ASEAN Ramps Up Regional Cooperation in Higher Education

ASEAN and the European Union (EU) Support to Higher Education in ASEAN Region (SHARE) Programme commenced their second in a series of SHARE policy dialogues on February 24, 2016. In cooperation with the ASEAN University Network (AUN) and hosted by Chulalongkorn University, this two-day event brings together more than 150 high-level education officials, academics and students from ASEAN Member States and the EU.
The policy dialogue focuses on students’ learning outcomes in the context of the various degree structures across ASEAN universities and is an important stepping-stone on ASEAN’s path towards a more connected regional higher education system.
SHARE is a 10 million Euro EU grant funded programme with a principal objective of strengthening regional cooperation, enhancing the quality, competitiveness and internationalisation of ASEAN higher education institutions and students, and contributing to an ASEAN Community. From 2016 onwards, it will be providing some 500 scholarships for ASEAN university students to put the improved systems to the test, mainly by supported student exchange and credit recognition within the ASEAN region. The European Higher Education Area and the well-known Erasmus scholarships will serve as the main reference point in this process. The EU experience will strengthen the creation of higher education space in ASEAN and will leverage existing higher education platforms in the region.
“Internationalisation is a key strategy for a modern university,” said Prof. Pirom Kamolratanakul, M.D., President of Chulalongkorn University, “and we should focus increasingly on connecting with universities in the ASEAN region. Regional frameworks will greatly facilitate such regional connectivity, as we have seen in the European example.”
To support the debate SHARE published four in-depth studies on the state of play in ASEAN of framework agreements that allow different university qualifications to be compared, on means to assess and improve the quality of teaching and of institutions, on different types of existing degrees and courses, and on what options today’s students have to study abroad in ASEAN and have the credits they obtain recognized by their home university.
ASEAN is working with a consortium led by British Council and comprising the DAAD, EP-Nuffic, Campus France, ENQA and EUA between 2015 and 2018 to implement SHARE.
The ASEAN University Network of 30 universities across the region promotes regional cooperation in higher education since 1995 and is a key partner of SHARE.
Press-release at the official ASEAN web-site