Impact
At CEMETS, we prioritize not only developing scientific knowledge but also translating it into tangible benefits for society.
We deliver institutes to work with reform leaders directly, develop diagnostic tools to put findings into practice, and support implementation and evaluation of reform projects. This interaction with the "real world" of education systems and reforms inspires new research questions and agendas, creating a cycle of impact.
Education systems all over the world are facing a crisis.
For the last century, most countries have focused on delivering a quality primary and secondary education to all students, and in the past few decades that has increasingly expanded to tertiary-level education.
However, many education systems have limited options at the secondary and tertiary levels, and young people only discover after graduation that they lack the skills they need to find employment, pursue their goals, and succeed in life.
Digital transformation and the ever-increasing speed of technological change compound this problem. As labor markets change rapidly, education systems can struggle to keep up. This only exacerbates the gaps between countries and between individuals.
Many young people are dissatisfied with education options that are costly and mismatched to labor market demand. At its best, education should be a source of social mobility. Too often, today's education systems reproduce society's problems and inequalities.
Re-engineering education systems is an urgent issue.
Research alone can provide some guidance for evidence based reforms, but it needs to be translated to reform leaders and policymakers to maximize impact. At the same time, researchers need to interact with education leaders, young people, and employers to understand the problems and challenges they face.
At CEMETS, we drive impact by combining research with translation to the real world.
International partners & projects
United States
Teams from the USA have been working with CEMETS since the first Summer Institute in 2015. We have hosted teams from Colorado, Texas, Kentucky, California, Indiana, Washington DC, Washington state, Alabama, New York City, and national organizations.
Two standouts in that group are Colorado and Indiana. Led by Noel Ginsburg, the 2015 Colorado team founded external pageCareerwise. Careerwise is now active across the USA, and is leading the national conversation on youth apprenticeship. Indiana's statewide approach is a model of shared leadership.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica has participated in the CEMETS Summer Institute since 2017 with several teams led by current ministers, among others. Based on diagnostic research, teams have developed strategies to strengthen cooperation between actors from the education and employment systems.
In 2022, a presidential decree regulated this new institutional collaboration (SINEFOTEC - National System of Technical Vocational Education and Training). The University of Costa Rica established an observatory to support SINEFOTEC implementation with research.
Nepal
Switzerland has a long history of supporting the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector in Nepal. After a new constitution created a federal system in Nepal, CEMETS began supporting the federalization of the TVET sector. Nepal has sent teams to CEMETS Institutes since 2016, and CEMETS has produced research supporting TVET federalization since 2017.
Nepal is also part of a Swiss National Science Foundation-funded project from 2017-2024 alongside Benin, Chile, and Costa Rica.
Serbia
At a conference in 2016, Prof. Dr. Ursula Renold met then-Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, who was inspired by her presentation of benchmark instruments and data to compare high performing education systems. He spearheaded the drafting of the Law on Dual Education, aiming to transform VET in Serbia.
Starting in 2018, Serbia sent teams to CEMETS Institutes and CEMETS did implementation research to support the development of VET in Serbia.
South Africa
South Africa sent its first team to CEMETS in 2017, representing the Department of Higher Education and Training's office for artisan development. The team started working towards a permeable education system with dual or apprenticeship-style TVET options. In 2022, the team published The National Apprenticeship and Artisan Development Strategy 2030.
South African teams continue to attend CEMETS institutes to support implementation of the strategy.