Forum on Building a New Ecosystem for China-ASEAN Vocational Education Successfully Held

Singapore, Singapore Aug 1, 2025 (Issuewire.com) - On 27 July, the Forum on Building a New Ecosystem for ChinaASEAN Vocational Education Development: Innovative Integration and Digital Empowerment was successfully held in the Baihua Meeting Room at the ChinaASEAN International Conference Center. Jointly organised by Guizhou Polytechnic of Construction and four other higher vocational colleges, the event brought together close to 100 participants, including education officials from China and ASEAN member states, diplomatic envoys, university presidents, senior administrators, young scholars, and representatives from other Belt and Road partner countries. Datuk Dr. Habibah Abdul Rahim, Secretary-General of the SEAMEO Secretariat, delivered a video address. Bai Zhen, Deputy Director of the Department of Education of Guizhou Province ; Hadi Tjahjono, Director of the Education, Culture, and Tourism Division of ASEANChina Centre; Dr. Songheang Ai, Director of SEAMEO TED; Xaybandith Rasphone, Executive Vice-President of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Li Yangbo, Party Secretary of Guizhou Polytechnic of Construction, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. Wan Shan, president of Guizhou Polytechnic of Construction, presided over the opening ceremony.

In his speech, Bai Zhen noted that in recent years, with foresight and decisive action, Guizhou has seized new opportunities presented by the digital-economy strategy and carved out a distinctive path to high-quality development. The Department of Education of Guizhou Province has fully implemented the national digital-education initiative, focusing on building digital infrastructure in vocational colleges, developing and utilizing digital resources, expanding intelligent application scenarios, deepening educational-evaluation reform, and enhancing digital management capabilities. Notable progress has been achieved in creating smart vocational-education cloud platforms, promoting intelligent campus applications, and advancing international cooperation in digital education. These efforts have provided robust IT support for the high-quality development of vocational colleges and are ushering Guizhous vocational education into a new era of digitalization.

Hadi stated that vocational education, as an important part of the national education system, is now a key focus for governments, families, and young students in ASEAN countries. At present, cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in the field of vocational education has made significant progress. The ASEAN-China Center, as an intergovernmental international organization jointly established by the ten ASEAN countries and China, will continue to deepen pragmatic cooperation in the future in accordance with the consensus of the leaders of both sides. By strengthening policy dialogue, expanding resource sharing, and coordinating the strength of all parties, the Center will promote the exchange and cooperation of vocational education between China and ASEAN countries, promote the robust development of vocational education, and consolidate the foundation for mutual understanding and friendship.

Li Yangbo introduced that Guizhou Polytechnic of Construction, as one of the first batch of experimental schools for digital campus construction in vocational colleges nationwide, has always embraced the educational philosophy of "Promoting Lubans Spirit, Being Great Artisans" . Seizing the opportunity of smart-campus creation and focusing on scenario reconstruction and data-driven approaches, the college has continuously upgraded both software and hardware. This digital empowerment now permeates industry-education integration, teaching, research, and management, providing robust support for the schools high-quality development. Li emphasized that this forum is of great significance for deepening China-ASEAN cooperation in digital education and encouraged participants to jointly explore new solutions for digital transformation, build an open ecosystem for smart education, and share fresh achievements in digital development, thus injecting strong momentum into high-quality vocational education.

During the digital platform demonstration session, Songheang Ai from the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Technical Education Development, Chen Wenyi from the China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week (CAECW) Secretariat, and Li Yingke from Guizhou Polytechnic of Construction successively introduced the China-ASEAN Technical Education Cooperation Platform, the ASEAN-China Smart Education Institute in Colorful Guizhou, and the AI Model for Architecture.

Domestic and international experts, including Wang Qiang (Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College), Wang Jing (Jiangsu Vocational Institute of Architectural Technology), Chen Guangrong (Guangdong Education Association for International Exchange), Peng Fang (China State Construction Steel Structure Inspection & Maintenance), Wan Zuraida Binti Wan Yusoff (Politeknik Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, Malaysia) and Prof. IR. Ratih Indri Hapsari, ST., MT., Ph.D. (Politeknik Negeri Malang, Indonesia), delivered keynote speeches on four themes: how digital technologies are reshaping vocational education; AI applications in the construction industry; a digital academy built around on-site engineers; and the international promotion of architectural-technology education through digital resources.

After the keynote speeches, Soudthida Hoongsengpha, Education Counselor of the Lao Embassy in China, praised the forums impact. She called on China and ASEAN to let industry steer the boat and schools row in tandem with enterprises, using digital empowerment and joint standard-setting as twin oars. By deepening cooperation and accelerating the digital transformation of vocational education, she said, the two sides can co-create an innovative, open, and shared TVET ecosystem and sail together into the blue ocean of high-quality China-ASEAN vocational education.

At the closing ceremony of the China-ASEAN "Future Architect" Summer Camp, three ASEAN youth representatives shared their moving stories, awards were presented, a youth initiative was launched, and China-ASEAN students took the stage for a joint performancevivid snapshots of youthful energy and cross-cultural friendship.

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At the end of the forum, an on-stage signing ceremony was held. Guizhou Polytechnic of Construction signed a cooperation agreement with Politeknik Negeri Malang, Indonesia. In addition, four higher vocational colleges within the Guizhou province also signed agreements on-site with several universities from ASEAN countries.

Centered on Innovative Integration, Digital Empowerment, this forum aims to promote exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in the field of digital education, jointly build China-ASEAN standards, and advance the internationalization of faculty and teaching and curriculum in Chinese vocational colleges. It further explores innovative cooperation models for talent cultivation to achieve win-win outcomes for all parties involved.