Birkbeck hosts international conference on personal learning accounts
Birkbeck, University of London has hosted the UK representatives of three nations – Austria, Singapore and Australia – to open up discussion around personal learning accounts.
Birkbeck, University of London has hosted the UK representatives of three nations – Austria, Singapore and Australia – to open up discussion around personal learning accounts at an event with the Open University and the Association of Colleges.
Interest has grown in implementing personal learning accounts in the UK as a possible solution to enabling the working population to upskill or reskill in an increasingly competitive international environment, and against a backdrop of continued globalisation and automation. It is thought they could enable a much choice of professional, vocational and academic courses funding by student finance compared to present arrangements.
Drawing on international expertise and the experiences of different schemes in Austria, Singapore and Australia, the conference was opened by Baroness Wolf of Dulwich, an international expert in the relationship between the labour market and education and lifelong learning and with remarks from Professor David Latchman, CBE, Master of Birkbeck.
His Excellency Martin Eichtinger, Austrian Ambassador; Her Excellency Foo Chi Hsia, High Commissioner from Singapore; and Matt Anderson, Deputy High Commissioner from Australia, all spoke as part of the event, outlining the experiences of how personalised learning accounts have worked in their respective countries.
Work on proposals for the UK context has already been begun by some of those attending the conference and contributing to discussions, including Baroness Wolf, who has suggested that a single lifetime entitlement to tertiary education could be the answer.
A plenary session following the addresses from keynote speakers, inviting contributions from those gathered, explored how the development of personalised learning accounts in the UK could support mature and part-time students across the higher education sector.
Speaking before the event, Professor David Latchman CBE, Master of Birkbeck, said:
“Working with partner organisations to advance support options for those looking to boost their skills or retrain is of central importance to Birkbeck, with so many of our community having seen the transformational impact that part-time learning can make, both individually and collectively.
“We are particularly grateful to all of those speaking for sharing their expertise in an area which could benefit so many students like those at Birkbeck.”
Further information on the day and policy developments around personal learning accounts can be found in an article written by John Wrathmell and Simon Hughes of the Open University.
Further information:
- Information for prospective students
- Open University
- Association of Colleges
- High Commission of Singapore in the UK
- Embassy of Austria in the UK
- High Commission of Australia in the UK