The team discussed issues related to curriculum design in conjunction with the community-based community development course and integrated leadership development program. The team comprising Prof. Michael Wesley, Dy. VC, Prof. M. Ashok Kumar, Assistant Dy. VC, Prof. M. O ‘Briyan, Dean Faculty of Science, Prof. Nathan Grills and Ms. Lisa Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Australia-India Institute discussed in particular the progress in the implementation of the MoU, signed between the Government of India and the Government of Australia in partnership with the disability sector on 22 November, 2018. Members of the Australian team thanked the progress made so far in implementing the MoU.
Areas of co-operation in this MoU, among other things, include disability policy and service delivery, early detection and interventions to prevent disability, social media, education and training, skills development and investment promotion in the disability sector. The University of Melbourne is an Australian start-up institution as appointed by the Australian High Commission, New Delhi to implement the MoU. The Minister of Trade Unions said through the MoU, the governments of both countries would move forward in social terms and protect the interests of Divyangjan.
Dr. Virendra Kumar thanked the University of Melbourne and DEPwD for their contribution to the development of a six-month Integrated Community Development Program (CBID) course, which has been launched at 16 institutions across the country as a pilot. He suggested that once the National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation (NIMHR) was fully operational, the University of Melbourne could play a major role in the development of institutional skills through the exchange of training programs.
The Minister of Trade Unions also noted that both NIMHR and the University of Melbourne can work together to conduct joint research and model development and the General Practice Program for rehabilitating mentally ill people.
Both parties also agreed to form a Task Force for the development of courses / modules in the field of rehabilitation, including mental health rehabilitation. DEPwD National Institutions will also work with the University of Melbourne under the MoU.
