On the morning of July 9th, Ahmadzoda Bunafsha, Vice Rector of Tajik Technical University(TTU), along with Li Qingbin, Chairman of Tianjin Urban Construction Management & Vocation Technology College（TUCVC）, and Ma Lianqi, Vice Chairman of TUCVC, led a delegation to visit Tianjin Chengjian University (TCU). Wang Zhongliang, TCU President, Yang Jing, Member of Standing Committee of the TCU Council and Vice President, warmly welcomed the guests. Director of International Cooperation Office and Deans of School of Civil Engineering, School of Geology and Geomatics, and School of International Education attended the meeting.
Wang Zhongliang welcomed the delegation to visit TCU and stated that the cooperation between Tajikistan and China in the fields of education and scientific research has achieved remarkable results. The frequent interactions between the heads of state of the two countries have elevated China-Tajikistan relations to new heights, providing a good opportunity for cooperation in the education field. He expressed the hope for TCU to participate in the joint training program of the Luban Workshop in the future, jointly cultivate more outstanding young talents from Tajikistan, sharing technical skills, creating a new model of integration between vocational education and general education for international students, and actively contributing to cultural and people-to-people exchanges between Tajikistan and China.
Li Qingbin stated that the China-Tajikistan Luban Workshop was a major construction project witnessed by the heads of state of both countries, filling a gap of the cooperation in the field of vocational education between the two nations. It is representative in regional cooperation and the joint construction of the Belt and Road. This autumn, under the joint training agreement established by the three universities to construct the Luban Workshop, the first batch of students from Tajik University of Technology would study at TCU, which was an important achievement of the internationalization of education among the three universities, an important demonstration of educational exchanges and cooperation and a vivid practice of people-to-people exchanges between Tajikistan and China, contributing to better serving the overall diplomatic situation of the country. Moving forward, he hoped that the three universities would continue to expand their cooperation areas, strive to promote the cooperation to a new level, and continuously contribute wisdom and strength to the friendship between Tajikistan and China.
Ahmadzoda Bunafsha stated that the friendship between Tajikistan and China was profound and had been passed down from generation to generation. China had always been a reliable partner for Tajikistan. With the strong support of the heads of state of the two countries, Tajikistan and China had jointly embarked on a path of mutual benefit, common development, and shared prosperity. She expressed gratitude to the two Chinese universities for jointly participating in the construction of the Luban Workshop in Tajikistan, which had provided opportunities for young people in Tajikistan who were eager for knowledge. She hoped that, in the future, based on jointly running the Luban Workshop and joint training projects, the three universities could jointly formulate medium-and long-term development plans, expand cooperation areas and communication channels. She also welcomed faculty and students from both universities to visit TTU for exchange.
Later on, the delegation visited TCU School of Geology and Geomatics, School of International Education, and the Engineering Training Center to learn about the environment for related disciplines, research facilities, and the education of international students at TCU.
TTU is the first and top-ranked technical university in Tajikistan. Over the years, it has trained numerous technical and skilled talents in fields such as energy, civil engineering, and transportation etc. for Tajikistan. TUCVC is a leading institution in Tianjin’s vocational education and a construction unit for high-level disciplinary clusters in smart energy and urban intelligent management. It is a pioneer in vocational education deeply integrated with industry-university cooperation in the energy sector. The two universities jointly established the first Luban Workshop in Central Asia. Since it was officially put into operation in November 2022, the workshop has provided theoretical learning and practical training for more than 1500 TTU undergraduates and graduate students majoring in relevant fields. The Department of Civil Engineering and the Department of Architecture have increased enrollment by more than 100 students, and more than 600 high school graduates have preselected joint construction majors of the workshop for further study. Students who are trained in the workshop have won numerous awards in related competitions of Tajikistan. Since signing the joint training cooperation agreement with the two universities in December 2023, TCU has completed the development of a joint training program plan through multiple rounds of negotiations. The cooperation model of the three universities has also been featured in reports by the Tajik national Khovar News Agency. etc.
The relationship between Tajikistan and China has profound historical origin, solid political foundation, rich cooperation content, and extensive public support. Under the strategic guidance of the heads of state of the two countries, the Luban Workshop has drawn a new blueprint for the friendship between Tajikistan and China, consolidating the public support foundation of the friendship between the two countries for generations. This visit provides an excellent opportunity to further create a new highlight of the educational cooperation between Tajikistan and China, and also lays the foundation for TCU to recruit Tajikistan students for exchange and study in the near future. It is a vivid practice of TCU to actively serve the construction of the Belt and Road with education as the link, and also an important achievement in seizing major opportunities to meet the needs of "Study in Tianjin" brand. It broadens the path for international talent cultivation, enhances the "TCU international education brand", promotes the comprehensive internationalization efforts, and inject new momentum into serving the new pattern of Tianjin's opening up to the outside world.
In the future, TCU will further implement the important requirements of the meeting between the heads of state of Tajikistan and China, jointly promote the high-quality and high standard operation and development of the workshop, and make full use of the Tajikistan Luban Workshop cooperation platform to establish a new mechanism for international talent cultivation integrating junior college, undergraduate and graduate education, to attract more Tajikistan students to TCU for exchange and study, benefiting faculty and students from both countries, actively participating in the bilateral development and cooperation, helping Tajikistan and Chinese civilizations shine even brighter through dialogue and mutual learning. This will contribute to further consolidating the solid mutual trust and profound friendship of the two countries, and thus building a community of shared future between Tajikistan and China .
