As Xizang autonomous region is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its establishment as an autonomous region in Southwest China, Palden Tsering in Lhokha is eager to learn more as a Tibetan power worker.

As a newcomer to State Grid Lhokha, he knows all too well that to help accelerate the progress of Lhokha — which administers one district, one county-level city, and 10 counties — he needs to sharpen his caliber.

With its regional GDP reaching 30.442 billion yuan ($4.24 billion) last year, an annual rise of 5.8 percent, the prefecture-level city has at least 37 types of proven mineral deposits and more than 100 mining sites, in addition to rich forestry and plant resources.

"Sufficient power supply is crucial to the economic lifeline of Lhokha, which has some 354,030 permanent residents living in 118,810-odd households," he said.

He was told that as a granary and power hub of Xizang, Lhokha has unique regional features as well as technical challenges in power grid development.

For many years, the State Grid Corp of China has always regarded serving Xizang's high-quality development as a major task, asking its employees in the autonomous region to work arduously, driving remarkable achievements in the local power sector.

Besides sending technical staff for assistance, the State Grid has also put cultivating more high-quality local professionals as a top priority to help bolster Xizang's economic and social progress.

As this year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Xizang autonomous region, two subsidiaries of the State Grid — State Grid Lhokha and State Grid Suqian Power Supply Co in Jiangsu province — have launched a joint-study program to accelerate the cultivation of more young professionals.

On Aug 11, the Youth Home facility of State Grid Suqian was buzzing with activity. Staff members of State Grid Lhokha, which is over 3,000 kilometers away from Suqian, were linked via video conference with their peers in the prefecture-level city of Suqian.

Trying to deepen their knowledge on power-grid development in their respective regions, the attendees understand that supporting the local socioeconomic development and letting their service take deep roots in the public are their paramount tasks.

They discussed the technical difficulties facing them, their innovative experiences, and management models, sharing ways to enhance their work.

"Young professionals are the bedrock of our corporate development," said Ji Junfeng, Party secretary of State Grid Suqian, noting that: "We would like to share the good experiences we have gained with our peer company, so that we can learn from each other and advance together."

Suqian, located in northern Jiangsu, has witnessed its grid construction advance rapidly in recent years and its transmission system continuously improve.

Palden Tsering raised a question: "When replacing imported dispatch-automation systems with home-developed ones, what technical problems did you meet and how did you solve them?"

Zhao Yu, deputy director of the dispatch and control center in State Grid Suqian, picked up the microphone and gave him an answer immediately.

Migmar Tsering, Party secretary of State Grid Lhokha Power Supply Co, noted that the cross-regional joint learning program is an important measure to strengthen Lhokha's talent cultivation.

"This event is not only a sharing of knowledge, but also an integration and innovation between the sister units of the State Grid," he said.

On the basis of joint study, both sides can continue to share innovative achievements and establish a regular exchange mechanism in a bid to lay a solid foundation for deeper cooperation in the future, he said.