Shanghai school launches Serbian engineering facility
The Belt and Road Municipal Engineering International Industry School Teaching and Practice Base (Europe) is launched.
A new facility has been launched in Serbia by the Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College to help improve the country's capability in bridge engineering.
The Belt and Road Municipal Engineering International Industry School Teaching and Practice Base (Europe) is a cooperation between the college and Shandong High-Speed Road & Bridge International Co.
The base will provide training such as smart bridge construction technology to Serbian workers.
Li Tao, dean of the vocational college's School of Municipal and Ecological Engineering, said the launch of the European base signifies a beginning, with plans to inaugurate additional bases in Africa and Southeast Asia. This expansion aims to enhance internships, faculty and student exchanges, and joint scientific research projects with international corporations.
Marija Petković, an compliance officer for Shandong High-Speed Road & Bridge International, extended an invitation to all Chinese and Serbian students to study at the training base.
"The goal of our cooperation is to encourage everyone that different languages and the distance of any country should not be an obstacle and that, if we are ready to work on ourselves and to help those who are ready to work in the common interest, success is inevitable," she said.
It's the latest move of the college's Belt and Road Municipal Engineering International Industry School, which is dedicated to promoting artificial intelligence technology in civil engineering and training talent who can apply modern information technology in such programs, to serve Belt and Road (B&R) countries.
By establishing overseas teaching and practice bases, it helps B&R counties with talent training, academic education, and the development of engineering technique standards.
In 2022, it helped develop a professional norm for environmental monitoring technicians in Tanzania. It is now helping Ethiopia develop national technique standards for technicians in rail base and trackside civil engineering and maintenance, bridge construction and maintenance, and landscape management.
In 2023, the institution further strengthened its international ties by launching programs providing training on both Chinese language and vocational skills in both Egypt and Indonesia, attracting over 140 enthusiastic students.
The establishment of the European teaching and practice base is also expected to form partnerships with European enterprises. There are also preparations being made to inaugurate another educational center in Africa this October.
Li said international cooperation is a win-win practice as it also broadens the vision of the school's students and elevates the global competency of the teaching staff. He said the school is undergoing a curriculum redesign and developing new teaching materials that incorporate new methodologies and processes.
