Top-tier educators

The Luban Workshop has been endorsed by the AU as a premier training center, producing top-tier educators for more than 10 vocational universities across Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Alemu's presentation on the workshop's teaching model — the EPIP model (Engineering, Practice, Innovation, and Project) — received international acclaim during the workshop's third-anniversary celebrations in July.

His journey began with research on Lu Ban, an ancient Chinese woodcraft master and inventor, and the EPIP teaching model, developed in collaboration with Lyu Jingquan, vice-president of TUTE and one of the workshop's initiators.

Over the years, Alemu has applied this model with his students and fellow educators, culminating in successful outcomes.

After three years, he said he witnessed a positive impact of the Luban Workshop in his country, with graduates securing promising job opportunities, including positions with foreign companies operating in Ethiopia. "They operate robots with high skills they've learned from the workshop," Alemu said.

These graduates showcase advanced skills acquired at the workshop, enabling them to proficiently operate robots and excel in their respective fields.

To date, the Luban Workshop initiative in Africa has expanded significantly since its inception in March 2019, with 17 Luban Workshops established in 15 countries, such as Egypt, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire.

Offering diverse majors, including railway, machinery, electrical equipment, manufacturing, automobile, information technology, metallurgy, and e-commerce, the workshops have empowered more than 10,000 young people.

The Luban Workshop is also offering training programs in Tianjin, exemplifying its commitment to global educational collaboration.

Notably, in September 2023, 12 Moroccan students completed a short-term training program at the Luban Workshop in Morocco before embarking on a three-year undergraduate program at the Tianjin College of Commerce in China, specializing in cross-border e-commerce, according to Ma Lei, Party secretary of the college.

"The collaboration … aligns with the vision of Moroccan King Mohammed VI to enhance youth labor skills and cultivate high-skilled labor in emerging industries," he said.