Insight into the Chinese Education System: a Research Visit to Tongji University by Fellows of the Centre for Vocational Education and Skills Development
In September 2025, Elizaveta Korotkikh and Natalia Rosenfeld, who are both fellows of the Centre for Vocational Education and Skills Development and participants of the Academic Postgraduate Programme for outstanding PhD candidates, completed a research visit to Tongji University in Shanghai. As part of the trip, they also visited East China Normal University (ECNU), Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Nanjing University, and Cao Yang Vocational School.
As Natalia notes, Russia and China share a common Soviet past in the field of education, which partly explains why we have similar institutional configurations. This also was one of the reasons for choosing this destination for the internship. Tongji University is attractive to scientists in comparative TVET research, as the university actively cooperates with strong German vocational education institutions. The HSE Institute of Education has long-standing ties with Tongji University and a number of joint projects. For instance, we are currently collaborating on the CERE Observatory, which is the first international expert and research platform dedicated to enhancing the global visibility and impact of education systems in emerging economies.
During their internship, Elizaveta and Natalia visited leading Chinese universities to present current research findings and interim results of their PhD theses. At ECNU, they discussed the theoretical framework of comparative studies of transitions from secondary vocational to higher education with their Chinese colleagues. While at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, they studied new initiatives in secondary vocational education aimed at increasing student interest through practice-oriented learning and strengthening ties with employers. At Nanjing University, the focus was on methodological issues, with graduate students receiving feedback on their research and meeting other students working on similar topics.
The most impressive experience, according to our fellows, was visiting Shanghai Cao Yang Vocational School, a leading national vocational senior high school in China. Here, Elizaveta and Natalia communicated with teachers and students and learned how practice-oriented training and graduate employment are organised. This real-life interaction provided an opportunity to examine the educational system in China in detail.
The internship was beneficial not only to our colleagues, but also to the Chinese researchers. Many of them learned about the Russian educational system for the first time and became interested in postgraduate study in Russia.
We would like to thank our partners, especially Tongji University and Professor Li Jun, for facilitating our colleagues' visit to China and thereby enriching their academic experience.
As Natalia notes, Russia and China share a common Soviet past in the field of education, which partly explains why we have similar institutional configurations. This also was one of the reasons for choosing this destination for the internship. Tongji University is attractive to scientists in comparative TVET research, as the university actively cooperates with strong German vocational education institutions. The HSE Institute of Education has long-standing ties with Tongji University and a number of joint projects. For instance, we are currently collaborating on the CERE Observatory, which is the first international expert and research platform dedicated to enhancing the global visibility and impact of education systems in emerging economies.
During their internship, Elizaveta and Natalia visited leading Chinese universities to present current research findings and interim results of their PhD theses. At ECNU, they discussed the theoretical framework of comparative studies of transitions from secondary vocational to higher education with their Chinese colleagues. While at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, they studied new initiatives in secondary vocational education aimed at increasing student interest through practice-oriented learning and strengthening ties with employers. At Nanjing University, the focus was on methodological issues, with graduate students receiving feedback on their research and meeting other students working on similar topics.
The most impressive experience, according to our fellows, was visiting Shanghai Cao Yang Vocational School, a leading national vocational senior high school in China. Here, Elizaveta and Natalia communicated with teachers and students and learned how practice-oriented training and graduate employment are organised. This real-life interaction provided an opportunity to examine the educational system in China in detail.
The internship was beneficial not only to our colleagues, but also to the Chinese researchers. Many of them learned about the Russian educational system for the first time and became interested in postgraduate study in Russia.
We would like to thank our partners, especially Tongji University and Professor Li Jun, for facilitating our colleagues' visit to China and thereby enriching their academic experience.
Date
October 08
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