Luban Workshop offers vocational education support for Kazakhstan

Amid the burning summer heat, a lively discussion in a classroom of Tianjin Vocational Institute, in north China's Tianjin Municipality, was even more intense than the scorching sun outside.

15 faculty members from L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Kazakhstan interacted warmly with their Chinese teacher, with real-time translation working in full swing. This is part of the ongoing preparation for the second Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan.

The Luban Workshop, named after ancient Chinese craftsmen Lu Ban, is a vocational education program jointly carried out by China and its partner countries to cultivate local talents.

In December 2023, the first Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan, co-established by Tianjin Vocational Institute and East Kazakhstan Technical University, was put into trial operation. Its initial phase provides training for more than 400 students, focusing on the field of vehicle technology.

According to Li Guohui, teacher at the College of Electronics and Information Engineering, Tianjin Vocational Institute, the current training session, tailored to the needs of Kazakhstan, is centered around artificial intelligence (AI), and scheduled to run from June 23 to July 16, 2025.

"In recent years, Kazakhstan has made significant efforts to develop AI technologies," said Li, who oversees the new workshop's construction on behalf of the institute. He added that the Central Asian country shows a growing demand for talent in areas such as intelligent agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation and logistics. Since China has a competitive edge in some fronts, it can facilitate Kazakhstan's endeavor to expand the local talent pool, Li explained.

"Kazakhstan is known for its well-developed agriculture and animal husbandry sector, while drones and AI technology can be used in areas, including drone-assisted herding and crop disaster monitoring," Li noted.

Gulden Ulyukova, senior lecturer at the department of information security, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, said, with courses in deep learning, machine learning, data mining and industrial internet security, the Luban Workshop is a good opportunity for Kazakhstan to advance its technical education.

Ulyukova, who is visiting China for the first time, has been impressed by the country's cultural heritage and the hospitability of local people.

Ramazan Sadvakassov, lecturer at the department of artificial intelligence technologies, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, expressed his appreciation for the strong emphasis on practical training in the teaching process.

He noted that after engaging with modern technologies such as drones, robotic arms, and facial and object recognition, he will share the knowledge gained in Tianjin with his students, contributing to future exchanges between Kazakhstan and China.

In Li's view, the Luban Workshop not only helps bring China's latest technologies to young people in other countries, boosting local growth, but also fosters more envoys of friendship among countries, contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The second Luban Workshop in Kazakhstan is expected to be officially inaugurated and put into use in this October.