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Minster of Education of Thailand visits University of Helsinki

Mr. Chaiwuti Bannawat, Deputy Minister of Education of Thailand, and nine of his colleagues from the Ministry visit University of Helsinki.

The purpose of the visit of Mr. Chaiwuti Bannawat and his colleagues is to boost the cooperation and networking in teacher training, with a special focus on mathematics and science. They will also draw up a memorandum about teacher exchange between different countries. In addition to Finland, the delegation will also visit Sweden and the UK.

On Tuesday, the delegation was welcomed to the LUMA Centre at the Faculty of Science in Kumpula.

“It is a great honour to receive the delegation”, says Professor Maija Aksela, Coordinator of the LUMA Centre.

Aksela and her colleagues took the guests on a tour of the centre, and in the laboratory they watched visiting primary-school pupils working in the lab.

“The LUMA Centre is all about mathematics and science”, Maija Aksela explains. “The pupils visit the centre, where they are guided by our students”.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Thai guests visited Campus Viikki, where they acquainted themselves with the Viikki Teacher Training School, one of the schools participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment.

“It means a great deal for us to be visited by the delegation. They will always be welcome here”, Aksela says.

On Thursday, the program will continue with a visit to the City Centre Campus. The delegation will be received by Rector Thomas Wilhelmsson, and Professor Jari Lavonen will also give a presentation of the teaching and the teacher training at the University.

Further information :

PISA

The LUMA Centre

SEAMEO, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization

Text & photo: Nathalie Edman
21.1.2010
www.helsinki.fi/digitalcommunications

Translation: AAC Global