SGAVE Project Team Reports to Ministry of Education

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On January 6, 2021, the SGAVE project team of the Center of Competence (CoC) at Tongji University reported to Deputy Director General Fang Jun and other leaders of the Ministry of Education (MoE) on the progress of the SGAVE project and the future plan for the further development.

Mr. Klaus-Juergen Brix, Deputy Director of CoC, elaborated the history and background of the SGAVE program and explained the features of the SGAVE program and the talent education system in terms of its internationalization, matching with the Chinese education strategy, the vertical connection from secondary vocational school over higher vocational school to applied science university, the horizontal transplantation of multiple occupations, the quality assurance system for certification as well as the standardization and digitalization.

Ms. Xu Zhiji, Director of CoC, reported the future plan regarding the promotion and radiation of the project in the new stage and the establishment of SGAVE school-enterprise alliance and pilot schools for smart manufacturing and new energy.

Deputy Director General Fang highly praised the SGAVE project, saying that the project had laid a good foundation for the deepening and expansion of Sino-German cooperation in vocational education.

Currently, the 14th Five-Year Plan has already started the modernization of Chinese vocational education, against which how to cultivate high-level vocational talents through Sino-foreign cooperation will be an important topic. Deputy Director Fang hoped to use the SGAVE project as a backbone to achieve some key objectives. The SGAVE project is expected to have a good effect on the modernization of Chinese vocational education and the manufacturing industry, on the cooperation between Germany and China, and on the sustainable development of German companies in the Chinese market.

Deputy Director Fang and the participants thoroughly discussed the future plan of the SGAVE project with the attendants, saying that the MoE will fully support the work of the SGAVE project from the policy aspect. He, however, raised higher requirements for the further development of the SGAVE project, expecting the CoC to further develop the “14th Five-Year Plan” of the SGAVE project while maintaining the existing high standard and quality, highlighting there should be a qualitative improvement in scale and influence, more schools can join the SGAVE system, and more high-quality international talents can be cultivated for China.

SGAVE Headmasters’ Conference 2020

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With great expectations, the 2020 SGAVE School Leaders Conference took place on Dec. 23. Due to the Corona Pandemic, the event was organized and held online. The International Department of the Ministry of Education, SGAVE Center of Competence and Bosch AG together with 25 SGAVE partner schools and Zhejiang College of Tongji University participated in this event, which is also the kick-off event of the third phase of the SGAVE system.

The conference was opened by Mr. Zhao Lei, Head of the International Department of the Ministry of Education. Mr. Zhao Lei expressed special appreciation for the stable development of the SGAVE system. Despite the current difficult situation due to the Corona pandemic, the SGAVE work processes could be carried out and expanded.

Mr. Fang, Deputy Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Education, presented a report honoring the leading role of the SGAVE system as a pioneer and innovator in Sino-German cooperation in the field of vocational education.

At the same time, three important measures to promote Sino-German cooperation in vocational education were highlighted by Mr. Fang. Background is a policy of the Chinese government about the opening of the education sector to the outside world.

  1. cooperation with German enterprises for intensive cooperation with China and promotion of innovative projects in education
  2. implementation of the “Meister” project for the training of teachers
  3. promoting the implementation of the third phase to spread localization.

At the same time, Mr. Fang suggested four other points:

  1. strengthening the localization of the project, more educational services and more new SGAVE partner schools.
  2. focus on standardization, systematization and on sustainable development
  3. extension of education to different levels and new educational models to create continuity between vocational mid and high level schools, vocational university and university of applied sciences
  4. promoting the SGAVE project to support China’s education reform.

In a successful conference, the following people made presentations on various topics of SGAVE and the vocational education system in general.

Mr. KJ Brix, Vice Director of SGAVE COC gave a report on the current status of the project as well as the prospects for the future development of the SGAVE system.

Mr. Song Xianjun, Principal of Lanzhou Vocational Technical School and Mr. Gan Jinming, Principal of Liuzhou Vocational Technical School, presented reports on their participation in the SGAVE system, especially their achievements, as well as suggestions for further development.

Mr. Li Chunming, principal of Changchun Automobile Technical College, as a representative of the regional centers, has reported on the functions of the regional centers in the implementation and further development of the SGAVE system.

The general manager of Bosch Service GmbH, Mr. Li Xiufeng, then introduced to the schools the measures and services to support the SGAVE project in the future.

Mr. Dongqi, Principal of Zhejiang College of Tongji University, has reported on the topic of “Innovation Center for the Integration of Vocational Middle School, Technical High School and College with Bachelor Degree”.

Mr. Feng Xiao, head of the Institute of Vocational Education of Tongji University, has led the discussion among school leaders as a moderator. Representatives of schools reported the successful results and gave a very positive evaluation of the SGAVE system. The participants of the discussion would like to see increased support for the SGAVE system in the future. Many suggestions and requests were made during the discussion and incorporated by the SGAVE CoC. Examples include:

  1. gaining political support for schools in Central and Western China.
  2. introduction of new technologies such as Modern Vehicle Drives and SMART Production
  3. mutual recognition with 1+X certification
  4. supporting the establishment of a reference framework for permeability into higher education programs
  5. building an effective SGAVE service platform

Mr. Ren Zhanying, Head of the Division for Comprehensive Reform of the Department of Vocational and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education finally summarized the results of the conference. He pointed out the leading role of SGAVE system in vocational education as a model. In particular, the efforts in the last 10 years have been so conspicuous that the SGAVE system has now gained very good recognition. Mr. Ren also made it clear that the SGAVE system will be further expanded and advanced in the third phase. He said that SGAVE system is expected to be even more effective and play a more important role in China’s education system. The SGAVE system is a promising contribution to education reform and enhancement of education quality in China.