Bengaluru, Apr 3 (PTI) The Karnataka Skill Development Department and Melbourne-based RMIT University on Thursday explored opportunities to enhance re-skilling and up-skilling initiatives for students in the state's skill development sector.

A delegation from RMIT University, led by Mish Eastman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Vocational Education, along with Prashil Singh, Director of the College of Vocational Education; Justin Schmitt, Manager; and Annie Santhana, Regional Director (Education) for the State Government of Victoria (Australia), met with Medical Education and Skill Development Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil here.

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The discussions focused on strengthening collaboration between the university and the Karnataka government in skill development, the minister's office said in a release.

Eastman commended the Karnataka government for its efforts in skill education and emphasised RMIT's commitment to establishing a long-term partnership with the department.

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She noted that RMIT has already collaborated with a few Indian universities and is keen on training trainers with contemporary, globally relevant skill sets.

"Upgrading trainers to meet global standards will bring significant advancements to the skill industry," she added.

Patil highlighted the role of the Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya Institute in Chikkaballapura, which specialises in training skill trainers under the Skill Development Department.

"We have master trainers who train skill trainers, and now our focus is on bringing in super trainers to further enhance the expertise of master trainers to meet global benchmarks," he said.

RMIT University, known for its expertise in applied research and training innovation in healthcare, expressed interest in contributing to Karnataka's skill ecosystem, the release said.

Patil noted that Karnataka has a vast pool of nursing and allied health science professionals and is keen on sending students for up-skilling programmes at international institutions as part of their curriculum.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)