From November 2 to 7, 2025, at the invitation of the World Bank and the China-Africa Deans of Education Forum, a three-member delegation from the UNESCO Teacher Education Centre (TEC)—comprising Associate Professor Song Jia, Research Fellow Li Tingzhou, and PhD Candidate Zhang Yunji (hereinafter referred to as the "TEC delegation")—visited Ethiopia to participate in the international seminar themed "Educators Shaping Futures: A Global Knowledge Exchange on Teacher Preparation and Development." During the visit, the delegation successively called on institutions including Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education, the College of Education and Confucius Institute at Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa University of Technology, and the African Union (AU), conducting extensive exchanges on deepening TEC’s teacher training cooperation with Ethiopia and other African nations.
On November 3, the TEC delegation attended the international seminar at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Co-hosted by the World Bank, the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education, and the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University, the seminar aimed to raise global attention to teacher education and support systems, build an international cooperation alliance for educational transformation, and ensure teachers worldwide receive adequate preparation and continuous support to better play their pivotal roles in education.At a special forum convened by the World Bank, Associate Professor Song Jia delivered a keynote speech titled "Domestic and Cross-Border Collaboration to Enhance Teacher Education: Cases and Insights from China," systematically introducing China’s "dual-track advancement" in teacher education. Domestically, China has launched the "Collaborative Teacher Education and Development Program," leveraging the "1+M+N" normal university cluster and the "public-private-partnership (PPP)" mechanism to build an integrated training system covering "pre-service, induction, and in-service" stages in underdeveloped central and western regions. It also provides high-quality curriculum resources via cloud platforms, focusing on improving the quality and efficiency of rural and underperforming schools. Internationally, PhD Candidate Zhang Yunji introduced the "China-Tanzania Mathematics Teacher Exchange Program" launched in 2021. Through the cross-cultural teaching and research model of "cloud-based collaboration, immersive training in Shanghai, and cross-border knowledge sharing," the program has trained a group of core mathematics teachers for Tanzania, demonstrating the international dissemination and localized implementation of Shanghai’s mathematics teacher education experience.
On November 4, at the roundtable meeting of the China-Africa Deans of Education Forum on Teacher Education, Research Fellow Li Tingzhou shared Chinese experiences under the theme "From Resource Platform to Learning Community: Model Innovation in Technology-Driven Teacher Development." He systematically sorted out three technology-enabled paths for teacher development—"resource platform, distance teaching, and learning community"—and demonstrated practical results with examples such as the National Smart Education Platform, dedicated online classes in Lichuan, Hubei, and Chengdu No.7 High School Online School. His sharing vividly interpreted the phased achievements of China’s construction of a national digital education resource system under the educational digitization strategic initiative.
On the morning of November 5, the TEC delegation paid an exchange visit to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education. Dr. Serawit Handiso Melkato, Head of the Department of Research and Community Engagement at the Ministry, warmly received the delegation and expressed welcome and gratitude for their visit. Dr. Melkato systematically introduced the current status and layout of STEM education in Ethiopia, especially in Addis Ababa, noting that her department currently oversees 40 STEM centers serving local high school and university students. Associate Professor Song Jia from TEC introduced the center’s practices and achievements in STEM teacher training, stating that the team has carried out cooperation with African countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, and established exchange mechanisms with the United Kingdom and Brazil. PhD Candidate Zhang Yunji gave a special presentation on the "China-Tanzania Mathematics Teacher Exchange Program," reviewing the project’s origin, implementation path, and phased achievements. Both parties conducted in-depth discussions on future cooperation directions in a friendly and pragmatic atmosphere.
After the meeting, the TEC delegation paid a courtesy call on H.E. Dr. Kora Tushune, Minister of Higher Education of Ethiopia. Minister Tushune commended the delegation’s contributions to promoting China-Africa teacher capacity building and expressed anticipation for pragmatic cooperation with TEC to enhance STEM teacher capabilities in Ethiopia.
Subsequently, the TEC delegation, along with Chinese members of the China-Africa University Presidents Forum on Teacher Education, visited the College of Education and Confucius Institute at Addis Ababa University, further advancing pragmatic alignment in teacher training and people-to-people exchanges.
On the afternoon of November 5, accompanied by staff from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education, the TEC delegation successively visited the STEM Education Center at Addis Ababa University, the Science and Technology Museum, and the STEM Education Center at Addis Ababa University of Technology. During the visits, the team inspected the teaching laboratories and STEM education centers of the two universities, gaining a systematic understanding of experimental teaching conditions, research platform configurations, and popular science resource development. This laid a solid foundation for future cooperation in curriculum co-construction, experimental teaching collaboration, and popular science projects under the China-Africa STEM education teacher training cooperation plan.
On November 6, at the invitation of the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the African Union, the TEC delegation, together with Chinese members of the China-Africa Deans of Education Forum on Teacher Education, attended the seminar "Supporting Africa’s Industrialization and Promoting Green, Coordinated, and Sustainable Development" at the Ethiopian News Agency, where they were cordially received by Ambassador Jiang Feng of the Chinese Mission to the AU. In the afternoon, the delegation visited the AU Headquarters, listening to a presentation by the Head of the AU’s Education Department on the AU’s educational practices and cooperation mechanisms, and expressing visions for deepening future China-Africa educational cooperation.
The trip was productive and tightly scheduled. Through this visit, TEC established a solid liaison mechanism with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education, top Ethiopian universities, and international organizations in Ethiopia. It laid a firm foundation for subsequent pragmatic alignment in China-Africa STEM education cooperation, teacher capacity building, and people-to-people exchanges.
Contributions : UNESCO Teacher Education Centre
