To thoroughly implement the national policy on promoting the high-quality development of modern vocational education and accelerating the opening-up of education, and to deeply align with the “Belt and Road” Education Action and the “Vocational Education Going Global” strategy, Shanghai Donghai College (hereinafter referred to as “SDC”), at the invitation of the Algerian Ministry of Education, dispatched three teachers from May 14 to 23, 2026: Tan Xin, Head of the Radio and Television Program Production Program at the School of Media and Communication; Yin Yiyi, Head of the Information Security Technology Application Program at the School of Information Engineering; and Liu Yichen from the Office of International Exchange. They traveled to Algeria to carry out a 6-day vocational standard export and “Chinese+Vocational Skills” training program. SDC is the first higher education institution in China to launch a vocational education standard export project in Algeria. This training precisely responds to Algeria’s demand for learning from China’s teaching methods, practical experience and development achievements in the fields of AIGC (Generative Artificial Intelligence) and IT (Information Technology), as well as the integrated education model of “Chinese+Vocational Skills”. It has set a landmark benchmark for in-depth vocational education cooperation and cultural exchanges between China and Algeria.
Precisely Aligning with Foreign Needs and Systematically Exporting Chinese Vocational Education Standards
In January 2026, three vocational standards developed by SDC, namely Generative AI System Application Technician, Information System Operation and Maintenance Engineering Technician, and Air Transport Ground Service Technician, were officially certified by the National Center for Vocational Training and Education of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. This marks another landmark achievement of SDC in promoting vocational education going global and exporting Chinese vocational education models, and is also the first time Algeria has commissioned and approved international vocational standards developed by a foreign college.
This training focused on the two Chinese national vocational standards of Generative AI System Application Technician and Information System Operation and Maintenance Engineering Technician. It simultaneously promoted integrated teaching of “Chinese+Vocational Skills” and the dissemination of excellent traditional Chinese culture. The core objectives were to comprehensively share China’s achievements in vocational education system construction, teaching model innovation and practical application in relevant fields with Algeria, systematically teach basic Chinese expression and workplace communication skills, and immerse participants in the charm of Chinese intangible cultural heritage and traditional culture. This provides replicable and scalable Chinese experience for the development of local vocational education and the cultivation of international compound talents in Algeria.
All participants were backbone teachers and program directors from colleges across Algeria, holding master’s degrees or higher, with some holding doctoral degrees. Program directors accounted for one-third of the total participants, and all had profound academic backgrounds and rich frontline teaching experience. As the first institution in China to carry out vocational education standard export in Algeria, SDC had no mature experience to follow for this cooperation, and the Algerian side was also in the exploratory stage of training organization, failing to clarify important information such as the target participants in advance.
To ensure the pertinence and effectiveness of the training, the three teachers demonstrated exceptional professional literacy and foresight, making thorough dual preparations in advance. They carefully designed two differentiated teaching plans targeting both experienced college backbone teachers and vocational college students. Affected by factors such as visa processing and communication coordination, the team received notification two weeks before departure that the training duration would be extended to 6 days. The three teachers urgently adjusted the teaching arrangements and significantly expanded the training content. Ultimately, each person completed two sets of professional lecture notes totaling 24 sessions, with over 15,000 English words per session, and PPT presentations of more than 120 pages per half-session. Even on the flight to Algeria, facing uncertainties including unconfirmed airport pickup and hotel arrangements, the three teachers remained calm, prioritized teaching tasks, and were undisturbed by external factors. They repeatedly polished and adjusted the teaching content during the flight and the layover in Egypt, striving to deliver China’s most mature and practically valuable vocational education experience accurately to Algerian participants.
Overcoming Difficulties with Dedication and Earning Acclaim through Flexible Teaching
Upon arriving in Algeria, the three teachers immediately devoted themselves to intense teaching work despite the fatigue from the long-haul flight and the 7-hour time difference, teaching continuously from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. The local schedule differed significantly from that in China, with lunch at 1:30 p.m. and dinner postponed to 8:00 p.m. The teachers often could not eat on time due to the teaching rhythm, but they remained at the podium on an empty stomach, always putting teaching quality first. Facing unexpected situations such as no internet in the classroom, shortage of computer equipment, and blurry projection equipment, the teachers quickly used their personal laptops and self-prepared HDMI adapters for screen projection, and set up a temporary teaching network using portable WiFi provided in advance by SDC’s Office of International Exchange, ensuring the smooth start of the training. The participants were extremely enthusiastic and cherished the training opportunity, frequently interacting and discussing with the three teachers. As the first institution to carry out such cooperation, SDC teachers continuously adjusted and adapted to the Algerian side’s needs. Facing challenges such as unclear training requirements and information gaps in communication, the three teachers overcame multiple difficulties including jet lag and dietary discomfort. They readjusted the teaching content every night based on classroom feedback, stayed up late preparing lessons, and simultaneously completed their regular work duties in China. For participants with limited English proficiency, the team used intelligent translation tools to synchronously translate core content into Arabic, working together with participants to overcome language and cultural differences and conduct in-depth exchanges.
On the first day of teaching, the teachers keenly noticed that participants were far more enthusiastic about practical content than pure theoretical teaching, and that there were deviations between the two sides’ understanding of training objectives, the content participants were interested in, and the key points the team had prepared in advance. That night, the team adjusted the teaching plan overnight based on classroom feedback, significantly increasing practical demonstrations of AIGC and IT, as well as Chinese cuisine cultural experience and interactive discussion sessions. The adjusted teaching content triggered an enthusiastic response from participants the next day, creating an unprecedentedly lively classroom discussion atmosphere. During the training, leaving early and returning late, unreliable shuttle buses, shortened break times, and delayed class endings became the norm. Even so, the three teachers completed each teaching session with full energy.
