Dharmendra Pradhan meets Singapore PM, discusses education collaboration

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met with Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to strengthen bilateral cooperation in education and research. Their discussions focused on advancing ties in deep tech, start-ups, and vocational education.

In Short

• Dharmendra Pradhan met Singapore's PM to enhance cooperation in education and research
• Talks focused on 'Talent, Resource, and Market' pillars for partnership
• Discussed India's National Education Policy 2020 and overseas internships

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently met Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation in school education, vocational training, and research. The talks centered around enhancing ties through three key pillars: "Talent, Resource, and Market," positioning Singapore as a trusted knowledge partner for India, particularly in deep tech, start-ups, and innovation ecosystems.

Pradhan emphasised that India views Singapore as a trusted knowledge partner, particularly in advancing deep tech, start-ups, and innovation ecosystems, it said.

"The education minister also highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singapore counterpart have outlined a robust framework to elevate India-Singapore cooperation into a comprehensive partnership, including collaboration in critical and emerging sectors," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, Pradhan met his counterpart, Singapore's Minister for Education, Chan Chun Sing, to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation across various areas of education.

"Pradhan emphasised the significance of the National Education Policy 2020 in facilitating the internationalisation of India's education system. The two ministers explored avenues for overseas internship programs, allowing Indian students to gain practical experience in Singaporean companies.

"To further strengthen cultural connections between students of both countries, the possibility of twinning of schools in India and Singapore was discussed. Joint research collaboration in areas of mutual interest like deep tech, medicine, advanced materials, etc was also discussed," the statement added.

The education ministers also deliberated on fostering academic and research collaboration through the twinning of schools and universities in both countries.

"Pradhan highlighted opportunities for collaboration between Singapore's National Institute of Education and NCERT in areas such as curriculum development, pedagogy, and teacher capacity-building. Extending an invitation to Minister Chan to visit India, Pradhan expressed his commitment to advancing shared goals and enhancing educational ties between the two nations," the statement said.

Pradhan also met Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan to discuss the deepening of the India-Singapore Knowledge Partnership.

He visited the National University of Singapore and met its president, Tan Eng Chye.

"They discussed leveraging complementary strengths to build knowledge bridges, strengthen academic and research collaborations, and deepen engagement between NUS and top Indian higher education institutions across all academic fronts.

"Pradhan emphasised that NUS and Indian HEIs can collaborate to create value in areas such as deep start-ups, healthcare, advanced materials, digitalisation, and sustainability, amongst others," the statement said.

The minister's visit to Singapore, followed by a trip to Australia, from October 20 to 26, 2024, aims to foster collaboration, participation and synergy in critical areas of mutual interest in education.

(With PTI inputs)