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The International Education Group (IEG) office in Bangkok was the first offshore office of the Department of Education and Training and was opened by then Australian Minister for Education in December 1994. 
 
IEG Bangkok manages the Australia–Thailand education relationship and works with the Thai Ministry of Education on a range of current priority issues related to education and training policy and systems. These include the recognition of qualifications, quality assurance, curriculum development and institutional governance arrangements, including the development of a National Qualifications Framework and other policy issues across all levels of education. IEG Bangkok also works closely with Australian and Thai institutions to facilitate partnership collaboration and linkages, staff and student exchange, cooperation in research and development and university credit transfer arrangements.  


Specific activities and functions of IEG Bangkok

  • Providing high level strategic policy advice to the Australian Government on Thai education and training issues;
  • Developing and strengthening government-to-government links through engagement with the Ministry of Education (Office of the Permanent Secretary (OPS); Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC); Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC); Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC); Office of the Education Council (OEC), Ministry of Science and Education and other agencies such as Knowledge Network Institute of Thailand (KNIT), the office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) and the Australian Studies Centre at Thammasat University. 
  • Manage and promote the Endeavour Awards as the part of the Australia Awards program;
  • Facilitate and foster research and collaborative linkages and exchange programs between Australian and Thai education institutions; and
  • Support certain activities of the alumni networks in Thailand.
  • In Thailand, IE also manages the Australian Government’s engagement with the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) and the Asia-Pacific Regional Office of UNESCO.

Specific initiatives where IEG is cooperating include:

  • the reform of Thai university governance arrangements, including the development of risk management strategies;
  • the development of a National Qualification Framework in Thailand for the VET and Higher Education sectors;
  • the reform of the Thai vocational education and training system;
  • VET capacity building and engagement with Industry;
  • the development of civics education curriculum in the Thai schools system; and
  • the exchange of expertise and capacity building on curriculum and professional development for TESOL teachers in schools with a view to improving the English language teaching capacity in Thai primary and secondary schools.


Background to the Thai-Australia Education Relationship

Cooperation in education, science and training is a central and significant aspect of the bilateral relationship between Australia and Thailand.  The education relationship is mature and developed with a focus on policy dialogue, information sharing and partnerships rather than aid/development assistance.


Memorandum of Understanding on education

The longstanding education and training relationship between Australia and Thailand, going back to the early days of the Colombo Plan scholarship program, was put onto a more formal basis initially in 1991, with the signing of the first Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two countries on education.  That MOU was signed between the then Department of Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) and the then Thai Ministry of University Affairs and promoted and supported a program of information, staff and student exchanges, collaborative research and development, and institutional links including joint degree programs.
 
An MOU with the Thai Ministry of Education, signed in June 1994, substantially extended that cooperation to the schools and vocational education sectors and provided for cooperation in primary and secondary schooling, technical and para-professional training, non-formal education, professional development of educators and distance education.
 
An MOU on cooperation in education and training was signed between the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Thai Ministry of Education in Canberra on 5 July 2004.  That MOU replaced the two MOUs signed in 1991 and a 1994.
A new MOU was signed in 2012 to renew and reinforce the strong education and training linkages between Australia and Thailand.  This new MOU encourages and facilitates cooperation between government, educational and training institutions.
 
Fields of cooperation under the MOU may include:
a.         Vocational education and training;
b.         Higher education;
c.         Strategic planning and management in education, research and training;
d.         Curriculum development and benchmarking of educational outcomes;
e.         Distance education;
f.          English and Thai language training;
g.         Student, education personnel and academic exchange;
h.         Qualifications recognition; and
i.          Education management training
 
Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in education and training:
Flag of Thailand Thailand (pdf 210kb) - signed 28 May 2012
More education and training Memoranda of Understanding are available from the About IEG page.
 
IEG Bangkok also has responsibility for select education cooperation activities with the Philippines and Burma (Myanmar).

IE officers are available Monday to Friday 09.00-17.00 hours.  To contact our staff, please telephone Bangkok +66 (0)2 344 6493, +66 (0)2 344 6491, or +66 (0)2 344 6490 (fax: 02 344 6303)

For more information on the Endeavour Awards / Australia Awards, please visit: www.AustraliaAwards.gov.au
 

For information about studying in Australia please visit http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/thailand and http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au

For information the promotion and marketing of Australian education services in Thailand, please contact Austrade in Bangkok on +66 (0)2 696 4800

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