Week of May 24, 2012
| Chinese delegation picks Miami Dade College brains By Rachel TannenbaumMiami Dade College is being visited by a Chinese delegation of 26 vocational school principals who are hoping to learn the US model for vocational career training. The college, in turn, aims to become a training base for Chinese vocational education. The delegation from the from the Heilongjiang Province in very north of China, almost bordering Russia, chose to spend five days at the college to learn the American model and how to handle workforce training, said Xuejun (Jim) Yu, director of the Confucius Institute at MDC. "The Chinese delegates want to see American training, and Miami Dade College has an extensive list of technical programs," Dr. Yu said. "It is a wonderful place to spend time." In the Heilongjiang Province, Dr. Yu said, half the middle school students who graduate go to regular high school to prepare for college while the other half go to vocational high schools to prepare for the workforce. The delegates — the principals of vocational schools in China — arrived in the US May 18 and will stay until today (5/24) as part of Miami Dade College's platform to help connect with China. While here and led by Provost Rolando Montoya, Associate Provost Michael Reiner and Dr. Yu, the group will visit the Wolfson Campus, the Kendall Campus, the Medical Campus, the North Campus, the Eig-Watson School of Aviation and the Vocational Educational Center at Miami-Dade County Public Schools at the Miami Lakes Technical Center. "Specifically, they want to see how MDC puts programs together and, once the programs are designed, how to provide placement services to help get the students into the workforce," Dr. Yu said. "This is the area they want to see." On their first day, Dr. Yu said, the principals visited the culinary institute at the Wolfson Campus, where they visited a lecture hall with "a kitchen-type classroom," which he said is a great way to put studies together in a practical way. He said the delegation was also impressed with the School of Engineering and Technology's partnership with Florida Power and Light. "They loved the way that we work within the industry," Dr. Yu said. "They want to see how to combine a series and put it together." Dr. Yu said the college hopes to become a training base for Chinese vocational education. By doing this, he said, the college will be visited by a second group of delegates later this year. "Chinese educational leaders put tremendous efforts in vocational education," Dr. Yu said, "and this can really play to our strength." To read the entire issue of Miami Today online, subscribe to e -Miami Today, an exact digital replica of the printed edition. |
Top