The Australia-China Digital BRIDGE program is an innovative initiative that contributes to building a global community of educators dedicated to improving the health, wellbeing, learning experiences, and outcomes of their students.

As ChatGPT and DALL-E grow viral, hopes and warnings about Artificial Intelligence or AI are growing. As AI-based computer programs, ChatGPT can write essays and DALL-E can generate artistic images. In other words, it seems that computers now can do human work, humanly creative work. While the technology will continue to grow more sophisticated for sure, conversations about the implications of these two creative AI applications have become wide ranging, affecting almost every aspects of human life, including education. For example, what should teaching of writing be like when machines can write? What is the nature of art education when machines can create art?

Our innovative, entirely virtual, teacher professional learning program connecting educators in Australia and China officially kicked off last month. We recently spoke with two program participants about their interest in and experience of the program so far.

As we ask students to become more globally competent, the need to provide opportunities for students to develop social and emotional skills (SES) or ‘emotional intelligence’ (EQ) is increasingly essential.

As the world changes, so to must how we educate our young people. Education needs to empower youth as not only contributors to change, but the drivers of it.

From mock United Nations forums and design sprints to developing social enterprises, young people are steering their own futures.

Australia’s changing and challenging relationship with China needs far more – not less – China literacy in our schools.

Ideas that the ‘uniqueness’ of study abroad programs lies in developing ‘global competence’ or providing cultural and language ‘immersion’ has been critiqued as goals that lack definition. In a COVID19 world, in which international travel is limited and border crossings are increasingly rare, education institutions have an opportunity to redefine international education and global competence.

A new draft Australian Curriculum has been released for debate. In this open letter, Asia education expert Hamish Curry argues it is time for a genuine focus on how the education system facilitates Asian engagement at a time when our Asia literacy is falling to critical lows.

Without Indonesian language skills and intercultural capability, Australians will struggle to navigate their relationship with one of Asia’s key players.