GINTL collaboration with NCERT – the “EDUFI of India”
The collaboration with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is part of a broader MoU between Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) and NCERT.
This collaboration has significant potential for sustainable impact on the education sector in all Indian states, as NCERT is the body that has been tasked by the central government of India to lead and coordinate a variety of activities that have a bearing for education throughout the country. These include coordinating research relating to school education, preparation of model textbooks and educational kits, organisation of pre-service and in-service training of teachers, and the development and dissemination of educational techniques and practices.
The current focus of our collaboration with NCERT is on ECEC, Educational Leadership, and Vocational Education. All these topics are all seen through a lens of inclusion. Finnish GINTL members active in the collaboration are University of Jyväskylä, University of Helsinki, and JAMK University of Applied Sciences. In the Autumn Semester 2023, we expect to broaden to new thematic areas, which could include Curriculum Development and Application of ICT in education.
EDUFI news piece on the MoU (1.4.2022, in Finnish)
GINTL collaboration with the Kerala State Education Department
A newer initiative is the collaboration between the Kerala State Education Department and GINTL India HEIs from Finland.
Kerala is embarking on a large reform process of their school education system. A sectoral reform in a state of 33.3 million people is a huge undertaking. The collaboration with GINTL India, on the other hand, is expected to be modest in nature, comprising collegial consultation and small-scale pilots.
The collaboration revolves around 6 thematic areas identified by Kerala. These are teacher in-service training, early childhood education and care, piloting of the Little Kites tech education concept in Finland (this is a concept developed by Kerala), science and mathematics education, assessment at different levels of education, and research collaboration.
The collaboration is steered by an advisory body run by the Kerala State Education Department. This body has representation from all Finnish GINTL India member HEIs, which have departments focused on school education or teacher in-service training (JAMK University of Applied Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Tampere University, University of Oulu, University of Turku, and the University of Helsinki through its GINTL team). Also present in the steering body from the Finnish side is the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI).
The content of the collaboration will be planned and implemented by six thematic sub-groups, which comprise experts representing Kerala and GINTL HEIs in Finland. The University of Jyväskylä, University of Oulu, the University of Helsinki GINTL team, and the JAMK University of Applied Sciences are contributing staff time to these working groups. Should Kerala be interested, Aalto has offered to connect the state with an existing regional network engaged in problem based learning in higher education in technology and design domains.
Update 15.3. 2023. Due to unexpected changes in the Kerala side, this collaboration has been scaled down to two themes only. The themes covered will be Research Collaboration and piloting of the Little Kites tech education concept in Finland.
Contact GINTL India coordination for more information
These collaborations are excellent platforms for colleagues from India and Finland to get acquainted with each other and current work in the education sector of the two countries.
We warmly welcome more interested staff members working in one of the GINTL India member HEIs in Finland to participate in these collaborations. The GINTL India member HEIs in Finland are Aalto University, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Tampere University, University of Helsinki, University of Jyväskylä, University of Oulu, University of Turku, and the University of Vaasa.
The GINTL collaborations with NCERT and Kerala State Education Department are being coordinated by University of Jyväskylä, which is the coordinator for the GINTL India network. Kindly contact GINTL coordination at gintlindia@jyu.fi for more information on how to get involved in these collaborations.
Due to the funding modality of GINTL India from the Ministry of Education of Finland, the University of Jyväskylä is not able to compensate for working time for staff members representing other GINTL India member HEIs. The GINTL India funding has been allocated directly to each participating university. The universities of applied sciences are participating without separate GINTL India funding.
