Changing Expectations of Global Education: Charting a New Course

Abstract

Changing Expectations of Global Education: Charting a new course Keynote presentation at the: 15th annual IDP Education Australia conference University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 25 - 28 September 2001 by: Gajaraj Dhanarajan (Professor Emeritus) President and Chief Executive Officer, The Commonwealth of Learning // I feel privileged to be invited once again to your conference and to share some thoughts with you on matters that are of mutual interest to you and I. My relationship with IDP goes back to its very early days and it has been an enjoyable association. IDP and its subscribers have done much to promote the cause of global education and in the process, you have changed the way this part of the world looks at learning, teaching, trading in education and education in development. When you invited me in 1996 to address you annual gathering, I had just assumed responsibility for The Commonwealth of Learning. You treated me gently by suggesting that I speak on something very ordinary like quality assurance as it applies to off shore education [a field I used to have some knowledge of]. This time, perhaps for my many sins during these past few years, the organisers have suggested that I "provide insights into global education and where it is headed, in particular, exploring how international education is building global capacity on a national, institutional and personal basis and, as a related theme, how the internet and new communication technologies are contributing to the global development of global capacity in education". This is a very tall order - very few people these days want to speak about expletives like globalisation [fearing personal safety] and far too many speak about virtual education. I have to do all this in 15 minutes while sharing this platform with some of your great academics and academic administrators. Therefore, if you notice some nervousness on my part, you will understand that this is because of the daunting challenge of sharing thoughts with an audience such as yourselves, who know so much about globalisation and its impact on education and new forms of educational delivery.