- Published:
- Tuesday 5 July 2016
Victorian and Chinese schools will be able to connect and forge stronger relationships through a new website launched in China.
Minister for Education James Merlino and Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos have met Chinese education leaders and former Victorian international students in Beijing to announce the new Schools Connect Portal and updated www.study.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window) website.
The Schools Connect Portal provides an online platform for Victorian and international schools to connect and form sister school partnerships.
Victorian schools have 482 partnerships with sister schools around the world, which includes 172 sister-school relationships with Chinese schools - 15 of those in Beijing.
These partnerships provide opportunities for Victorian schools to enrich teaching and learning with global perspectives.
The new study.vic.gov.au website provides information to international students about studying in Victorian government schools and is available in English, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese.
It includes a virtual Hall of Fame, featuring video interviews with Victoria’s award-winning student alumni, and a Find a School search function to help prospective students find the right Victorian school for them.
Chinese international students have been studying in Victorian schools for more than 20 years, which helps build the intercultural understanding of local students, supports language learning in schools and better equips our students with the skills they need to succeed both at home and abroad.
Minister Merlino also announced the winners of the Victorian Government’s WeChat social media competition, which involved Chinese students producing short videos on why they wanted to study in Victoria.
The two winners will visit Melbourne on a five-day study tour.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino
“International students are an important part of our school system and this new website will help build stronger ties between Victorian and Chinese schools.”
“Sister-school relationships help give Victorian students a global outlook and better understanding of other cultures.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos
“Through this trip we are building stronger ties between the Victorian and Chinese early childhood systems, and creating opportunities to share our languages and culture from an early age.”