DATE: October 5-9, 2026 |
Venue: Online Mode |
Type: In-Country Program |
ORGANIZERS: Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC), Philippines and Department of Education - Government of Papua New Guinea |
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE
Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), automation, data analytics, cloud computing, and other cross-cutting high-tech technologies are increasingly influencing how governments, industries, and education systems should operate in Industry 5.0 era. For TVET, this transformation has a dual dimension, first, TVET institutions must prepare learners for workplaces where AI, automation, connected equipment, and data-driven systems are becoming increasingly common, and second, TVET institutions themselves can use AI and IoT to improve the ways and means to plan, manage, deliver, and monitor education and training.
This distinction is particularly important for all Asia Pacific countries, including Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG's government’s digital policy direction is explicitly aiming to move from fragmented technology projects toward a coordinated digital ecosystem, while also emphasizing practical AI use cases, workforce capability, inclusion, and responsible governance. PNG is currently strengthening its national digital transformation agenda, including work on a National Sovereign Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation Strategy. The emerging national approach places emphasis on connectivity, digital public infrastructure, data, AI governance, interoperability, cybersecurity, and inclusive access.
At the same time, PNG's geography creates distinctive challenges for digital transformation. The country has widely dispersed communities and remote areas, making connectivity, affordability, and reliable digital infrastructure important considerations when designing technology-enabled education and training. Current national initiatives are specifically seeking to improve connectivity for rural and remote communities. The implications for TVET are significant, as AI and IoT applications need to be considered not merely from a technological perspective or Information Technology but from the perspective of:
Relevance → Accessibility → Affordability → Institutional Readiness → Industry Alignment → Quality → Sustainability
This CPSC’s In-country training program consequently adopts a TVET application perspective, focusing on how AI and IoT can support modern TVET ecosystems through:
- TVET planning and decision-making;
- Labour-market and skills intelligence;
- Curriculum and program development;
- Smart workshops and laboratories;
- Equipment and asset management;
- Teaching and learning support;
- Learner services and career guidance;
- Assessment and quality assurance;
- Institutional management; and
- Industry collaboration.
Participants will develop the capacity to understand, identify, evaluate, plan, and manage appropriate AI and IoT applications in the TVET context.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA SPECIFIC CONTEXT
This online In-country program explicitly acknowledges the following PNG realities:
a. Geographical dispersion
PNG's large geographical area, mountainous terrain, islands, and dispersed communities make conventional delivery and institutional support challenging. Therefore, the program explores AI and IoT solutions that can support remote, blended, low-bandwidth, and decentralized TVET delivery rather than assuming high-end infrastructure.
b. Connectivity and digital infrastructure
PNG is expanding connectivity, including initiatives aimed at rural and remote communities. The government's digital transformation agenda recognizes connectivity as a foundational requirement for digital services and AI. There, program participants will learn to distinguish between Technology that is desirable and Technology that is feasible in the PNG context.
c. Emerging national AI agenda
PNG is developing a national approach to AI emphasizing sovereign data, interoperability, governance, trusted infrastructure, and responsible adoption. Therefore, TVET officials genuinely need a foundational understanding of AI governance, data protection, cybersecurity, and responsible AI.
d. Skills and workforce development
PNG's digital transformation creates demand for new ICT and technology-related skills. Recent government-industry collaboration has already begun focusing on AI skills development, curriculum enhancement, internships, and AI-driven use cases. TVET in today’s world has a new role to become an important platform for building the workforce required for the emerging digital economy for any country, including PNG.
e. Inclusion
Digital transformation should not widen the gap between urban and rural communities or between learners with different levels of digital access. Therefore, AI/IoT applications are foreseen for making TVET more accessible.
ANTICIPATED IMPACTS OF PROGRAM
In the medium to longer term, the program is expected to contribute positively towards Papua New Guinea’s TVET sector through:
- Digitally capable and future-ready TVET institutions capable of responding to technological and labour-market change.
- Data-driven TVET planning and skills intelligence, enabling institutions and policymakers to better identify emerging occupations and skills requirements.
- Improved curriculum relevance and responsiveness through greater use of labour-market information, employer feedback, and AI-assisted curriculum review.
- Efficient management of TVET resources and facilities through smart monitoring, data analytics, and IoT-enabled approaches to equipment, energy, and asset management.
- Strengthened quality assurance and institutional performance monitoring through improved use of data, KPIs, and digital dashboards.
- Improved learner support and employability services, including more responsive career guidance and stronger connections between learner profiles, skills, occupations, and employment pathways.
- Stronger foundations for PNG's emerging digital and AI-enabled economy by positioning TVET institutions as contributors to workforce development, innovation, and digital transformation.
OBJECTIVES
The training program is designed to:
- Explain fundamental concepts of AI, IoT, and digital transformation.
- Understand the implications of AI and IoT for the future of TVET.
- Identify appropriate AI applications across major TVET functions.
- Identify practical IoT applications in TVET institutions.
- Apply selected AI and digital tools to TVET planning and management tasks.
- Understand the role of data in technology-enabled TVET decision-making.
- Assess institutional readiness for AI and IoT adoption and prepare an institutional or sector-level AI and IoT implementation roadmap.
