INDIA NEWS
June 16-30, 2021 - Vol 1, Issue 24
More than 100 internships in Australia for JGU students academic and professional roles and impart training to build research skills in academic writing including data collection and management, preparing hypothesis, abstracts and conclusion and presentation skills among other skills. The internship programme will also impart key leadership skills to the students.
From Left_ Shaun Star, Director, Centre of India Australia Studies, JGU, Dr Ashutosh Misra, CEO, IAIE and Prof. C. Rajkumar, VC, JGU
New Delhi, June 3 (IANS): More than 100 students of International Relations, Public Policy, Humanities, Business and Law from the O.P. Jindal Global University ( JGU), have been awarded internships in leading Australian organisations. Despite the constraints presented by the global Covid-19 pandemic, 103 students have been selected for internships at CyberEQ and IAIE in 2021. JGU has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Australia-based Institute for
Australia India Engagement (IAIE) and Cyber EQ to create opportunities for students to undertake internships in Australia. With IAIE, students will participate in the Student Mentoring and Research Training (SMART) program over a period of 1-2 months. For those students interning with Cyber EQ, students will conduct important research on regulatory and technological issues around cyber security. The internships will mentor students for future research,
C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University said: "At a time where travel is limited, the virtual engagements with Institute of Australia India Engagement and Cyber EQ will allow students from different disciplines at JGU to undertake unique internship opportunities in Australia. These international internships are another example of JGU's focus on ensuring that students have opportunities to meaningfully engage with institutions from around the world during their studies. In the future, our students will be able to pursue these internships by travelling to Australia and experiencing it in a more engaged manner." CyberEQ Founder, John
Mackenzie has been impressed with the entrepreneurial and forward-thinking innovation of JGU in supporting emerging start-ups.
The partnership between JGU and CyberEQ enters its third intake with more than 64 virtual interns, now expanding the research focus to existing and emerging inconsistencies between the traditional and technological challenges facing Cybersecurity. "The virtual internship program is student-centric research that provides a unique learning environment. An objective is to ensure each student receives quality coaching and mentoring so that each intern has the greatest experience and opportunity to learn. JGU students have a unique opportunity to explore a deeper understanding through higher education by bridging the gap from a legal, business, and psychological perspective to technology. A particular focus of the internship program is how students relate to the emerging challenges through real-world experience working on real-world projects, while also
EDUCATION preparing for the future of work, and the new jobs of tomorrow. Key areas have included privacy, data protection law, AI, and behavioural science, particularly as we face the growing difficulties in cyberspace." "I am extremely delighted to observe and be a part of O.P. Jindal Global University's partnership with numerous organizations and multiple platforms in Australia. This partnership is an outcome of global perspective and JGU's collaborative. JGU's association with Australia has evolved over a period of time. Even during the pandemic, the virtual internships by Cyber EQ and the Institute of Australia India Engagement have been a catalyst. I am certain of an enriched and prolific growth of this partnership in times to come," said Pankaj Gupta, Dean of the Office of Career Services. Ashutosh Misra, CEO and Executive Director of IAIE said: "IAIE is committed to strengthening Australia-India ties by nurturing future thinking leaders, professionals and academic experts in collaboration with JGU.
How India sparked Jennifer Star's passion for empowering teachers across the Asia-Pacific
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“founded on the premise that I, as a teacher, could teach 30 children and change 30 lives, or I could teach 30 teachers, who would each teach 30 children and change 900 lives.”
sia Education Foundation (AEF) at Asialink, The University of Melbourne has observed time and time again that the shared bonds that happen through immersive school exchanges are the glue that sustain long-term school, teacher and student connections. While Australia and India still grapple with the ongoing implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, AEF has continued to enhance ways schools can support one another through digital engagement. With closed borders and limited travel, the impact on international education partnerships has been significant. It is precisely for this reason that empathy, commitment and fresh thinking are needed. One such encompassing response is AEF’s internationally recognised Building Relationships through Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement – BRIDGE - School Partnerships Program. Since 2008, the BRIDGE Program has integrated and promoted the skills needed to utilise digital technologies as part of school partnerships. Alongside the development of tools, resources, and ideas so has the tenacity and network of educators. In 2020, the Australia-India chapter of this program evolved further moving completely to digital learning. The AEF’s newly appointed Manager of International Education Partnerships, Jennifer Star OAM, says the BRIDGE School Partnerships Program speaks to her ambition of empowering teachers – and was a natural next step.
