Education
Professor Susana Muñoz and her English language class in the local school, Traiguén, Region IX, Chile. Photo taken by Professor Noeline Gentle during her stay in Chile.
Education departments in Chile and Australia have co-operated extensively in many fields of education. Given this close involvement several institutional and government delegations have visited each others country.
2006
February 3rd 2006 the first groups of professors from the Antofagasta region were presented with certificates in Brisbane, Queensland. The group was thanked for their work in establishing an English language program in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, the Hidden Mining Foundation and the University of Queensland in July 2005. For further details on the awarding winning staff, click here. Photographs from the event can be seen below.
2005
As part of the “English Opens Doors” program in 2005, two groups of professors with basic and average level of English helped to set up the Australian TESOL Training Center in Sydney. Their names can be found here.
Between the 29th of September and October 12th Chile-Australia bonds were strengthen by a delegation of representatives from private Chilean universities who visited different Australian universities. For more information, click here.
During the 2005 celebrations of Chile’s National Day, the Embassy of Chile in Australia (acting on behalf of the Government of Chile) formally recognised three distinguished Australians; Noeline Gentle, Inelda Lovi and Christina Refshauge. These women have been actively involved with the local school of Traiguén’s Australian program.
In particular, Ms Gentle was presented with the Gabriela Mistral Award for Educational and Cultural Services by the Minister of Education.
Ms Gentle’s work has been a continuation of Traiguén’s Professor Susana Muñoz Muñoz who graduated from the University of Canberra in 2004. For more details on Professor Muñoz’s studies click here.
Returning to Chile, Professor Muñoz was inspired to begin English lessons in the region’s school. Overcoming the lack of resources, Professor Muñoz developed a text of her own entitled “Jump!”. The Education Department, parents and friends have all shown support for Professor Muñoz’s work.
Images below show the awards ceremony, the cover of Professor Muñoz’s text “Jump!”, and activities in the “Australia School” of Traiguén.
September 10-17, a delegation of Human Resource Managers from a range of Chilean companies visited Australia as part of the Government programs “Chile Describes,” and “English Opens Doors.” The delegation was aiming to gain greater understanding of qualifications and experience levels in Australia and to consider how this expertise could be helpful to companies in Chile. For more information on the visit, click here. For details on “Chile Describes,” click here.
While visiting Australia in July 2005, President Don Ricardo Lakes meet with the Ministry of education, the Hidden Mining Foundation, and the University of Queensland to sign an Agreement of Co-operation. This allows English Professors from Antofagasta to gain qualifications at the University of Queensland. BHP Billiton, an Australia mining company both sponsors this program and invests in Chile. The signing can be seen below.
For more information, click here.
Between the 12 and the 21 of May, Mr Rodrigo Fábrega, Director of the “English Opens Doors,” program lead a delegation visit to Australia. This visit had two main goals: to promote and develop the Chilean program and also to better acquaint themselves with English language teachers and services. For the program of the visit, click here. For a report on the visit, see the DEST/AEI.
In April, the Minister of Education, Science and Training, Mr Brendan Nelson, visited Santiago to meet with his Chilean counterpart Minister Sergio Bitar and other authorities. Minister Nelson, accompanied by Fiona Buffinton, Executive Director of Australian Education International, promoted a seminar entitled “Developing the co-operation between Chile and Australia: the future of technical education.” This program involves primary schools who participate in “English Opens Doors,” Grammar schools that specialize in technical qualification and also visiting other technical education institutes. Australian officials also inaugurated an Australia-Chile forum for Higher Education discussion.
To view a signed agreement between the Council of Directors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) and the Australian Vice Chancellors’ Committee (AVCC), see the “Letter of Intended Co-operation.”
Also during April, the Undersecretary of Education (later the Minister), Ms Maria Ariadna Hornkohl, visited several Australian cities in order to learn more about Australian public policies and how they relate to labour training. Ms Hornkohl’s program can be seen here.
Between the 12 and the 19 of March a delegation of the Ministry of Education (presided over by Mr. Francisco Troncoso and accompanied by directors of Chilean institutions of professional training) visited a diverse range of Australian organizations to extend contacts with similar Australian organizations. From this collaboration, Chile gained a greater understanding of Australia’s experience in training reforms and how similar efforts could affect Chilean professionals. For the program of this visit, click here. And for more information on the visit, click here.
It is interesting to note that information provided by the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training shows that at the end of 2005, 336 of the 10 818 Latin American students in Australia were Chilean. This equates to 3.1% of the total. Most of these students (39%) were completing English Language studies or continuing their tertiary education (36%).
For more information of the agreements of co-operation between Chilean and Australian Universities, click here to view pages ONE and TWO.
Last updated: March 3, 2006