EXPECTED OUTPUTS
By the end of the program, the participants are expected to produce the following tangible outputs:
- Improved understanding of concepts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) and its implementation with modern TVET;
- Improved digital awareness and its application within TVET;
- Ability to identify and use foundational Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in day-to-day routine;
- Ability to undertake digital readiness assessment and apply in daily routine;
- Increased awareness of use of responsible AI and data governance;
- Improved capacity for evidence-based and data-driven TVET management and decision-making; and
- A preliminary AI and IoT Transformation Action Plan for PNG TVET.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
By the end of the training, the following outcomes are expected:
- Enhanced understanding of AI, IoT, and digital transformation and their implications for the future of TVET in Papua New Guinea.
- Improved capacity to identify practical AI and IoT applications across key TVET functions, including planning, skills intelligence, curriculum development, teaching and learning, assessment, institutional management, quality assurance, learner services, and industry engagement.
- Strengthened digital and AI readiness awareness among TVET policymakers, managers, administrators, curriculum specialists, QA personnel, and ICT/digital transformation focal persons.
- Improved evidence-based decision-making capacity, particularly through the use of data, AI-assisted labour-market analysis, skills-gap identification, institutional performance monitoring, and digital dashboards.
- Enhanced capacity to design technology-enabled learner and industry services, including AI-supported career guidance, learner support, employer feedback analysis, skills matching, and apprenticeship/internship linkages.
- Development of a preliminary PNG TVET AI and IoT Transformation Roadmap, incorporating priority problems, proposed applications, readiness requirements, pilot interventions, governance considerations, KPIs, timelines, and potential scale-up strategies.
PROGRAM CONTENTS
| Day(s) | Application Domain | Central Question |
| Day 1 | TVET Planning & Skills Intelligence | How can AI help TVET understand future skills needs? |
| Day 2 | Curriculum, Learning & Assessment | How can AI improve TVET curriculum and learning? |
| Day 3 | Smart Workshops, Laboratories & Assets | How can IoT make TVET facilities smarter? |
| Day 4 | Institutional Management, QA & Learner Services | How can AI/IoT improve institutional performance? |
| Day 5 | Governance, Integration & Action Planning | How can PNG TVET system implement these technologies responsibly? |
| Theme Papers: | |
| Theme Paper 1: | AI and IoT Fundamentals for TVET Leaders |
| Theme Paper 2: | AI for Labour-Market and Skills Intelligence |
| Theme Paper 3: | AI for Competency-Based Curriculum and Program Development |
| Theme Paper 4: | AI for Learning Resources and Assessment Support |
| Theme Paper 5: | Understanding IoT and Smart TVET Institutions |
| Theme Paper 6: | IoT for TVET Equipment, Facilities, and Resource Management |
| Theme Paper 7: | AI and Data Analytics for TVET Institutional Management and Quality Assurance |
| Theme Paper 8: | AI for Learner Support, Career Guidance, and Industry Engagement |
| Workshop & Activities: | |
| Workshop 1: | Using AI for a TVET Skills-Needs Analysis: Environmental Scanning and Scenario Planning Workshop |
| Workshop 2: | AI-Assisted Curriculum Review |
| Workshop 3: | AI-Assisted Learning Resources and Competency-Based Assessment: Institutional Strategic Action Planning Workshop |
| Workshop 4: | Designing a Smart TVET Workshop |
| Workshop 5: | Smart Equipment and Facility Management Concept |
| Workshop 6: | Developing a Smart TVET Performance Dashboard |
| Workshop 7: | Designing an AI-Enabled Learner and Industry Support Service |
| Workshop 6: | Action Planning |
| Responsible and Sustainable AI/IoT Adoption in PNG TVET—Developing the PNG TVET AI & IoT Transformation Roadmap | |
APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
This In-country program will adopt a practice-oriented and output-focused learning approach. Short expert inputs will be followed by structured workshops, group work, case analysis, guided planning exercises, peer review, and action planning. The learning design connects the background/rationale, objectives, and expected outcomes of the proposal with the preparation of practical outputs that participants can apply in the PNG TVET system.
The following instructional strategies shall be used:
- Expert-led theme papers and special lecture sessions.
- Hands-on workshops and group work activities.
- Environmental scanning, scenario planning, and monitoring exercises.
- Case-based discussion of strategic planning challenges in TVET.
- Peer review, experience sharing, and facilitated reflection.
- Preparation and presentation of institutional strategic action plans.
- Personal commitment statements to reinforce reform ownership and mindset change.
Each theme paper will be linked to a corresponding workshop or action exercise so that participants can immediately apply concepts to institutional or regional planning realities.
PARTICIPANTS’ PROFILE
The program is intended for 25 to 35 participants from the Papua New Guinea TVET system. The target group may include TVET practitioners, Institutional Managers, Principals, Directors or their representatives, Program managers, Quality assurance personnel, Curriculum or Training Managers, and other officials or personnel involved in TVET.
DATE AND VENUE
Date: October 05 - 09, 2026
Time:
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM (PNG time) | 10:00 - 3:00 PM (Philippine
Time)
Delivery Mode: Online | Zoom Meeting Platform
FACILITIES REQUIREMENTS
To conduct the program smoothly, the following facilities are required:
- Laptop computers for participants.
- Stable internet connection.
- Audio and video equipment.
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
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Program Schedule
