Schulich ExecEd-ABMP signs $5-million MOU with Beijing Institute of Education
Posted on September 20, 2016Prime Minster Justin Trudeau (centre) with Prof. Bernie Frolic (left) and He Jinsong (right).
Schulich ExecEd’s Asian Business & Management Program (Schulich ExecEd-ABMP) and the Beijing Institute of Education, affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education (BIE), have signed a five-year agreement – valued at C$5 million – aimed at renewing and expanding education training programs offered through Schulich ExecEd-ABMP in China and Canada to school teachers, administrators and principals.
The agreement, one of 56 accords between Canadian and Chinese companies valued at C$1.2 billion, was noted on Sept. 1 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his recent visit to China.
Bernie Frolic, executive director of ABMP and professor emeritus at York University, and He Jinsong, president of BIE, agreed the partnership will provide high-quality education and training programs in both countries. The understanding will allow Schulich ExecEd-ABMP to deliver face-to-face training programs in Beijing and Toronto as well as online and blended programs. The training topics include, but are not limited to, educational leadership, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, technology in the classroom and inquiry-based learning.
“Recently we began our sixteenth year training Chinese officials, executives and educators, and we have more than 5,000 graduates living and working in 15 provinces of China,” said Frolic. “It has been an exciting journey and I am grateful to have been present at the creation of our program and to participate in its extraordinary development.”
The MOU is built on ABMP’s long experience in running training programs for numerous education institutions in China. This year, Schulich ExecEd-ABMP is delivering more than 20 programs, training approximately 1000 educators in Beijing.
The feedback has been encouraging and positive, said Frolic: trainees provided positive evaluations in terms of the growth of pedagogical strategies that promote student voice and critical inquiry; faculty, similarly, have commented that this experience has broadened their teaching methodology and understanding of cross-cultural communication.
“We are proud that our training of China’s educators has helped with the reduction of cultural barriers between our two countries. In the coming months and years we look forward to continuing and expanding this cooperation,” Frolic said.