Education and perspective to education has certainly been changing, evolving quite dramatically. Suddenly education is not a stand-alone subject but rather there is recognition of the need for right kind of education to create right kind of people with right set of skills to fill the global industry needs. The right kind of education probably being expected is global in perspective and content creating global people who are thinking out of the box and are able to apply the learnt knowledge in everyday life. Educational institutions are being placed with the responsibility of offering education to young people that make them global citizens that is more relevant and helps the student to apply what he/she has learnt in a classroom.

Entrepreneurship is being linked with education and as a result trends in education is changing where students are making choices which are not stereotypical but are willing to make choices which are in demand by the industry or the global economy today. Well today the demand is for experts and not a person with general set of skills. We are seeing students not just choosing engineering or business but want to choose very specialized programs like corporate communication, business-operations management, human resource management, marketing management, computer network specialist, e-business, and the list is endless.

Education is becoming border less. Internationalization of educational institution campuses is becoming a goal for institutions world over. This is getting demonstrated more and more through Institutional linkages/partnerships and collaboration is being fostered through curriculum collaboration, joint research work, teacher and student exchange, work term part of the program being done in another country. Education has truly shrunk the world into one global village and today and these kind of collaborative efforts has certainly created a platform of new dimensions to education which is more current and application based. Such opportunity enables a student to add international education and experience to their resume, which certainly gives them a much broader and global perspective. I think MBA is a classic example of the changes that education is seeing where there is more emphasis on developing ability to work in groups, creating global leaders who are more socially responsible as well as ability to move between different areas of specializations. For example having a medical or an engineering degree may not be enough but having an MBA in addition which is specially designed for people whose background could be in medicine or engineering makes the individual student more in demand.

Education today is demanding for public/private partnerships, for education and industry synergy, for opportunities of borderless education etc.

I would end by saying that today irrespective of the reasons for education reform, all countries face decisions about resource allocation, equality of educational opportunity across diverse populations, access to higher education, student testing and tracking, teacher accountability, school choice, and innovation but the role that international education is playing will facilitate a learning environment which will be a stimulating environment where learners are able to: Socially develop, Intellectually grow and nurture their Creative, emotional and Physical needs so that you create people who fit into today's world with life long education along with values and attitudes which impact the society today.

By Hazel Siromoni
VP, CEC Global Schools
hazel.siromoni@maplebear.ca

Prime Minister's Awards Celebrate Educators 'Helping to Shape the Leaders of Tomorrow'

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced the recipients of the 2007/2008 Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence and Excellence in Early Childhood Education.

"Today we celebrate the teachers who have gone above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of young Canadians," said the Prime Minister.

A total of 95 Prime Minister's Awards have been given to educators from across Canada. The recipients represent Canadian teaching excellence in a wide range of subjects at all grade levels, from preschool through secondary school. All are recognized as having developed innovative ways to teach including groundbreaking uses of information and communication technologies to enhance their teaching practices.

This year, 16 teachers received the Certificate of Excellence and 51 received the Certificate of Achievement. Early childhood educators have also been recognized: 10 received the Certificate of Excellence and 18 received the Certificate of Achievement.

The award winners also received special recognition from the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development at a national awards ceremony in Ottawa.

"Every Canadian has a special memory of a teacher who helped or inspired them to realize their potential," said the Prime Minister. "This award honours the talented and caring teachers in this country whose contribution to the lives of individual Canadians, and to Canada as a whole, is truly priceless."

The Prime Minister also expressed thanks to Microsoft Canada, Petro-Canada, RBC Foundation and Research In Motion Limited, the corporate partners of the Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence for their continued generous support.

The Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Education are funded through a partnership between Industry Canada, Human Resources and Social Development Canada, and Health Canada.

Courtesy: The Prime Minister's Office

C-IBC taking up the cause of Education forward

Canada-India Business Council (C-IBC) is hosting the second one-day event titled 'Canada-India: A Synergy in Education II' at the Pearson Convention Centre at Brampton in Ontario on June 2, 2008. The main features of the event are the following:

• An exchange of ideas through a networking event to further the interests of those currently involved in or contemplating involvement in the education sector in India. Exploration of opportunities in this burgeoning sector.
• Awareness & collaborative approach in sharing the attendee's experiences as well as pitfalls to avoid.
• Opportunity to highlight one's programmes and courses to others and receive effective marketing tips.
• Submission of paper to Government for widening the education 'corridor' between Canada and India.

The inaugural address would be made by the Honorable Roy Milloy, M.P.P., Minister of Training, Colleges & Universities, Ontario, while the Keynote address would be delivered by James Knight. President, ACCC. His Excellency R.L. Narayan would be delivering the Plenary Address.

Some of the sessions to look out for:
• Enhancing Canada-India Partnerships in Education
• Recent Developments & Updates from the Government of India
• Canadian Colleges in India
• The Edu-Canada Initiative
• Canadian Universities in India
• A word from PCC's (Private Career Colleges)

The institutes partnering in this event are:
• Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC)
• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)
• Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

The event has been co-organised by C-IBC members and supported by Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, CEC Network, National Association of Career Colleges (NACC) and Scotiabank.