Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

China funds Luban Workshop at Ponorogo Vocational School

Funder	Unspecified Chinese Government Institution
Recipient Organization	Ponorogo Vocational School
Country	Indonesia
Start Date	Jan 01, 2017
End Date	Jun 06, 2031
Duration	5,269 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`100632`

Grant Description

On December 12, 2017, a Chinese-funded Luban workshop opened at Ponorogo Vocational School. The workshop has a focus on robotics and automation. About 2,700 students have graduated from programs offered by the workshop as of December 2022. This Luban Workshop was the focus of a July 10, 2023 Washington Post investigation into Luban Workshops globally.

📋 Staff Comments

1. Luban Workshop (鲁班工坊) is a technical assistance program started by Tianjin's Vocational Institute in BRI countries. While it is an important Chinese foreign policy objective, the workshop is not funded through a specific fund or a government entity. Instead, it is heavily dependent on each project. While the Chinese government may directly fund some projects, Chinese SOEs or the specific vocational schools in Tianjin may fund others. As a result, AidData assumes an unspecified Chinese government agency has funded the project. For more information, please consult: https://www.tj.gov.cn/zwgk/szfwj/tjsrmzfbgt/202005/t20200519_2370529.html?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template and http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xwfb/s5147/202112/t20211202_584025.html

📚 Sources & References

Winning friends by training workers is China’s new gambit
China is educating engineers around the world
Luban Workshop——China’s vocational education going global
Luban Workshop Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.