On Wednesday, 27 July 2022, during the 15th SHARE Policy Dialogue in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, the ASEAN Secretariat, the SHARE Programme and the members of the ASEAN Working Group on Higher Education Mobility (AWGHEM) officially launched the ‘Roadmap on the ASEAN Higher Education Space 2025 and its Implementation Plan.’ Link to the press release here, watch the recording of the event here.
The Roadmap contributes to the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the strengthening of future resilience through enhanced people-to-people connectivity, and improved access and recognition of higher education in the ASEAN region. The Roadmap envisages a resilient and sustainable ASEAN Higher Education Space that enables greater harmonisation and internationalisation of the region’s higher education systems. It is reflective of the new reality for education worldwide and proposes adaptive and sustainable approaches in responding to the changing context of higher education. This includes augmenting access and inclusion to internationalised higher education provision by students through digital transformation. Link to the roadmap here.
ASEF’s Education Department (ASEFEdu) is proud to be invited as a partner to support this work. It is our mission to facilitate exchanges that lead to closer collaboration and sustainable ecosystems in higher education across Asia and Europe. The EU Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region (SHARE) Programme – the European Union’s flagship higher education programme with ASEAN – is working along the same goals, to strengthen regional cooperation and enhance the quality, regional competitiveness and internationalisation of ASEAN Higher Education institutions and students.
ASEFEdu is committed to contribute to the definition of a Vision and Mission for a Common Higher Education Space in Southeast Asia and participate in the working group co-chaired by ASEAN Secretariat’s Education, Youth and Sports Division (EYSD) and the ASEAN Foundation; members comprising of Senior Education Officials of the ten ASEAN Member States and representatives of regional organisations including the ASEAN University Network (AUN), the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO RIHED), the ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (AQAN), UNESCO, and the ASEAN Human Development Organisation (AHDO).
There is a unique momentum for a top-down approach, where policymakers and regional organisations come together to take regional harmonisation of systems to the next level. However, we believe there is an equal need to create a bottom-up engagement of students, academics and university managers to support this vision and create ways for them to shape it according to their needs. ASEF is uniquely positioned to assist with this goal and strengthen people-to-people connectivity through “ASEAN Communities of Practices” along topics of internationalisation, equity, inclusion, and contribution to the sustainable development goals.
We hope that this roadmap will increase connectivity in Southeast Asian Higher Education, create new opportunities for its people to innovate and collaborate, and become and inclusive and equitable higher education community.
Photo caption: (left-right) Mr. Sebastian Gries, SHARE Programme Manager, DAAD, Ms. Uni Prayuti, SHARE Programme Manager, British Council, Ms. Reka Tozsa, Acting Director, Education Department, Asia-Europe Foundation, Mr. Libing Wang, Chief, Section for Educational Innovation and Skills Development (EISD), Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, UNESCO Bangkok, Mr. Darren McDermott, SHARE Programme Team Leader, H. E. Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti, EU Ambassador to Viet Nam, H. E. Dr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Viet Nam, Dr. Roger Chao Jr., Assistant Director/Head, Education, Youth, and Sports Division (EYSD), ASEAN Secretariat, Dr. Choltis Dhirathiti, Executive Director of ASEAN University Network, Mr. Philip Masterson, Officer in Charge, SEAMEO RIHED, Mr. Pham Quang Hung, Director General, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Education & Training of Viet Nam, Ms. Donna McGowan, Country Director, British Council Viet Nam, Mr. Arief Maulana, SHARE Programme Manager, Nuffic