During the branch campus exchange activity on the third day of training, the three teachers respectively visited the local School of Economics and Management, School of IT, and School of Tourism Management in Algeria. Since the actual target participants and specific content were not clarified in previous communications, the teachers successfully completed the tasks relying on their rich on-site adaptability and profound knowledge reserves. Tan Xin, at the School of Economics and Management, delivered a lecture on AIGC vocational standards to teachers and students of the digital economy program under the auspices of the school leadership. She detailed the mainstream AI tools in China and their applications in text, image, audio, game and other fields, helping participants expand their employment ideas. During the Q&A session, she responded to sharp questions such as the copyright ownership of AI-generated works with solid professional skills and rigorous logic, earning sincere recognition from the entire audience. Yin Yiyi, after arriving at the School of IT, visited the hardware and software works of electronic information students accompanied by the school leadership, including self-made mobile hard drives, encrypted communication systems, and security scanning agents. She provided professional optimization suggestions and discussed the development path of national automation in Algeria with teachers and students. Subsequently, Teacher Yin interpreted the Information System Operation and Maintenance Engineering Technician vocational standard and conducted operational demonstrations for all teachers and students. Teachers and students actively asked questions during the interactive session, and many students expressed admiration for Chinese manufacturing. Liu Yichen, at the School of Tourism Management, introduced China, Shanghai and SDC to the school leadership and program directors, then gave a lecture on Chinese culture, Hanfu culture and Chinese culinary art to teachers and students of the tourism management program. She led participants to experience intangible cultural heritage paper-cutting, exchanged views on cultural differences between the two countries, and acted as an ambassador for Chinese culture and SDC’s image. She answered various questions from participants one by one, sparked strong interest in and yearning for China, Shanghai and SDC. At the end of the event, Teacher Liu was invited to attend the college’s student graduation ceremony. Teachers and students of each branch campus gave warm applause after the speeches and discussions, and lined up to take photos with the teachers. This is not only a high recognition of the three teachers’ on-site adaptability and professional literacy, but also the best affirmation of China’s vocational education level.
The three teachers had clear division of labor and each excelled in their own field. Tan Xin focused on the Generative AI System Application Technician vocational standard, progressing step by step from machine learning and neural network basics to advanced applications of large models in generating images, videos and games. Her on-site demonstration of converting PDF documents into online games with one click amazed the participating teachers with the prevalence and advancement of China’s AI technology. Some participants even used the AIGC tools they learned to make thank-you videos. Yin Yiyi provided in-depth interpretation of the Information System Operation and Maintenance Engineering Technician vocational standard, delivering full-chain theoretical sharing and practical demonstrations covering computer systems and network basics, data management and application services, system security and risk management, virtualization and automated operation and maintenance, as well as teaching seminars. Liu Yichen carried out immersive teaching focusing on “Chinese+Culture”. She not only taught practical content such as basic Chinese pinyin, daily communication and workplace expression, Chinese numbers and colors, and self-introduction, but also allowed participants to experience the charm of excellent traditional Chinese culture up close through rich interactive forms such as Hanfu display, intangible cultural heritage paper-cutting experience, appreciation of Suzhou embroidery folding fans, teaching of the song Jasmine Flower, and telling of folk stories. This sparked strong yearning for China among participants and also inspired their thinking about the development direction of local tourism in Algeria. She was affectionately praised by participants as “the best Chinese teacher”.
Deepening Exchanges and Achieving Fruitful Results, Writing a New Chapter of Cooperation
This training marked the first successful implementation of Chinese vocational standards in Algeria, signifying that China-Algeria vocational education cooperation has advanced from “skill exchange” to a new stage of “standard co-construction”. Participants expressed that this training brought them brand-new teaching concepts and technical methods, and they benefited greatly. They will apply the Chinese experience learned to local teaching practice in the future. Many Algerian teachers and students clearly expressed their willingness to come to China for further study and carry out long-term cooperation with SDC during the training.
As the leader of the delegation, Liu Yichen, while undertaking heavy overseas teaching tasks, was fully responsible for the overall management and external communication coordination of the team. She always adhered to political and security bottom lines, simultaneously completed domestic teaching and administrative affairs, and timely handled various emergencies, ensuring the smooth progress of the entire trip. Tan Xin and Yin Yiyi, as backbone teachers of SDC, overcame numerous difficulties in overseas teaching while simultaneously completing various domestic work such as mid-term teaching inspections. To coordinate with domestic time, all three teachers had the experience of participating in online work meetings at 3 a.m. local time.Despite facing many challenges, the three teachers all expressed that they felt deeply honored to represent the school and China in this “Vocational Education Going Global”project, and thanked the school for providing the valuable platform and the full trust and strong support from leaders at all levels. In the future, they will take this training as an opportunity to continuously improve their professional and comprehensive abilities, actively participate in SDC’s “Vocational Education Going Global”cause, and contribute to promoting Chinese vocational education to the world.
SDC’s trip to Algeria actively responded to the national policy call for promoting the high-quality development of modern vocational education and accelerating the opening-up of education, deeply aligned with the “Belt and Road” Education Action and the “Vocational Education Going Global” strategy, and pioneered China’s export of vocational education standards to Algeria, effectively demonstrating the international influence of Chinese vocational education. SDC will continue to uphold the concept of “Education follows industry, industry and education advance together”, continuously expand its overseas cooperation network, and consistently export Chinese vocational education standards and high-quality teaching resources. It will make new and greater contributions to building an open, inclusive, mutually beneficial and win-win international vocational education pattern and serving the high-quality development of the “Belt and Road” Initiative.(Correspondents: Liu Yichen, Yin Yiyi, Tan Xin)
