Third AIESC meeting boosts bilateral cooperation
The Third Australia-India Education and Skills Council meeting (AIESC) held in New Delhi on Monday was chaired by Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education, Government of India and Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Education, from the Indian side. From Australia, the meeting was chaired by Hon Jason Clare MP, Minister for Education, Government of Australia and Hon. Mr. Andrew Giles MP, Australian Minister for Skills & Training.
The meeting was also attended by Dr Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State for Education and DoNER; Hon Julian Hill MP, Assistant Minister for International Education, Govt of Australia, Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, School Education, Dr. Vineet Joshi; Secretary, Higher Education; Ms. Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, senior Government officials from both the sides and Vice-Chancellors & representatives of Australian universities.
The third AIESC meeting reviewed the ongoing initiatives under school education, higher education, research, and skill development, and reaffirmed the commitment to deepen institutional linkages, expand mobility pathways, and strengthen regulatory cooperation. AIESC is a bi-national body that guide the strategic direction and strengthen the partnership between the two countries in the fields of the education, training, research and skill ecosystem.
Speaking on the occasion Pradhan said that the 3rd AIESC served as a great opportunity to build upon the progress made since the inaugural meeting of AIESC, break new ground in Australia-India education, skills and research partnership, open wider avenues for India’s youth, and further deepen our bilateral engagements across the full spectrum of education and skill development as well as in areas of national and global priority.
He appreciated the Australian Ministers and the delegation for the substantive discussions on the agenda items— school education, higher education and research and skills and also for their vigorous efforts to elevate the AIESC platform to a higher level.
Pradhan further said that education, skills and research are the key pillars of India-Australia Strategic Partnership. Both India and Australia remain committed to working together and collaborating more in Early Childhood Care and Education, technology adoption, sports education, building institutional capacities, empowering teachers, preparing youth for critical and emerging areas, like AI, advanced materials, semiconductors, MedTech, energy, and sustainability and also for innovative skilling partnerships, he added.
Taking forward the spirit of collaboration and ambition, the Minister urged all stakeholders to successfully implement the outcome-centric and in-depth discussions held today across school, higher and skill education and to ensure that the bridges built today continue to grow stronger in the years to come.
Speaking on the occasion, Hon Jason Clare MP, Australian Minister for Education, said “This is a win-win. It is good for Australia and it is good for India. “It is a great sign of the strength of the relationship between India and Australia. There is no such collaboration with any other country in the field of education and skill development. This shows deep trust and faith between India and Australia”.
Highlighting the depth and uniqueness of the India–Australia skilling partnership, Jayant Chaudhary stated that the two countries share a one-of-its-kind institutional platform that is translating discussions into tangible outcomes through structured frameworks, such as, the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications (MRQ) 2023, a dedicated Skills Mapping Framework for demand assessment, and the signing of three key MoUs to strengthen cooperation.
