In order to innovate the vocational teacher education model and improve the quality of vocational teacher education, the Ministry of Education approved to establish vocational and technical education colleges in six comprehensive universities including Tongji University in October 1994, to educate vocational teachers and conduct vocational education researches.

The purpose of the Institute of Vocational and Technical Education of Tongji University are:

Take advantage of the engineering disciplines of Tongji University, learn from the German experience, establish complete majors for vocational teachers, innovate the Chinese vocational teacher education model, and cultivate vocational teachers with a solid professional foundation, basic professional practice, and capabilities of education and teaching；Focus on vocational talent education, scientific research and social services, form a benign interaction between the three, and explore the mechanism of professionalization and sustainable development of the Institute;

Build a platform for internal experience and model radiation, and external vocational education exchange and cooperation.

During the establishment and development of the Institute of Vocational and Technical Education, the " Sino-German cooperation project to educate vocational teachers at Tongji University " (Chinesisch-Deutsches Projekt zur Ausbildung von Berufsbildungslehrkraeften an der Tongji-Universität in Shanghai-ABT-S project) played a huge role .

The project was incorporated into the government cooperation framework signed by the prime ministers of China and Germany as a "Prime Minister's Initiative" in 1993. In November 1996, the Chinese and German governments signed the project agreement. In September 1997, the project was officially launched. The project aims to support Tongji University in establishing complete vocational teacher education majors. It is dedicated to improving the quality and quantity of vocational teachers in Shanghai and its surrounding areas, and exploring the formation of a characteristic education model of Chinese vocational teachers.

The Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) are responsible for the project in China and Germany. Entrusted by the German government, the German Technology Cooperation Agengcy (GTZ, now the German International Cooperation Agency-GIZ) is responsible for the implementation of the project; the Institute of Vocational and Technical Education of Tongji University is the main body of the project.

The German side plans to fund the project in three phases in eight years with a total of 6 million Euros. The first phase of the project (1997.9-2000.8) initiated the establishment of majors of vocational teacher based on the German model. The second phase (2000.9-2003.8) aims to expand the number of majors and improve the education model. After the end of the second phase, in view of the outstanding results of the project and the need to promote the education of vocational teachers in western China, the German government decided to extend the third phase of the project to August 2008 (2003.9-2008.8), and an additional 2 million Euro funding.

Entrusted by the German government, the German Technology Cooperation Agengcy (GTZ) is responsible for the implementation of the project, dispatching long-term project experts to Tongji University, and providing short-term expert support according to the needs of project progress. The project also provides opportunities for 12 teachers to go to German universities to study for a doctorate degree in vocational education, and provide financial and technical support for the laboratory construction of the Institute.

The 11-year-long "Sino-German cooperation project to educate vocational teachers" is one of the longest Sino-German cooperation projects so far. In view of the achievements of the project, China and Germany agreed to continue to rely on the platform of the Institute of Vocational and Technical Education of Tongji University to carry out research and practical work on vocational teacher education and training, and launched the " Three-Country Cooperation Platform for Vocational Teacher Education and Training" (also known as RCP-Regional Cooperation Platform for Vocational Teacher Education and Training) (since 2009) that radiates results and experience to Southeast Asian countries.