Muhammad Mohsin Mujahid Qudoos, a young student from Lahore, has transformed hands-on skills into international recognition, found his true calling and is showcasing the power of practical education.
Hailing from a farmer's home, Mohsin completed a six-month intensive course at Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College's Luban Workshop in his hometown with top honours last year.
Upon selection and recommendation by the Punjab Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority, he was able to come to China to continue his studies at the college, specialising in electrical automation, and was awarded the Tianjin Government Scholarship for Foreign Students — the first-class undergraduate award.
"The most prominent feature of the workshop is its focus on practical learning," he explained. "It's not just about theory, words, or equations – hands-on skills are emphasised, which really helps you gain the ability to apply knowledge in real industrial settings."
Last month, Mohsin led a team in the 2025 China International College Students' Innovation Competition (Tianjin Division), where they won a silver medal. Their project introduced advanced GPS-based systems for harvest machinery, aiming to reduce costs and synchronise specifications, demonstrating how low-cost innovation could bring high-impact solutions to agriculture.
"I want to teach these skills to the next generation of Pakistani youth and bring innovation to local industries," Mohsin said. He emphasised the potential of robotic automation across multiple sectors – pharmaceuticals, textiles, beverages, and agriculture.
"Pakistan's main crops – rice, corn, and sugarcane – can benefit immensely. Corn harvesting, for example, is labour-intensive. With robotic machinery, we can reduce labour costs, increase productivity, minimise errors, and allow a single machine to perform the work of two or three people. It opens a gateway for the next generation."
Founded in Lahore in July 2018, the Luban Workshop is a joint venture between Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and the Punjab Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority. Covering 560 square metres, it runs programmes in electrical automation and mechatronics. In 2022, the college partnered with MNS Agricultural University in Multan to expand the initiative, adding a specialised training programme in agricultural machinery.
Building on these foundations, the workshop created a six-month Industrial Automation and Robotics course, which has since been incorporated into Pakistan's vocational education system. Students follow a blended path of local training, Chinese academic study, and internships under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Graduates leave with dual certification – both a Pakistani vocational qualification and a Chinese academic credential. So far, more than 1,000 young Pakistani technicians have completed the programme, with every graduate finding employment.
The project now has its eyes on further growth. Plans are underway to link training more closely with Lahore's Orange Line project, equipping workers with the skills needed by major China-Pakistan ventures.
Another key focus is modern agriculture along the CPEC corridor: demonstration bases in Multan are being set up to showcase advanced crop varieties, smart farming machinery, and herbal medicine cultivation, providing young people with hands-on training while raising agricultural productivity.
According to Programme Coordinator Xu, the programme will scale up to take on more Pakistani students while helping graduates secure strong career prospects.
As the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit is slated to be held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, Mohsin anticipates further cooperation in technical and vocational education sector to open up broader possibilities for Pakistani youth.
To date, the municipality has established 10 Luban Workshops in eight SCO countries. These workshops offer 21 cooperative programmes across six major fields: energy and power, equipment manufacturing, electronic information, transportation, resources and environment, and finance and commerce. They have provided degree education to 15,000 students and delivered vocational training to over 3,000 individuals, cultivating a large number of technical professionals for the manufacturing, new energy, artificial intelligence, and digital economy sectors, Jing Hongyang, Director of Tianjin Municipal Education Commission, said at an SCO press conference held on Friday.
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