West Papuan teachers complete Coast training
Fifteen senior teachers from the Indonesian province of West Papua have completed a special seven-week professional development program through the University of the Sunshine Coast.
This innovative training program, which began in May, involved the teachers studying at USC and visiting several local high schools to observe how maths and science are taught.
USC program coordinator Suzanne Burford said the West Papuan teachers had enjoyed the program and had made some strong connections with the University and the schools they visited, which included Chancellor State College and Matthew Flinders Anglican College.
Ms Burford said the professional development program would bring exciting opportunities for joint research projects and lead to shared arrangements between USC and the Indonesian Government.
Among these will be the opportunity for USC academics to observe how maths and science are taught in West Papua.
Ms Burford said "sister school" relationships had been developed between some of the Coast schools and those in West Papua as a result of the professional development program.
The program is the result of an agreement that was signed in April by USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Thomas AM and Eka Simanjuntak.
Mr Simanjuntak is the director of Willi Toisuta Associates, the official representatives of the West Papuan Education Office.
— Terry Walsh