standards, and resource development, as well as its practices and effectiveness in going global with enterprises to cultivate local railway technical and skilled talents for the Belt and Road initiative, especially in training employees for the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway and implementing the cooperation memorandum signed by both parties. Samuel, the Director of Capacity Building, expressed his gratitude for the College's strong support in capacity building and introduced the construction process and significance of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, its operational status, and the 12 capacity-building tasks for the trainees. After the meeting, both parties expressed their commitment to working together on subsequent cooperation to contribute more to the healthy and sustainable operation and development of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway.
In the afternoon, Li Fusheng and his delegation met with Ding Jianwei, General Manager of CCECC Ethiopia, Li Minggang, Deputy General Manager, Li Tao, Director of Integrated Management (Party Mass Human Resources), Yang Anwei, Executive General Manager of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway Operation and Maintenance Project, and Song Zhen Gang, Director of Capacity Building. During the meeting, Ding Jianwei introduced the projects undertaken by CCECC Ethiopia, focusing on the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway operation and maintenance project. He stated that while the company pursues the integration of scientific and technological innovation, it will complete exquisite projects that are small but beautiful, beneficial, and beneficial to the people. Li Fusheng introduced the basic situation of the College and the achievements of its international education. He stated that the College's international education should follow enterprises and provide them with local employee training and various technical services. The meeting specifically discussed subsequent local talent cultivation, skill training, and Chinese Workshop construction, reaching a consensus.
On the morning of August 17th, Li Fusheng and his delegation visited the CREGC Ethiopia Branch. Zhang Nanhua, an outstanding graduate of the College's class of 2006 and currently the Party Committee Secretary of the CREGC International Ethiopia Branch, warmly received Li Fusheng and his delegation, and both parties had a detailed discussion on future training systems and the construction of teaching elements.
This visit has advanced the school's initiative of going global with enterprises, deepened the construction of China-Africa Zhan Tianyou Institutes and Chinese Workshops, and further promoted international exchanges and cooperation. It has solidified the foundation and injected new momentum into proactively serving the construction of countries along the Belt and Road.
