On November 6, during the 2025 China-Africa TVET Cooperation Dialogue & China-Africa TVET Cooperation Consortium Annual Conference in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, the South Africa Silk Road School (South Africa-China Institute of Digital Technology) of Zhejiang Industry & Trade Vocational College (ZJITC) was successfully selected for the third batch of China-Africa Outstanding Cooperative Projects of TVET under the Framework of Future of Africa, and officially joined the consortium. This marks another significant milestone in ZJITC’s China-Africa cooperative education efforts, following its recognition as a provincial “Silk Road School”.
The conference was held under the guidance of the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), the Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics in Africa (ATUPA), and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) China Office, and was jointly hosted by the Jinhua Municipal People’s Government and the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Education. Wang Yan, Vice President of ZJITC, was invited to attend the meeting and participated in the outcomes release session. At the awarding ceremony, Jahou Samba Faal, Secretary General of ATUPA, presented plaques to ZJITC and other institutions to honor their outstanding cooperative projects in TVET.
To implement President Xi’s initiatives on vocational education cooperation with Africa proposed at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit, and to carry out the “Future of Africa” China-Africa Vocational Education Cooperation Plan, the CEAIE launched the selection process for the third batch of outstanding projects in September 2025. This initiative aims to encourage practical cooperation, set exemplary models, and demonstrate leading practices. After a rigorous review, 20 exemplary, innovative, and sustainable cooperation projects were selected from applications nationwide. These projects closely align with Africa’s skills development needs, focus on key industrial development areas, and represent the new achievements, models, and patterns in China-Africa vocational education cooperation.
Since its establishment, ZJITC South Africa Silk Road School (South Africa-China Institute of Digital Technology) has engaged in deep collaboration with the National Skills Centre of the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (INDLELA)，as well as China’s Yalong Intelligent Equipment Group Co., Ltd. By working together, they have established a tripartite Government-College-Enterprise talent cultivation model. Adhering to the principles of “complementary advantages, resource sharing, win-win cooperation, and joint development,” the school leverages ZJITC’s professional strengths in cross-border e-commerce, industrial robot technology, and software technology to build a diversified education system covering degree programs, non-degree vocational skills training, and Chinese language education. To date, it has trained 102 international students from South Africa and other countries, dispatched three cohorts of outstanding teachers to South Africa for Chinese language promotion, skills training, and standards development, secured selection for two internationally influential equipment and resources projects in Zhejiang Province’s first batch, and achieved remarkable results in the international category of the World Vocational College Skills Competition, winning two gold medals and one silver medal. Looking ahead, ZJITC will continue to enhance its “vocational education going global” brand, contributing its expertise and strengths to the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
