From November 16 to 19, the 7th P2A Annual General Meeting was held at DTU, with 135 ASEAN universities attending. The meeting broadened prospects for new development projects, foreign exchanges with ASEAN university students, and enabled the members to share their experiences, learn more, and cooperate with each other on research activities in the digital era.
Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co, DTU President (on left); Mr. Jerome Schedler, Director of P2A Strategic Planning and Development and Assistant-Rector of Internationalization at Rangsit University and Dr. Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela, Former Director of the SEAMEO and Educational Advisor at the Department of Future Education in the ASEAN Secretariat
The Passage to ASEAN (P2A) is a non-profit network, established in 2012 by five higher education institutes, namely: Rangsit University in Thailand; Duy Tan University in Vietnam; Norton University in Cambodia; the Myanmar Computer Institute; and the National University in Laos.
The objective of this year’s event was to evaluate the 2020-2023 performance results, share information on completed activities, hold discussions, develop plans, and establish development strategies for the next time period. Topics included: the improvement of professional skills; entrepreneurial creativity; academic exchanges; research support; internships and employment in various ASEAN countries; and the development of new humanitarian community activities.
Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co, DTU President, said: “Since 2012, we have hosted many cultural exchange events for students from ASEAN countries and they have attracted thousands of students. The accreditation of P2A as an ASEAN associated entity in early 2020 demonstrated the effectiveness and significance of P2A to students in the region. In the next ten years of the P2A program, we need to focus more on lecturer and researcher exchanges, in addition to the student ones. In this era of technological development, we also need to work together more on training and research activities, in order to respond to global problems, such as climate change, and ways mastering technology, while artificial intelligence is growing ever more pervasive.”
Delegates pose for a photo
Mr. Jerome Schedler, Director of P2A Strategic Planning and Development, affirmed: "We encounter many impressive people during our lives, but it isn’t easy to meet people with so much in common as the DTU President, the DTU Board of Provosts, and the President of Rangsit University. They have established world-class universities and share a passion for educating young people and for the development of their countries. Over the years, P2A has united them into a powerful partnership. Meanwhile, P2A has grown steadily, thanks to the contributions of its many members, especially DTU Vice-Provost Dr. Le Nguyen Tue Hang, who has dedicated herself to P2A and come up with a variety of initiatives to operate P2A more effectively. P2A gives students the ability to connect and communicate with their ASEAN peers and achieve their long-term objectives. We have built the P2A network on trust and passion, and I’m truly proud of what we’ve achieved over the past ten years.”
Several experts presented highly practicable new projects, including:
- “The future of education and academic exchange in the age of Artificial Intelligence and Digitalization", by Dr. Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela, Educational Advisor at the Department of Future Education in the ASEAN Secretariat
- “P2A student exchange programs”, by Mr. Lim Teng Leng, P2A Acting-Director of Foreign Affairs, from the International Relations Department at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore
- P2A startup network and the P2A Entrepreneurship Hackathon, by Mr. Wiryono Raharjo, Director of P2A Startup & Innovation
Experts discussed strategies for developing the international student community, including:
- The ASEAN Citizenship Program, to improve students' understanding of ASEAN member countries
- The ASEAN Research Network, to create a platform for P2A members to share ideas, knowledge and enhance research capacity for lecturers and students
- The ASEAN SkillFuture Hub, to create a community focused on broadening knowledge, skills and capacity in digitalization, the ecology and entrepreneurship
- The Osaka World EXPO, taking place in 2025
Experts discuss strategies
The rapid development of global technology captured the attention of most delegates. Technology is changing the world in many ways, modernizing our lives and making everything more convenient. However, from a student perspective, we first need to acquire a thorough understanding of how students are adapting to such rapid developments, how to design the most appropriate new programs suited to the digital age, and how students could possibly benefit.
Dr. le Nguyen Tue Hang, DTU Vice-Provost, said: "I’m highly honored to welcome you and P2A to Danang. Your presence means a lot to us, because this is the first in-person general meeting of P2A since the pandemic. Covid-19 greatly impacted P2A activities and severely restricted foreign exchange programs. However, P2A actually grew stronger during the outbreak, through the forced creation of innovative and unique new communication channels. As a result, P2A has organized even more events for students in the region than before. In particular, the number of members has doubled since the pandemic first broke out and we’ve been supporting both ASEAN lecturers and students in all aspects of their careers.
You certainly know the proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”. I want to change that a bit. “If you want to go more steadily and further, go together.” P2A became stronger during the pandemic and came this far based on solidarity, commitment, and a lot of mutual care. Therefore, as we meet here today, let’s celebrate the spirit of P2A friendship! Let’s continue to work harder together to build a better ASEAN in the future.”
P2A has now expanded to encompass 135 ASEAN universities, colleges and research institutes, including three new members: the Saigon Business School (SBS); the Mapúa Malayan Laguna Colleges in the Philippines; and the Polytechnic Colleges of the Philippines.
(Media Center)