“(When the platform is completed) for sure, Korean cities will come out very strongly. It will be an opportunity for them to be known more in the world.”

The panel is currently looking to establish a set of key features of learning cities. The UIL will hold a series of workshops before the launch of the International Platform for Learning Cities at an international conference on learning cities in Beijing, Oct. 21-23.

A number of Korean cities have already shown great interest in supporting the establishment of the International Platform for Learning Cities.

But he cautioned that cities should not be overly occupied with gaining a title of learning city  which without strict standards and principles could end up a “catchy but meaningless name.”

There are a lot of cities in the world that already use the title “learning city,” but it doesn’t necessarily mean they really are, he said.

“It’s very attractive rhetorically to talk about being a learning city, but they need to make sure all the stakeholders are involved and to make sure the learning cities are a meaningful idea.”

Osborne has worked with many governments and international agencies, including the Council of Europe and the U.K. and, most recently, German governments.

One of the projects he is currently engaged in is analyzing implications of a survey called the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, or PIAAC.

Developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the survey is designed to measure adult competencies, such as reading, numeracy, teamwork and communication, he explained.

There are currently 25 countries participating in the survey, including Korea. The first results will be released in October, he said.

“My hypothesis is that countries which put a big emphasis on lifelong education will show the strongest results in PIAAC,” he added.

He expects Korea to show a strong showing, noting that it is one of the highly ranked countries in an international student assessment called PISA.

“It’ll be interesting to see whether the performance of the countries that do well in PISA is reflected in PIAAC,” he added.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596stroy@heraldcorp.com)