Feature: Luban Workshop empowers technical talents in Egypt

CAIRO, May 29 (Xinhua) -- At Ain Shams University (ASU) in Egypt's capital Cairo, tech students are proud of their outstanding hands-on experience thanks to a workshop in the name of Lu Ban, a craftsman in ancient China.

"The Luban Workshop helps us to put what we learned into practice through the process of dismantling, examining, repairing and assembling real engines, brakes, etc.," Karim Mohammed, a mechatronics engineering student at the ASU, told Xinhua while overhauling a car at the workshop.

Mohammed said proudly that he easily outrivaled others in training sessions outside the university after going through the "efficient and high-level training" at the workshop.

The workshop, covering an area of 1,200 square meters, was launched at the ASU in late 2020. It provides practical training in computer numerical control machine operation and maintenance, renewable energy installation and operation, and automotive inspection and maintenance.

Co-founded by China's Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College, Tianjin Transportation Technical College, and Egypt's ASU, the workshop is hailed by the teachers and students here as a benchmark vocational education program of Chinese-Egyptian cooperation in capability building and technology localization.

"The workshop uses specifically designed equipment to provide trainees with the necessary skills to operate, maintain, and troubleshoot equipment and systems," said Adel al-Sabbagh, a professor with the Faculty of Engineering and supervisor of the Luban Workshop at the ASU.

He said practical training combined with theoretical study at the workshop helps prepare the students for the job market with applicable skills, especially for those majoring in energy, mechanical, and engineering-related disciplines.

"Teachers and instructors would receive intensive in-depth training for five weeks in China before working here so that they can train students with the highest level of skills," al-Sabbagh affirmed, noting the workshop also addresses the shortage of laboratories in the Faculty of Engineering and complements its curriculum with quality summer training courses in various fields.

"This is our first cooperation program with the Chinese side," al-Sabbagh said, noting the two sides are in constant communication to develop the workshop to its fullest. The professor revealed that they are mulling a plan to upgrade the program to cover more disciplines.

Besides, a tripartite agreement will soon be implemented by the ASU Faculty of Engineering, Chinese universities, and Chinese factories and companies in Egypt, whose engineers and technicians will also be able to hone their skills at the workshop.

The workshop supervisor believed the expansion of the cooperation would further contribute to the technology localization in the Arab country driven by an increasing industrial need.

Following the one at the ASU, another Luban Workshop opened in late 2022 at the Advanced Technical School for Maintenance Technology in Cairo.

"We don't give them fish, we teach them how to fish," said Li Yunmei, president of Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College. "We assist the Egyptian side in training highly competent and skilled teachers so that they can nurture more talents to contribute to the country's economic development," she explained.

Referring to the Luban Workshop as a "technology service station" along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, Li said efforts are also being made to promote communication between the host institutions of the Luban Workshop and Chinese companies in Egypt to boost sustainable development of this exemplary program of education cooperation between China and Egypt.