Bringing the Learning Home
Bringing the Learning Home provides invaluable networking opportunities, and acts as a springboard to the further development of international partnerships.
Ilham Nasser Al Maskari, Coordinator, Higher College of Technology, Oman
Bringing the Learning Home is British Council’s annual International Skills Partnership seminar. It is designed for our established international partnerships and other organisations from around the world interested in addressing skill challenges through international collaboration. The event includes inspiring plenary presentations, interactive capacity-building workshops and outstanding international networking opportunities. It also sees the announcement of a global call for new partnerships, and the unveiling of our International Skills Partnership of the Year.
The seminar is designed for policy-makers, employers, college and university principals and international directors, as well as representatives from sector skills organisations, awarding bodies and skills agencies in the UK and overseas.
Bringing the Learning Home 2014, Hanoi, Vietnam, 25-26 October
The sixth Bringing the Learning Home seminar was held on 25-26 October 2014 in Hanoi, Vietnam, the first time the event has been hosted in Asia. With 190 delegates from 16 countries, this was the largest Bringing the Learning Home so far. The seminar brought together representatives from industry, education and government for two days of input and discussion with a key focus on how international skills partnerships can help develop skills and employability in ways that deliver maximum impact for current and future workforces.
Amongst the highlights of the seminar were an inspiring panel session involving senior representatives from Rolls-Royce, Ford, Harrow College, People 1st and Viglacera, during which panellists emphasised the importance of industry being at the very heart of vocational education and training; and a fascinating plenary presentation from Dinh Tran, Education Sector Director at Microsoft Vietnam, showcasing research into innovation in teaching and learning.
The seminar saw the presentation of two British Council partnership awards: the Best New Partnership of the Year award – to a partnership between AIDA in Morocco and Coleg Gwent and West Lothian College in the UK; and the prestigious International Skills Partnership of the Year award, which this year was won by a partnership between Proskills in the UK and PETRA in Egypt.
Bringing the Learning Home 2014 also included the announcement of a major call for new British Council international skills partnerships between the UK and six other countries that will take the number of live international skills partnership projects to over 50 for the first time. Fourteen new partnerships will be created between UK organisations and counterparts in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, South Africa, Tunisia and Vietnam in sectors as diverse as medical and laboratory assistance and renewable energy.
Daniel Evans, West Lothian College said: ‘The seminar was fantastic. The opportunity to meet so many other people committed to filling the skills gap and helping young people into meaningful careers was just brilliant. The seminar was expertly arranged and the sessions were informative and thought provoking. I feel I have improved my understanding of the main issues which will affect the global skills development agenda going forward.‘
Neil Shaw, British Council’s Skills Adviser, Partnerships, said: ‘This was a hugely successful event. It provided a great opportunity to explore global skills development challenges, showcase the ground-breaking work of British Council’s skills partnerships, and share ideas and expertise that will help ensure partnerships achieve even more impact in the future.’
British Council would like to thank Microsoft Vietnam and Viglacera for their sponsorship of Bringing the Learning Home 2014.
Enjoy presentations with video clips and photographs from Bringing the Learning Home 2014.
Bringing the Learning Home 2015
The Bringing the Learning Home 2015 seminar will be held in the UK in November. Dates and venue will be confirmed shortly.