Organized by Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Technical and Vocational Education Symposium was held in Qingdao, China during January 11-12, 2011. Prof. Dr. Shi Zhongjian, President of Qingdao Technical College (QTC) was invited, on behalf of China vocational colleges, to give a keynote speech titled Educating High-skilled Talents under the Guidance of Employment on the symposium.
The symposium, themed How to improve attractiveness and employability of technical and vocational education (TVET) in the current global economic situation, was proposed by Premier Wen Jiabao at the eighth session of ASEM held in Brussels, Belgium, on October 4, 2010, and was applauded immediately by ASEM member countries.
61 delegates from 22 countries including United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and so on so forth attended the symposium. Participants also included the reps from China national and provincial governments, scientific research institutions, industry associations, vocational colleges and enterprises.
In his speech, Prof. Dr. Shi Zhongjian exemplified the successful QTC experience of developing TVET and promoting employment, by virtue of three sub-titles: Nurturing skilled talents cooperating with enterprises, Skills training for the society, and Promoting employability through professionalism education. As for the cooperative education with enterprises, he, during the discussion session, gave high priority to strategic partnership, continuous efforts, long-lasting cooperation, and scientific ways. As a response to his speech, Mr. Ma Shuchao, a research fellow and Vice Director of Shanghai Institute of Vocational and Technical Education, highly commented on the cooperation between QTC and Haier Group in co-designing the curriculum, which has bridged the college education and enterprise requirements. Mr. Ma also thought highly of QTC students serving as technical engineers for the Beijing Olympic Games. (by Li Chengji)
ASEM Symposium
Reps from ASEM Member Countries
A Keynote Speech by Prof. Dr. Shi Zhongjian
