SEAMEO-University of Tsukuba Teacher E-training Series: Launching and Course Orientation Broadcasted to 43 Countries

On June 23, 2023, the Center for Research and International Cooperation in Educational Development (CRICED), in collaboration with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), held the launching and course orientation on the Teacher e-Training Series (3,648 registered participants from 43 countries). At the opening, Datuk Dr Habibah Abdul Rahim, Director of SEAMEO, introduced CRICED as the most contributing organization among affiliate members, and Ms. TABUCHI Helga , Director of Office for International Strategy Planning, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) acknowledged CRICED for engaging in several projects under MEXT, and introduced SEAMEO-Japan ESD-Award which is implemented with collaboration with SEAMEO. Finally, Dr. IKEDA Jun, Vice President for Global Affairs of our University, explained the collaboration between this online course and JV-Campus, and expressed his gratitude to SEAMEO and MEXT for their cooperation.

In the subsequent course overview, Ms. UMETSU Shizuko (Faculty of Human Sciences) explained "Educational Practices to Promote Inquiry-Based Learning: Using IB Teaching Methods" (1,670 registered as of 6/28), Dr. ISODA Masami (Director of CRICED) explained "Mathematics Education to Develop Student Agency IV-VI" (1,962 registered students in total as of 6/28), and Ms Huajing Liu, CRICED researcher, explained the platform of the online course. In addition, Dr. OHNIWA Ryosuke (Faculty of Medicine) explained the MEXT-University of Tsukuba JV-Campus platform.

In closing, Dr. TSUJIMURA Maki, Director of Branch Campus Preparation Office, introduced the Malaysian Campus, Dr. NOMURA Nakao, Director of the Southeast Asia Office, announced the Tsukuba Conference, and Ms. ISHIHARA Nao, Bureau of Global Initiatives, announced the Japan Education Forum. The meeting was closed with a speech by Mr. John Arnold Sasi Siena, Deputy Director (Programme and Development) of SEAMEO, who expressed his gratitude to the participants.

Each course aims to make a practical contribution to the international standardization of teacher education, and is being developed in collaboration with researchers from 10 institutions in 8 countries in FY2023, with researchers of our university playing a central role. Each course will be progressively delivered over a three-month period from July 1st through the CRICED website. Participants will include teachers, teacher educators, and researchers.

Group photo at the opening orientation
From top left: SEAMEO Director, Director of Office for International Strategy Planning, Minister's Secretariat, MEXT, Vice President of the University of Tsukuba, SEAMEO Deputy Director, and others.