Vocational, tech schools benefit from int'l co-op (2)

"We're at a turning point in global vocational and technical education," Wang said.

Liu Yandong, State councilor, said during the congress in May: "(Technical and vocational education and training) has an important role to play in China's modernization efforts and will therefore be made to embrace greater opportunities for development."

Dai Yuwai, president of the Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College, spoke about the experiences he had in witnessing international cooperation with the Technical and Further Education Institutes in Australia.

"We have been sending our faculty members to receive training in Australia since 2011 and expect them to bring back more valuable curriculum," he said. "Western countries want our students as human capital. We treasure their advanced experiences, including values and curriculum.

"We are also planning to invite experienced Australian teachers to give lectures in our school," Dai said.

After returning from Australia, Zhang Yonghong, one of the exchange faculty members of the school, added to the discussions held in her classes.

"I teach management practice, which involves many management theories," she said. "In the past, I always struggled when delivering boring lectures to students. The content was too dry and they didn't want to listen.