On November 6th, under the guidance of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, the Foreign Affairs Office of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, and the South African Ministry of Higher Education and Training, the unveiling and launching ceremony of the Jiangsu South African Association of Vocational College Presidents and the Dialogue between Vocational College Presidents were held at Nanjing University of Technology. Yang Shubing, Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Education, Yang Jing, Deputy Director of the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, and Mukapel Mohu Kift, Director of the Training Agency of the South African Ministry of Higher Education and Training, attended the event and delivered speeches. Our school principal, Du Guoxiong, was invited as a representative of the Alliance's governing unit to attend this event and give a keynote speech.

At the meeting, activities such as the unveiling ceremony of the "Jiangsu South Africa Association of Vocational School Principals" and the "China South Africa Vocational School Art and Design Exchange Center", the awarding ceremony of the member units of the "Jiangsu South Africa Association of Vocational School Principals", and the "Jiangsu South Africa Vocational School Principals Dialogue" were held. Our school was elected as one of the first governing units of the "Jiangsu South Africa Association of Vocational College Principals".

In the dialogue session with the principals, Du Guoxiong, the principal of our school, delivered a keynote report on the spot with the theme of "Serving the the Belt and Road Initiative and Practicing China Africa Vocational Education Cooperation", sharing our experience in vocational education cooperation with African countries. In recent years, in response to the development needs of China's railway "going global", the school has adhered to the concept of joint consultation, construction and sharing, focused on key areas, concentrated efforts, and integrated resources, actively carried out exchanges and cooperation with African countries, innovated the "dual five double" modern apprenticeship talent training model for international students, and collaborated with schools and enterprises to carry out localized high-quality technical and skilled talent joint training, Helping overseas Chinese enterprises effectively solve the major problem of "going global in construction and operation, and keeping up with personnel training". In 2023, the school was selected as one of the first Chinese universities in the national "Future Africa China Africa Vocational Education Cooperation Plan".

Principal Du Guoxiong stated that in the future, the school will face new prospects for cooperation in vocational education between China and South China, jointly carry out teaching resource development and practical training system construction with alliance partner universities, and cooperate with schools and enterprises to build a practical training base for industry education integration; Schools, enterprises, and schools collaborate to cultivate and train localized technical and skilled talents, striving to create more new achievements in international cooperation, and working together to promote vocational education cooperation between China and Africa and Central South Africa.

(Contributed by: School of International Education)