In a significant move to enhance bilateral cooperation in the education sector, Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan will visit Singapore and Australia from October 20 to 26 October.  The visit is expected to foster collaboration, participation, and synergy in critical areas of mutual interest in education, ministry of education said here on Saturday.

Giving details, officials said during the two day visit in Singapore, Pradhan will address the members of Indian diaspora on Sunday.  The next day, he will meet Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing and Foreign Minister  Vivian Balakrishnan.

Pradhan will visit the National University of Singapore ranked number one in Asia. He will also visit a local secondary school to discuss the scope of syllabus integration, keeping AI in focus. He will meet academicians, eminent representatives from alumni of IITs and IIMs and engage in discussions related to the education ecosystem of both countries.

During the three-day visit to Australia, on October 23, Pradhan,  in Melbourne, will meet Jason Clare MP, Minister for Education.  Pradhan will also deliver the plenary address at the Australian International Education Conference. The Minister will be visiting the South Melbourne Primary School which is known for integrated approaches to learning.

He will visit ‘Discovery to Device’ at RMIT University which is a unique centre for MedTech prototyping and manufacturing. The visit will explore collaborative approaches to the commercialisation of medical technologies and role of industry-academia linkages in driving innovation..

Pradhan will meet Jacinta Allan MP, Premiere of Victoria along with Australian Education Minister Jason Clare MP. He will also visit Monash University to observe their Innovation Lab and Centre for Nano-fabrication. During his stay in Melbourne, the minister will also interact with senior academics of Indian origin.

To explore opportunities for partnerships in educating early childhood education workforces, Pradhan will visit Auburn Long Day Child Care Centre in Sydney on October 24. The Minister will interact with the representatives of the Innovative Research Universities (IRU) and will attend the 2nd Australia India Education and Skills Council.

The next day, he will visit the Granville South Creative and Performing Arts High School.  Pradhan will visit the site of the Macquarie Park Innovation District (MPID). As home to over 180 multinational companies, MPID facilitates the practical application of research across telecommunications, digital industries, medical technology and pharmaceuticals for economic benefit.

Later in the day, the minister will interact with Indian research students hosted by the Group of Eight, Australia’s most research intensive universities.

He will visit the UNSW Energy Institute and the Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TraCE) at the Tyree Energy Technologies Building, Kensington. Here, he will observe real-world examples of practical research applications with commercial impact through the UNSW Energy Institute, which brings together world-leading researchers and the energy industry.

He will also visit UTS Moore Park Sports and Exercise Precinct to explore cooperation in sports education and sports research. UTS’s Moore Park Precinct is a state-of-the-art teaching, research and sporting facility.