Smart Learning Institute

From October 26 to 29, the group of five people including Professor Ronghuai Huang, Co-Dean of Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University, Dr. Tingwen Chang, director for the Center of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the institute and Dr Yuchi Zhao, director of UNESCO International Research and Training Center Office for Rural Education visited Sri Lanka for exchanges. The focus of the visit is to understand the current situation and challenges of education informatization in Sri Lanka and explore the possibility of "South-South cooperation" and find the point of cooperation under the framework of ”The Belt and Road” and UNESCO.

The meeting with directors of Ministry of Education and Information Technology Department of Sri Lanka

During the visit, the delegation visited National Institute of Education, UNESCO South Asian Center for Teacher Development, two national education colleges and a school (grade1-13). They particularly visited the secretary-general of Ministry of Education Sunil Hettiarachchi and the director of Information Technology Department.

Professor Huang visited primary and secondary schools in Sri Lanka.

The delegation visited the UNESCO Teacher Development Center in South Asia

After three days of in-depth visit and communication, the group of Co-Dean Huang had a preliminary understanding about the infrastructure, teacher, and the application of information technology in teacher education in Sri Lanka. Besides, SLI discussed with secretary-general of Ministry of Education as well as people in charge of relative departments about the ideas of cooperating in the future, including completing the strategy of educational informatization, supporting teacher education by making use of information technology, establishing the network as well as alliance of open educational resources. Sri Lanka has an important strategic position in establishing “The Belt and Road”. SLI and UNESCO International Research and Training Center Office for Rural Education hope to accumulate experience for implementing “The Belt and Road”by cooperating.