On April 6, 2016, the Opening Ceremony of CCCC-CRBC Kenyan Education Program of Railway Engineering Agreement Signing Ceremony between CRBC and BJTU was held at the Science Auditorium of BJTU. H.E. Michael Kinyanjui, Kenyan Ambassador to China, Atanas Kariuki Maina, Principal Secretary of Kenyan Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Atanas Kariuki Maina, Managing Director of Kenyan Railways, DAI Changle, Party Member of Ministry of Transport of China, ZHANG Xiaojie, Deputy Director-General of Department of International Affairs of Ministry of Transport of China, CHEN Yinghui, Deputy Director-General of Department of International Affairs of Ministry of Education of China, SUN Ziyu, Vice President of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), YANG Yongsheng, Party Secretary of China Road And Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and BJTU President NING Bin attended and addressed the ceremony. The ceremony was hosted by BJTU Vice President CHEN Feng.

DAI Changle said Kenya is the pilot state for the capacity cooperation between China and Africa. China attaches great importance to developing railway cooperation between China and Kenya.

Michael Kinyanjui expressed gratitude to CRBC for providing assistance and cultivation for Kenyan students. He hoped that the Kenyan students would make contributions for the railway industry and education of Kenya when they come back to homeland.

Wilson Nyakera Irungu said China not only helped Kenya to build the landmark railway, but also provide training and technique transfer for the locals, especially on education and academia.

CHEN Yinghui said BJTU has accumulated rich experience of international education for the past 60 years. This program was the actual achievement of implementing the educational cooperation of “Sino-Africa Cooperation Forum”. She added that the Ministry of Education of China was fully in favor of the collaborations between Chinese universities and enterprises.

SUN Ziyu elaborated on the significance, construction and talent demand of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway. He said this program was important measure of CCCC for the “hard connectivity” of railway infrastructure as well as the “soft connectivity” between the peoples of China and Africa.   

NING Bin said the joint cultivation of Kenyan students between BJTU and CRBC for the construction, operation and management of Mombasa- Nairobi Railway was important part for promoting strategic internationalization cooperation between university and enterprise and the actual achievement of university-enterprise cooperation for talent cultivation, which was of great significance for implementing the national “going global” initiative of high-speed railway as well as the strategy of “enhancing cooperation for education and talent resources development”.

CHEN Feng pointed out that this joint education program for Kenyan students were the actual achievement of university-enterprise cooperation and fresh start of international student education of BJTU. This year marks the 120th anniversary of BJTU and this signing ceremony is one of celebration activities of BJTU. We sincerely welcome all the guests and friends from all walks of life to gather here for the future development of BJTU.

After the ceremony, witnessed by all the present teachers, students and guests, YANG Yongsheng and NING Bin co-signed the “Agreement on the Joint Undergraduate Education for Kenyan Students between CRBC and BJTU”.

The friendly relations between BJTU and Africa dated back to the 1970s when BJTU was responsible for cultivating 200 Tanzanian and Zambian students who have made great contributions for the construction and operation of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway after their graduation. In recent years, BJTU has undertaken several foreign-assistance training programs from the Ministry of Commerce for Algeria, Libya, Cameroon, Uganda, Ethiopia and Egypt in Africa.

25 Kenyan students attended the ceremony. They were about to pursue their Bachelor’s degrees at BJTU on railway.

Principals from the Office of General Administration, Centre for International Education, Office of International Affairs, Office of External Liaison, Office of Academic Affairs, State Research Center of Rail Transit Training and Accreditation, School of Civil Engineering, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering and School of Traffic and Transportation were also present at the ceremony.