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Jennifer Star OAM in a classroom in Jaipur
“The beauty of the BRIDGE Program is that much of the training is now undertaken online, using opensource technologies, which means it can reach more teachers across Australia and India,” said Jennifer. Using a suite of digital tools, leading facilitation and support from education specialist organizations including Google for Education in India and the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), the Australia–India chapter of the BRIDGE School Partnerships Program offers an immersive professional learning experience for partcipating educators to develop collaborative plans to support thier on-going relationships. Welcoming Ms Star, AEF’s Executive Director, Hamish Curry, said “Jennifer is a fantastic educator, leader, and innovator. Her passion for learning and endless curiosity are a perfect fit for AEF in shaping the opportunities and seeing the need for greater international education partnerships.” With nearly 30 years' experience, AEF is known for its expertise in intercultural learning and collection of teacher capacity building programs. This paired
with AEF’s long-standing work with online learning uniquely positions it to prepare teachers to develop vital digital and intercultural skills in their classrooms. “If we want educators to appreciate and elevate connections between Australia and its diverse AsiaPacific neighbourhood – then mindsets, skillsets and attitudes matter” said Mr Curry.
This work resulted in the training of 680 teachers and provided close to 21,000 students in rural India with access to sustainable, quality education. Jennifer says this “was largely as a result of the collaborative nature of the program in which Australian and Indian teachers came together to learn, support and grow.” “These central tenets—a focus on the teacher and collaboration between Australia and India— are still drivers of my passion and are key to the work of the AEF, specifically international education partnerships.”
Jennifer has been working with India since 2006.
“I realised you don’t need a classroom,” she said “all you need is a capable and passionate teacher. 2020 Global Teacher Awardee, Ranjitsinh Disale, is a perfect example of this.”
“I first went to India as a 21-year-old university student … It was through my work as a volunteer, teaching in an NGO school in the city of Jaipur that I realised the way we approach development education is almost outdated.”
“In my opinion, the best way to improve the quality of education and provide access to education is to train, support and empower teachers – they are at the forefront of education, and they hold the future of their students in their hands.”
Upon returning to Australia, Jennifer qualified as a teacher, undertook a Master of Education at Oxford University, UK, and in the years that followed moved to India and launched her NGO Tara. ED.
Jennifer first engaged with the AEF in 2010, when she spoke about her work in India as Founding Director of Tara.Ed, at the AEF Global Educators Conference.
Cooperation, Collaboration and Communication
Tara.Ed was a leading NGO dedicated to building sustainable, quality education in rural parts of South Asia. Jennifer said Tara.Ed was,
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“The focus on growing peopleto-people links and supporting and empowering teachers in both Australia and India meant that there have been many touch points (with AEF) since, including my involvement in the inaugural
Australia-India BRIDGE School Partnerships Program in 2015-16.” When she returned to Australia in 2020, she says, “AEF seemed to be a natural fit for both my professional work as an educator and personal passion for India.” There’s a clear line that can be drawn between Jennifer’s work founding Tara.Ed to the AEF. Her passion for engaging and empowering educators in Asia-Pacific is a major part of her professional identity. Driving forces
Jennifer’s experience at Tara. Ed taught her a key lesson about what’s needed to drive intercultural understanding and cross-cultural collaboration: “success only happens when the learning and benefits flow both ways.” “People-to-people links and twoway engagement” are paramount to creating long-lasting success. This is at the heart of why she believes the BRIDGE School Partnerships Program is so valuable to empowering both students and educators alike. Armed with this passion, it is the vison of Ms Star to see the AEF’s International Education Partnerships reach new heights in the coming years and expand to include more countries, and empower more teachers, across the Asia-Pacific. To learn how to lead change in your school, please visit the Asia Education Foundation website. Ms Jennifer Star OAM was appointed Asia Education Foundation’s Manager, International Education Partnerships at Asialink, The University of Melbourne in April 2021.
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