DACE welcomed International Delegation from Thailand to discuss Life Long Learning
The Department of Adult and Community Education welcomed a delegation of Adult Educators from the Knowledge Network Institute of Thailand (KNIT) to discuss the department’s experience of effective strategies for Life Long Learning.
The Thai delegation comprised of Associate Professor Borworn Papasratorn, Ph.D. (Chairman of Establish criteria and guidelines for the promotion and development of lifelong education management, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation), Assistant Professor Sornnate Areesophonpichet, Ph.D. (Assistant Vice President for Strategy, Organizational Quality Assurance, and World University Rankings, Chulalongkorn University), and Associate Professor Pradthana Jaipong, Ph.D. (Director of School of Lifelong Education, Chiang Mai University).
The delegation were welcomed by Camilla Fitzsimons, PhD, (Head of Department, Adult and Community Education), Bernie Grummell PhD, (Associate Professor in the Departments of Education and Adult & Community Education), Lillian Nwanze PhD, (Assistant Lecturer, Adult and Community Education), Dilara Demir Bloom PhD, (Lecturer and Researcher, Turn to Teaching programme, Adult and Community Education), Ann Smith (Research and Turn to Teaching Administrator, Adult and Community Education), and Sinead Matson PhD (Postdoctoral Researcher, TUTOR Erasmus+ project, Adult and Community Education).
The meeting was a very productive knowledge exchange about the history of the department Adult and Community Education in Maynooth University and its wide-ranging reach into the Further Education and Training (FET), Adult Education, and Community Education sectors, both formal and informal. Both delegations discussed the types of adult education programmes that are offered and operated in Thailand and Ireland, the research that both delegations are involved in, and the potential the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) hold for adult learners in both countries. The Thai delegation were particularly taken with the Turn To Teaching programme and its results. The Department of Adult and Community Education in Maynooth University were delighted to welcome the KNIT delegation from Thailand and look forward to a continuing relationship.