National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Japan in collaboration with SEAMEO Secretariat hosted High Officials Country-Level Workshop on Southeast Asia Technical Vocational Education and Training (SEA-TVET) under the theme Engineering/Technology Education in Japan on 14-15 July 2016 in Tokyo, Japan.

The Workshop aimed at sharing KOSEN’s engineering educational model to benefit Southeast Asian countries in improving the quality of TVET. It also sought to develop a partnership platform between Japan and Southeast Asia, and identify potential collaborative programmes or activities between the region and Japanese colleges under KOSEN’s Network.

30 participants comprising TVET High Officials, Policy Makers and Directors of TVET institutions from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand joined in the event. From the Japanese side, 24 participants representing Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Colleges under KOSEN’s Network were present.

At the end of the workshop, the key collaborative programmes were discussed and agreed upon between KOSEN and Southeast Asian TVET institutions. They include institutional development, staff and teacher development, student development, and Improvement of research and development (R&D).

As a follow up on the collaborative agreement and to strengthen the partnership, Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia will hold another workshop called “SEA-TVET School Modeling Workshop” under the theme of “Adapting KOSEN Educational System in Indonesia Vocational Schools” on 11-13 August 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The planned Workshop expects to attract about 100 participants consisting of ministerial policy makers and management level officials who work in the areas of education, research, technology, and higher education; as well as vocational and technical high schools and polytechnics in the region.

Learning the KOSEN Education Model by observing teaching and learning environments

Group discussions in developing partnership between Southeast Asian institutions and KOSEN