On the afternoon of October 13, the 10th China (Ningbo)–CEEC Education Cooperation and Exchange Conference and the 2026 China–CEEC Vocational Education School-Enterprise Matchmaking Conference were held at Wekerle International University (WIU) in Budapest, Hungary.
The conference was hosted by the Ningbo Education Bureau and the China-CEEC Alliance of TVET Institutions for Industry-Education Collaboration, and guided by the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) and the Department of Education of Zhejiang Province. Under the theme “A Decade of Shared Commitment to the Silk Road, a New Journey of Digital-Intelligent Industry-Education Integration,” leaders from the Chinese Embassy in Hungary, the Department of Education of Zhejiang Province, the Organization Department of the CPC Ningbo Municipal Committee, and the Ningbo Education Bureau attended the event. More than 50 Chinese and foreign guests from the education sectors in Hungary, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, and other countries gathered by the Danube to celebrate a decade of cooperation and discuss future development together.
At the conference venue
Since the first event was held in 2014, the China (Ningbo)–CEEC Education Cooperation and Exchange Conference has been held for ten consecutive sessions, attracting nearly 2,000 Chinese and foreign guests in total. It has established friendly relations with 19 cities in CEE countries and cooperative relations with over 90 universities and colleges, signed over 100 cooperation agreements, and achieved full coverage of partner countries. It has become a signature brand for educational exchanges and cooperation between Ningbo,—and China more broadly—and CEE countries.
At the opening ceremony, Dr. Imre Balogh, Rector of Wekerle International University in Hungary, delivered a welcome address. Yang Xiuhua, Education Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Hungary, attended and addressed the event, reviewing the friendly history of sound and steady development of China-Hungary relations over the 77 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, and expressing the willingness to use educational exchanges and cooperation to promote mutual understanding and affinity between the two peoples and mutual benefit. Huang Qi, Party Secretary of Zhejiang Fashion Institute of Technology (ZFIT), which is the leading institution of the China-CEEC Alliance of TVET Institutions for Industry-Education Collaboration; Wang Fei, Deputy Director of the Ningbo Education Bureau; and Hua Jianwei, Director of the Personnel Division of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Education, delivered remarks respectively. Wang Luxin, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Education Association for International Exchange, addressed the event via video. Lucian-Ioan Rus, Mayor of Deva, Romania, and others attended the event.
The conference yielded fruitful outcomes. Universities in Ningbo signed two inter-institutional cooperation agreements with CEE institutions, and unveiled the China Cultural Communication Center and the "Chinese + Skills" Cross-Border Talent Training Base of the China-Hungary Silk Road Institute, putting the "Chinese + Vocational Skills" education model into substantive operation in Europe and effectively broadening channels for practical educational cooperation between Ningbo and CEE countries. Zhejiang Fashion Institute of Technology released the "Standards-Led, College-Enterprise Collaboration" project for empowering the training of a new generation of intelligent technology engineers in Hungary. As the first project of the New Generation Intelligent Technology Industry-Education Integration Promotion Project of the Vocational Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education and the first of Xiaomi's "Vocational Education Going Global" projects, it marks a landmark step for Ningbo's vocational colleges in "Vocational Education Going Global."
Signing, Unveiling, and Project Launch Ceremony
At the keynote speech session, guests including Erno Peto, President of the Hungarian-Chinese Chamber of Economy; Xie Ou, Deputy Director of the Office for the Promotion of Xiaomi's New-Generation Intelligent Technology Industry-Education Integration; Marián Kováč, Vice-Rector of Bratislava University of Economics and Management (BUEM) in Slovakia; Paulina Bilska-Marek, President and CEO of the MODE Foundation (Fundacja MODE-Move and Develop Foundation) in Poland; and Li Guoping, Vice President of Ningbo University of Finance and Economics (NBUFE), exchanged views and shared experience on topics such as industry-education integration, talent cultivation, and sci-tech innovation collaboration.
Keynote Speeches
After the conference, Wang Fei, Deputy Director of the Ningbo Education Bureau, held talks with Lucian-Ioan Rus, Mayor of Deva, Romania, and had in-depth exchanges on vocational education cooperation and the overseas expansion of the "new three" industries. He also held bilateral discussions with Paulina Bilska-Marek, President and CEO of the MODE Foundation (Fundacja MODE-Move and Develop Foundation) in Poland, on topics such as Polish vocational education teachers coming to China for training.
Bilateral Talks
That evening, the “Hungary-Based Doctoral Talents Exchange for the Silk Road” was held at Wekerle International University. Themed “A Decade of Shared Commitment to the Silk Road, Pooling Wisdom in Ningbo for a New Chapter,” the event was hosted by the Ningbo Education International Exchange Association with support from the Zhejiang Provincial Education Association for International Exchange, and was attended by about 40 participants, including representatives of education administrative departments, heads and key teachers of institutions of all types and levels, representatives of leading enterprises in Ningbo, and doctoral students studying in Hungary.
During their stay in Hungary, the delegation paid a special visit to the Chinese Ambassador to Hungary Gong Tao and the Education Counsellor Yang Xiuhua, thanked the Embassy for its strong support for the event, and solicited views and suggestions on deepening educational cooperation between Ningbo and Hungary. The delegation also visited the National Office of Vocational Education and Training and Adult Learning of Hungary (NOVETAL), the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI), and the Szeged Centre for Vocational Education and Training (Szegedi SZC), holding in-depth discussions on areas such as alignment of vocational education standards, mutual teacher exchanges and training, industry-education integration, and school-enterprise supply-demand matchmaking, so as to improve the regular cooperation mechanism among government, enterprises, and colleges.
A Decade of Shared Commitment to the Silk Road, a New Journey of Digital-Intelligent Industry-Education Integration. At the new starting point of the tenth session, Ningbo will continue to deepen educational cooperation with CEE countries, promote the substantive development of Silk Road Institutes and overseas education programs, explore a new path for vocational education going global featuring "standards-led, college-enterprise collaboration," and ensure that more cooperation outcomes benefit the people of all countries, making greater contributions to Belt and Road cooperation and to promoting people-to-people bonds.
Source: Yongpai