On 31 August 2014, Mr Shyamal Majumdar, Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC, and Kenneth Barrientos, Programme Officer UNESCO-UNEVOC, attended and contributed to an expert seminar organized by TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) and NCVER, both of whom are members of the UNEVOC Network and joint coordinator for the Pacific cluster. The experts’ seminar provided an opportunity to explore collaborative research opportunities among UNEVOC Centres in the Asia and Pacific region, gather baseline information on the state of TVET investments in participating countries and create a coordinating framework for engaging into research opportunities in TVET within the UNEVOC network. The seminar was attended by 70 delegates, including representatives from ten UNEVOC Centres in Australia (TAFE/TDA and NCVER), China (CIVTE), Canada (ACCC), Jamaica (UTech), Rep. of Korea (KRIVET), Malaysia (UTHM), Nepal (CTEVT), Kiribati and Sri Lanka (UNIVOTEC).

Shyamal Majumdar presented on good practices within the UNEVOC Network and highlighted further directions for enhancing networking in TVET and the creation of communities of practice through North-South-South collaboration and evidence-based research in TVET. Eight country presentations were made by the participating UNEVOC Centres, each describing the TVET investment ecosystem as well as key national or sub-regional agenda that influence further investments in TVET. Input from TDA’s CEO Martin Riorda and NCVER’s Managing Director Rod Camm enriched the discussions.

The importance of evidence-based research in TVET was unanimously emphasized as being an essential enabler to making policy-oriented reforms and investments in TVET. Discussions around this topic generated great interest from UNEVOC Centres to participate in collaborative research projects and pool together technical and research expertise in improving the evidence base of TVET.

In addition to the experts’ seminar, UNEVOC Centres had the opportunity to join the TDA National Seminar themed around Australia’s Vision 2020 on 1 September 2014. It provided representatives insights into the Australian TVET system, future directions and opportunities for collaboration. On this occasion, Mr. Majumdar spoke on the imperatives that shape effective global partnerships in the context of the post-2015 global education agenda, among others.