Feature: Chinese Luban Workshop helps train Egypt's future engineers

People receive training at the automobile application and maintenance technology training area of Luban Workshop at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

CAIRO, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- At a workshop in Ain Shams University in Egypt's Cairo, a number of engineering students were being trained on how to use G-code, a programming language, to create an automated control of a machine.

The workshop, also known as "Luban Egypt Center for Vocational Training," is one of the many exemplars of the education cooperation between China and Egypt.

Students walk past the building of Luban Workshop at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Co-founded by China's Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College, Tianjin Transportation Technical College and Egypt's Ain Shams University in late 2020, the spacious Workshop, covering an area of around 1,200 square meters, provided trainings for computer numerical control (CNC) installation, new energy technology and automobile application and maintenance technology.

Yomna Osama, a senior student, said that she learned a lot from the training she received at Luban Workshop on the CNC structure, components, troubleshooting and maintenance.

Professor Mohamad Ahmed Awad (1st L), director of Luban Workshop, introduces simulated wind-photovoltaic hybrid generating system to trainees at the workshop at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

"We also learned G-code, a programming language that a machine understands, and I am personally using it in my graduation project," the would-be engineer told Xinhua.

Professor Mohamad Ahmed Awad, director of the workshop, said that the educational facility gives students the chance to practically apply what they theoretically learn.

"The workshop represents a very important link between academic education and post-graduation practical work at factories," the director told Xinhua.

Trainees learn circuit connection at the computer numerical control (CNC) installation training area of Luban Workshop at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

The new energy training area provides students with four systems and simulations for electricity generation by wind energy, while the car maintenance training section contains physical simulators and maintenance kits for oil-fueled cars, mechanisms and maintenance systems.

"The workshop provides students with a big opportunity to be familiar with modern automotive technologies and diagnostic devices," said Ahmed Abdel-Kader, a teacher assistant at the automotive engineering department.

People receive training at the automobile application and maintenance technology training area of Luban Workshop at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

"We have benefited a lot from this cooperation through having such a high-quality workshop equipped with modern automotive devices and kits we never had before," he said, stressing that it is not only helpful for students but for professors and teachers as well.

The Luban Workshop at Ain Shams University is not the only one in Egypt. Another Luban Workshop has recently opened at the Advanced Technical School for Maintenance Technology in Cairo.

Photo taken on Dec. 21, 2022 shows the logo of Luban Workshop at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

"We are so proud to have two Luban workshops in Egypt, graduating students in the fields of CNC machining and modern car maintenance," said Mohamed Megahed, Egypt's deputy minister of education and technical education.

"Cooperation between Egypt and China is growing in the field of education, especially technical education," the deputy minister told Xinhua.