RECSAM News_Sept-Dec2019

3 RECSAM News Vol. 50 - No. 3 42 nd SEAMEO High Officials Meeting 8 th International Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (CoSMEd 2019) THE 42 ND SEAMEO HIGH OFFICIALS MEETING (HOM) is the forerunner of the regular SEAMEO Council Conference organised by the SEAMEO Secretariat. The 42 nd HOM this year was conducted from 26 to 28 November 2019 at Berkeley Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting was presided by H. E. Mr. Nataphol Teepsuwan, Minister of Education, Ministry of Education, Thailand. This year’s meeting saw a participation of more than one hundred high education officials and representatives from various Ministries of Education of SEAMEOMember States, representatives from SEAMEOAssociate Members andAffiliate Members, and observers from partner organisations of SEAMEO with the purpose of discussing the educational, scientific and cultural directions and development in Southeast Asian nations. Dr. Suhaidah Tahir, Centre Director attended the meeting and presented two proposal papers, namely: (i) Proposal on the 11 th Five-Year Development Plan of SEAMEO RECSAM for Fiscal Year 2020/2021-2024/2025 and (ii) Update on SEAMEO Basic Education Standards (SEA-BES) Phase 2 - Teaching to Transform: 21 st Century Skills and Design Thinking in STEM Contexts. TEACHERS , educators, and researchers from different parts of the world gathered last 11 to 15 November 2019 at SEAMEO RECSAM to discuss and address issues on improving science and mathematics instructions for the 21 st century during the “8 th International Conference on Science & Mathematics Education (CoSMEd 2019)” which was held alongside with the “TIMSS International Symposium 2019” . The themes for the two events were “Aligning STEM Education with Education 4.0 and Sustainable Development Goals” and “TIMSS@20: Hindsights, Insights & Foresights” , respectively. With more than 120 paper presenters and researchers who gave presentation on topics that emphasised science and mathematics education for the 21 st Century in the Southeast Asia. The Conference brought educators and researchers from across the globe together to discuss and deliberate on important issues pertaining to the educational development and reforms in science, technology and mathematics education in the Southeast Asian region and beyond, in relation to STEM education and Sustainable Development Goals. The conference was officiated by H.E. Dato’ Ir. Hj. Ahmad Zakiyuddin bin Abdul Rahman, Penang Deputy Chief Minister I, the representative of Chief Minister of Penang. Professor Zsolt Lavicza from Linz School of Education, STEM Education Centre, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria commenced the first keynote address of the 8 th CoSMEd 2019 on “Exploring STEAM Education Approaches to Foster Creativities and Innovations in Schools” while Professor Donna King from Queensland University of Technology, Australia delivered her keynote address on “Contexts, Emotions and Integration: A Decade of Research on Practical STEM Education” . Professor Dr. Ismail binAbdul Rahman from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Malaysia delivered his keynote address on “Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) in National TVET Agenda” while Dr. Wan Wardatul Amani binti Wan Salim from International Islamic University of Malaysia, Malaysia gave her address on “SporeSat: Lab-on-chip for Study of Single Cell in Space” . The fifth keynote speaker, Mr. Aidan McCarthy from Microsoft, Singapore shared his expertise on “Digital Transformation in Education” . The keynote speakers for the TIMSS International Symposium were Professor Frederick K.S Leung from University of Hong Kong and Associate Professor Dr. Nor Idayu Mahat from Universiti Utara Malaysia. Professor Frederick K.S. Leung delivered a keynote address on “TIMSS@20:Significance of TIMSS for Southeast Asian Countries” while Professor Dr. Nor Idayu Mahat gave her address on “How Data Analytics Benefitting Education?” The 8 th CoSMEd 2019 was attended by 224 delegates from 14 countries (i.e.; Austria, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa and Syria). see page 4 One for the album Teachers, educators, researchers & students of CoSMEd 2019