On November 1st, the College of Education at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) hosted the APATE International Conference on 'Transdisciplinary Research and Practice in Teacher Education.' Despite Typhoon Kong-rey, the event proceeded in a hybrid format with 281 in-person and 276 online participants from 12 countries, including Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, and Australia. The conference focused on regional educational cooperation and future prospects.
NTNU President Cheng-Chih Wu highlighted the importance of strengthening educational ties in Asia, noting Taiwan’s efforts to enhance internationalization through over 900 EMI courses. Executive Vice-President Yao-Ting Sung addressed challenges like declining birth rates and digitalization, urging innovation in teaching methods to meet future needs.
Three keynote speakers delivered insightful presentations:
Dr. Bruce Macfarlane from Hong Kong discussed the challenges of global university internationalization, emphasizing the need for academic diversity and a shift away from a Western-dominated perspective.
Dr. Wei Loong Hung and Dr. Azilawati Jamaludin from Singapore explored bridging the gap between educational research and practice using 'Leadership from the Middle.'
Dr. Sangmin Lee from Korea University examined the role of deliberate practice and client feedback in improving school counselors’ development.
In addition to the keynote speeches, the two-day conference included two Dean’s Forums, two cross-national panel discussions, and nine scholarly individual paper presentations. The Dean's Forums invited scholars from five countries—South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Japan—to exchange and discuss academic research. The cross-national panel discussions involved scholars from Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Japan, and Thailand to discuss the topics 'Transforming Education with Innovative Technologies' and 'Focus on Achieving SDGs through Local Education System.' Furthermore, there were two special interest meetings, with themes 'Respond to CRPD: The Policy and Practice of Special Education Teacher Education' and 'Bridging Educational Practices: A Taiwan-Singapore Exchange on Digital Transformation and AI,' inviting experts from Taiwan, Nepal, and the Philippines, along with Singaporean educators, to discuss policies and practices related to the CRPD and share experiences in digital transformation and AI in education.
Despite the challenges posed by the typhoon, APATE remained committed to providing an in-depth academic exchange platform for participants, promoting thoughtful discussions on current educational challenges and future directions, and creating new opportunities for educational cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Edited by APATE
2024.11.1-2
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