GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 1st Feb. The 1st India-Finland High Level Dialogue Meeting was co-chaired by K. Sanjay Murthy, Secretary of the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education, and Anita Lehikoinen, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland. The meeting took place virtually.
During the meeting, both sides engaged in comprehensive discussions on their respective policies in School Education, Vocational Education, and Higher Education. They also explored opportunities to strengthen their ties in these areas. Concrete proposals and action plans were called for in order to promote a more robust collaboration. A joint statement was released, highlighting areas of mutual interest such as early to senior secondary education, higher education, student mobility, and skill development.
Both parties expressed a particular interest in collaborating on the capacity building of teachers, especially those in STEM education, and utilizing digital technology in various educational areas. Research collaborations, particularly in new and emerging technologies, AI, Quantum Tech, sustainability, and climate change, were also areas of common interest. The Indian side also provided an overview of the new regulations introduced for the internationalization of higher education under NEP 2020.
India and Finland have a long-standing warm and friendly relationship. This year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. They have ongoing collaborations in school and higher education as well as skilling. In December 2022, the two countries signed a Migration & Mobility Partnership Agreement, which is currently being discussed for the mobility of trained manpower from India.
In the field of school education, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) signed a 5-year MoU with the Finnish National Agency of Education (EDUFI) in March 2022. The objective of the MoU is to promote educational cooperation through the sharing of information and content in areas of mutual interest. In higher education, the two sides have active collaborations through various joint initiatives such as the Finnish Indian Consortium for Research and Education (FICORE), Global Innovation Network for Teaching and Learning (GINTL), Scheme Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), and Global Initiative of Academic Network (GIAN). Both parties have agreed to further deepen this collaboration in academic research.
Additionally, both sides have expressed their intention to explore the possibility of an overarching MoU on cooperation in various sectors of education.
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