How India sparked Jennifer Star's passion for empowering teachers across the Asia-Pacific

Asia 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.

“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.

Jennifer Star OAM in a classroom in Jaipur

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 Asia- Pacific neighbourhood – then mindsets, skillsets and attitudes matter” said Mr Curry.

Cooperation, Collaboration and Communication Jennifer has been working with India since 2006.

“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.”

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.

Tara.Ed was a leading NGO dedicated to building sustainable, quality education in rural parts of South Asia.

Jennifer said Tara.Ed was, “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.”

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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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.

“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.