On March 5, Dr. Jens-Uwe Strehle, General Manager of Bau Bildung Sachsen e. V. and Bau Bildung Sachsen-Anhalt e. V., along with Ms. Leng Xiao, China Representative, visited SUCC’s Fengxian Campus. Mr. Zhang Zhengrong, President of SUCC, warmly received the guests together with Yu Limin, Director of the International Cooperation Division, and Wang Aihua, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Division.

Zhang Zhengrong extended a warm welcome to Dr. Strehle and his delegation on behalf of SUCC. He noted that Strehle’s dedicated visit coincided with the first day of the new semester in the Year of the Horse and marked the arrival of the first distinguished guests during SUCC’s 70th-anniversary celebration month. This meeting underscored both sides’ deep appreciation for their longstanding collaborative friendship and showed a proactive response to the integration of educational technologies and industrial collaboration between China and Germany, particularly significant in the current context of enhanced China-German cooperation. Zhang Zhengrong briefly reviewed the nearly decade-long history of cooperation between SUCC and Bau Bildung Sachsen e. V., providing Strehle with a detailed overview of the current development status and talent cultivation achievements of SUCC’s architectural programs. He emphasized SUCC’s commitment to “facilitating vocational education overseas” and actively promoting the “urban construction solutions” and “urban construction standards” internationally, which have yielded positive results. Meanwhile, SUCC is diligently benchmarking against international vocational education standards and adopting advanced concepts and technologies. Given Germany’s world-leading position in energy conservation and environmental protection, especially its rich experience in architectural energy efficiency, he earnestly expressed the hope for sustained and profound cooperation between the two sides in the field of urban renewal.

Dr. Strehle conveyed gratitude for the warm hospitality extended by SUCC. He mentioned that the two institutions he works for have always valued cooperation with Chinese architectural colleges, with nearly 10 years of collaboration with SUCC acting as a strong testament. To effectively promote Sino-German cooperation, the two institutions continuously update their training projects for architectural programs and develop new courses, which have been well-received by trainees both in Germany and foreign countries. It is a great honor for the two institutions to partner with SUCC, and they are eager to work together in areas such as faculty training, student study tours, joint program development, and curriculum design to achieve more substantive cooperative outcomes.

During the meeting, both sides fully exchanged views on the services and roles that vocational education can provide in urban renewal and agreed to meet again at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in September. SUCC warmly welcomes German experts to visit and provide guidance for further discussions on bilateral cooperation.

Since signing the cooperation agreement between SUCC and Bau Bildung Sachsen e. V. in 2017, both sides have maintained friendly visits and regular communication among the management personnel. They have successfully implemented a series of practical cooperation projects, including faculty training in China by German experts and short-term study tours in Germany for SUCC’s faculty and students. Focusing on core areas such as Germany’s dual-system education philosophy, eco-friendly wastewater treatment technologies, energy-efficient modern building technologies, and new building materials, they have built bridges for mutual learning. This has enabled SUCC’s faculty and students to experience firsthand the rigor and pragmatism, and advanced concepts of German vocational education, while allowing German partners to gain deeper insights into SUCC’s commitment and innovative practices in architectural talent cultivation. This visit by Dr. Strehle is expected to significantly advance bilateral cooperation, establishing a more solid and stable partnership.