Education New Zealand (ENZ), the New Zealand Embassy in Hanoi and Hanoi Department of Education & Training (DoET) on October 17 organised a seminar for 100 high and secondary school representatives to share New Zealand’s expertise in preparing students for the future.

At the meeting.

This is the first collaboration between the two entities, conducted as part of the New Zealand-Vietnam Strategic Engagement Plan on Education signed during the Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to New Zealand in March 2018.

As the key findings from the Economist Intelligent Unit’s report, the rapid development of digital technology and the globalized nature of economic systems are creating an entirely new set of educational challenges for the world to adapt to. The workers of the future will need to master a suite of adaptable interpersonal, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, and navigate an increasingly digital and automated world.

For developing countries like Vietnam, where the young (from 10 to 24) account for approximately 40% of the populations, the need to prepare a workforce for the future starting from lower secondary onwards is even more progressing.

As the leading country in The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Educating the Future Index in 2017, New Zealand is delighted to share examples of best practice with Vietnamese partners in today’s seminar.

Today’s seminar focused on New Zealand’s curriculum framework for future skills, the effectiveness of New Zealand’s teacher education system, career counselling, cultural persity and tolerance which supports students in having a global outlook.

The seminar also saw the exchange of experiences from New Zealand’s high school sector in developing international networks to provide global exposure for their students and how this practice can be applied to Vietnamese institutions.

New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam, Wendy Matthews noted the success of the seminar and how it was another important step to a long-term commitment with Hanoi DoET.

“We are thrilled that Vietnamese families and students are increasingly choosing to study in New Zealand, with 36 per cent more Vietnamese school students and 14 per cent more university students enrolling in New Zealand institutions over the past year.

“Conducting this seminar for the first time alongside DoET allowed us to share further about New Zealand’s future focused approach in schools, which promotes inquisitive and project-based learning, and provides flexible learning pathways for students. New Zealand is committed to the education partnership with Vietnam, to future-proofing Vietnamese students, and enabling Vietnamese students to pursue successful global careers.

“More importantly, the seminar was a fantastic platform for both Education New Zealand and DoET to share examples of best practice and to enable New Zealand to better understanding ways in which it can support the development of 21^st century skills in Vietnam,” said Ambassador Matthews.

In addition to the seminar, Education New Zealand will also organise roadshow activities at nine schools in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi which promote New Zealand’s culture, people and education system, and foster future exchanges between New Zealand and Vietnam’s education institutions./.

VNF