INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
ITE hosted the first International Conference on Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) in FY 2006 and brought together VTE practitioners from the international community to address the challenges of VTE in a global economy. Representing Singapore’s VTE sector, ITE organised the Conference to share its unique experiences in the journey towards Organisational Excellence, as well as best practices. The Conference was held from 17 to 18 August 2006 at the Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore.
Attracting VTE speakers from Germany, Singapore, the Netherlands, UK, and the USA, the Conference was attended by 450 delegates from 23 countries. They represented VTE practitioners from government, education, and education-related organisations. Ninety-eight per cent cited that the Conference objectives were met. ITE had indeed made an impression.
INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKING OF VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
ITE continued to intensify its internationalisation efforts towards global leadership in technical education during the year in review. It played host to two key high-level visits held as part of World Bank’s educational initiatives for Africa and China.
From 21 to 22 June 2006, 35 World Bank delegates and 30 African education policymakers, of whom six were Education Ministers, came to study the education development in Singapore over the past 40 years since independence. The Africans, as well as the World Bank, found ITE’s sharing of its One ITE System, Three Colleges Model, to be inspiring for education reforms. The Africans were from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar and Mozambique.
The World Bank, in its effort to streamline the VTE frameworks in China’s Guandong, Shandong and Liaoning provinces, partnered Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to hold a Workshop on Vocational and Technical Education (VTE). The Workshop, held over eight days at ITE, the polytechnics and related private enterprises, provided a platform for 100 Chinese senior officials and policymakers to draw on the Singapore experience for the development of policies, systems and quality assurance for VTE. ITE hosted the Chinese, as well as the World Bank Human Development Sector (East Asia and Pacific Region) and the World Bank Institute (Human Development) from 15 to 16 January 2007.
The VTE system of ITE pulsed with energy as a model worthy of benchmarking by the international VTE community. FY 2006 saw a record number of 616 overseas visitors who came to ITE to study its VTE model and learning practices. ITE hosted visitors from Africa, Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, India, Republic of Rwanda, Thailand, Vietnam, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the USA. Most notable were:
9 JUNE 2006
Mr Rahul Gandhi
Member of the Lower House
of the Indian Parliament
India
22 SEPTEMBER 2006
Mr Haja Nirina Razafinjatovo
Minister of the National Education
and Scientific Research
Madagascar
25 OCTOBER 2006
Prof Dr Tran Van Nhung
Vice Minister
Ministry of Education and Training
Vietnam
31 OCTOBER 2006
Mr John Maddock
Chief Executive Officer
Box Hill Institute
Australia
10 JANUARY 2007
His Excellency Dr Abdullah bin
Saleh Al Obaid
Minister for Education
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
16 TO 19 JANUARY 2007
Mr Hartmut Mattes
Government Director of Education/
Vocational Education
Ministry of Education, Youth
and Sports
Baden-Württemberg
Germany
Mr Hans-Peter Buggermann
Chief Executive Officer
State Academy for In-Service
Training of Teachers &
Personnel Development
Esslingen, Baden-Württemberg
Germany
14 TO 16 MARCH 2007
Kirkwood Community College
& Southern Alberta Institute of
Technology
USA & Canada
