The 6th Korea-Australia Education Joint Committee Meeting Held... Sharing Education Policies

The Ministry of Education will hold the 6th Korea-Australia Education Joint Committee at the Government Seoul Office on the 22nd.

The Korea-Australia Education Joint Committee is an event held every two years to strengthen educational exchange and cooperation between the two countries, based on the Memorandum of Understanding on Educational Cooperation signed in 2008. This will be the first face-to-face meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic.

To attend this Education Joint Committee, a delegation from Australia led by Karen Sandercock, Director of the International Division of the Australian Department of Education, has visited Korea. Under the chairmanship of Park Ji-young, Director of Global Education Planning at the Ministry of Education, both countries plan to share the current status of education and discuss cooperation measures in the fields of primary, secondary, and higher education.

The Education Joint Committee will be divided into four topics, with presentations and Q&A sessions between the two countries.

First, the current status of education policy implementation in Korea and Australia will be introduced, followed by sharing on higher education and quality digital and online education.

Next, the Korean Ministry of Education will introduce ‘Operation of Online Joint Degree Programs between Domestic and Foreign Universities’ and ‘Support Measures to Enhance the Quality of Online Education,’ while the Australian Department of Education will present ‘Transnational Higher Education from the Australian Perspective’ and explain the ‘Quality Assurance of Online Education’ by the higher education quality management agency.

As the third topic, the two countries will discuss the key research directions and ways to expand cooperation in higher education. From the Korean Ministry of Education, Ko Young-hoon, Director of the Academic Research Policy Division, will explain the ‘2023 Ministry of Education Academic Research Policy and Implementation Directions,’ followed by Kim Eun-young, Director of Global Cooperation at the Korea Educational Development Institute, introducing the ‘Research Focus in Higher Education.’

From the Australian Department of Education, Nadia Thompson, Director of the Research Division, will explain the ‘Research Focus in Higher Education.’ After the presentations, both countries will have an opportunity to explore possibilities for future research cooperation in the field of higher education.

Additionally, during this Joint Committee, discussions will be held between representatives of the Korea Council for University Education and the Australian university consortium to expand higher education cooperation through university networks between the two countries.

Finally, the committee will discuss the current status of major policies in primary and secondary education and the enhancement of teacher competencies. The Korean Ministry of Education will introduce policies on ‘Digital Transformation in Education,’ ‘Enhancement of Teachers’ Digital Competencies,’ and ‘Promotion of Students’ Mental Health,’ while the Australian Department of Education will share progress on ‘National-Level School Reform,’ ‘Pre-service Teacher Education Programs,’ and ‘Student Welfare.’

The results of the discussions at this Education Joint Committee will be documented in a memorandum of understanding and shared between the two countries.

Park Ji-young, Director of Global Education Planning at the Ministry of Education, stated, “The 6th Korea-Australia Education Joint Committee is an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding of primary, secondary, and higher education between the two countries amid rapid environmental changes such as the digital transformation and COVID-19, and to share experiences in policy implementation.” She added, “It is meaningful as it confirms the potential for strengthening exchange and cooperation in the education sector in the future.”