On 31 March and 1 April 2014, Ms Ken Barrientos, Programme Officer at UNESCO-UNEVOC, participated in the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) expert seminar on “Dual study programmes - A strategy to expand opportunities for ASEM youth”. The seminar was part of a series of dialogues organized by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for European and Asian countries aimed at facilitating the exchange of experiences and lessons learned in the field of dual education and training. Ms Barrientos chaired a session on good examples from work-based systems, which highlighted how China and Indonesia have adopted work-based systems and applied the principles of combining practical and theoretical learning in TVET. The example of China includes the transformation of over 600 universities to become applied science and technology institutions. A research on Indian work-based training by the University of Cologne highlighted the training needs in the informal and non-formal sectors.

The dual system programme model is rooted in Germany and is considered as having contributed to expanding employment opportunities for German youth.

The seminar was attended by representatives from 20 countries, including delegates from Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the German Council of Science and Humanities, the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen- Nuremberg- FAU, SIEMENS Nuremberg and Hanseatic Parliament. The seminar was organized in collaboration with the BIBB.

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