School tour: Secretary for Education Michael Suen visits the Sunshine North Primary School in Melbourne.

Hong Kong considers it important to develop leadership and professionalism among education practitioners to sustain reform improvements, Secretary for Education Michael Suen says.

He gave this message at the 2008 International Education Leaders' Dialogue opening dinner in Melbourne this evening. The dialogue will open tomorrow for key education leaders to share their experiences in the challenges of school reform.

Mr Suen will share experiences in the next two days about strengthening school leadership, improving on-site support for schools and enhancing the assessment literacy of all teachers.

On his first day in Melbourne today Mr Suen visited the Sunshine North Primary School - a Victorian Government school established in 1956 with a robust programme for students with special education needs.

He learned from the school principal it teaches English as a second language as 65% of the students have a Vietnamese background, and shared with him Hong Kong's experience in providing integrated education for children with special needs.

Mr Suen called on the University of Melbourne Vice Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis to exchange views on enhancing a stimulating and invigorating the learning experience for students.

At a roundtable luncheon hosted by Provost Professor Peter McPhee, Mr Suen shared with academics and professionals the latest developments in Hong Kong's education system, including implementing the new senior secondary academic structure and developing the city as a regional education centre.

He also visited the Victorian College of Arts and met with Bronwyn Pike, Victorian Minister for Education, to discuss the strong co-operation between Hong Kong and Australia.