SGAVE project team visited Zhejiang University of Science and Technology for discussion on the applied talent training mode of smart manufacturing undergraduate programs

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On 28th April, 2021, the SGAVE project team of the Center of Competence for Sino-German Vocational Education (CoC) of Tongji University visited Zhejiang University of Science and Technology and discussed the applied talent training mode of smart manufacturing undergraduate programs in a seminar.

Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is an application-oriented undergraduate university with a history of more than 30 years of cooperation with Germany. It has successively implemented Sino-German government cooperation projects, and Zhejiang Province and Lower Saxony cooperation projects. It is a pilot institution of Sino-German cooperation in the training of high-level application-oriented talents approved by the Ministry of Education and the construction unit of “Sino-German Forum: the training of high-level application-oriented talents”. It has rich experience in the cultivation of application-oriented undergraduate talents through Sino-foreign cooperation.

Guided by Mr. Zhang Huahui, Deputy Director of International Office and Office for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs, and Mr. Chen Cheng, Project Manager of German-speaking Countries, the SGAVE project team first visited the Sino-German Cooperation Museum, learning about its history of Sino-German cooperation, and then visited the picturesque campus. Finally, the two sides held a seminar.

Zhang Huahui introduced the university and its “application-oriented” and “international” characteristics. Ms. Xu Zhiji, Director of CoC, and Mr. Klaus Juergen brix, Deputy Director of CoC, introduced the background and history of the SGAVE project. The two sides then continued to discuss about the applied talent training mode of smart manufacturing undergraduate programs from several aspects, including talent training qualification matrix, the specific implementation of the German “dual system”, the Sino-German cooperation mode and the specific talent training scheme, maintaining similar perspectives on such matters.

Both Xu Zhiji and Zhang Huahui showed their willingness for keeping close and long-time contact between the two sides, maintaining frequent communication about the development and implementation of the training mode, and aiming to promote the further development of Chinese vocational education and the Sino-German vocational education cooperation.

Artificial intelligence in vocational education?

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Artificial intelligence can now be found everywhere, whether it’s trade, industry or science. Only in education, the use of this technology does not seem to be ready yet. There are some projects where the first approaches take place. The goal is usually to allow more personalized learning. This can be achieved by evaluating and comparing the learner data. Pupils have preferences, strengths, and weaknesses, and learners’ data from previous test results and analysis of learning behaviors can be used to provide more coordinated learning or learning content for each individual student. Ultimately, all students should meet the minimum requirements for the respective courses.

But today, we are not so far in education today that you can use artificial intelligence nationwide. On the one hand, not all subjects are easy to use for the use of artificial intelligence, on the other hand, the teachers and the school must be prepared for the use of such technologies. Particularly in VET, the effort to get high quality data as the basis for personalization is very high. Practical work must be objectively and comparably evaluated and provided. Only in this way can meaningful activities be deduced and used with artificial intelligence automated in the classes. Targeted analysis of this data enables educators to better understand students’ learning progress and suggest customized exercises to better tailor lessons to each student’s individual needs

In any case, artificial intelligence will also find its way into vocational education and certainly make a valuable contribution as well. Personalized learning is already taking place. Students are increasingly using the information and media available online to further their education and are thus already one step ahead in the digital future.

Consulting for international professionals

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The Federal Government has agreed on the establishment of a “Central Service Agency for Professional Recognition”. The Central Service Office for Vocational Recognition (ZSBA) is to advise international skilled workers on questions relating to their professional recognition before they enter Germany and accompany them during the application procedure. Preparations will begin in 2019 and the service will be available from 2020. A corresponding law will enter into force in 2020.

Germany needs qualified specialists from abroad and would like to create clear rules for the recognition of existing educational qualifications and enable applicants to be optimally integrated into the German labour market. The Central Service Office for Vocational Recognition (ZSBA) will be located at the Central Office for Placement Abroad and Specialist Placement (ZAV) of the Federal Employment Agency in Bonn and will be financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for an initial phase of four years from 2020. The establishment of the Central Service Agency for Professional Recognition (ZSBA) pursues three main objectives:

  • To offer those seeking recognition a nationwide central point of contact,
  • to relieve the competent authorities of the communication-intensive consultation of the applicants,
  • make the recognition procedure more transparent and efficient for individual applicants.

We will report on the next steps on our homepage and provide our visitors with the necessary information.

https://www.bmbf.de/de/bundesregierung-baut-beratungsangebot-fuer-internationale-fachkraefte-aus-9853.html

Milla – “Modular Interactive Lifelong Learning for All”

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Under the acronym “Milla”, a group of MEPs has presented a concept that is supposed to change learning on the internet. “The idea is to encourage people to learn,” explains Thomas Heilmann (CDU), who leads the working group of the project Milla. The state should operate and fund the platform. Milla is supposed to become the Netflix of learning, so attractive and alive that learners and teachers are eager to participate. How can we make it happen? The following functions will make it difficult for success to elude your system.

  • Learners and providers of online courses should be rewarded for their efforts
  • Users can earn Milla points and get bonuses for it. In this way, incentives should be created to encourage less educated parts of the population to continue their education
  • The Milla points can also be used by all “education currency”. They are a proof of competence. Both online and offline measures can be rated with Milla points.
  • Everyone should be able to be learners and teachers. Whether youtube star or cook in five-star hotel. Everyone can pass on knowledge and everyone can learn.
  • The learning materials should always be evaluated and released after examination.

There will certainly be a lot of discussions about the project, but it does show a good one. Education will fundamentally change over the next few years and will no longer take place in the defined paths as before. Educational models will emerge, giving us more room for creative development and involving all resources.

We also have to rethink and reform our educational models fundamentally. On the one hand is because of the specific demands of the job market, and on the other for the “artificial intelligence”.