I. Introduction
Initiated by former Japanese Prime Ministers Mr. Hashimoto and Mr. Obuchi at the Japan-ASEAN Summit Meeting in 1997 and at the ASEAN-Plus-Three Summit Meeting in 1999, respectively, the AUN/SEED-Net was officially established in 2001 as an autonomous sub-network of ASEAN University Network (AUN), consisting of 19 engineering higher education institutions from 10 ASEAN countries including three institutions from Thailand, namely Chulalongkon University (CU), King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) and Burapha University (BUU). AUN/SEED-Net is mainly supported by the Japanese Government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and partially supported by the Member Countries and Member Institutions. AUN/SEED-Net activities are implemented by the AUN/SEED-Net Secretariat with the support of the JICA Project for AUN/SEED-Net, now based at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
After its formal establishment in 2001, the JICA project which supports AUN/SEED-Net has gone through 2 phases (2003-2008; 2008-2013) with the objectives to activate internationally competitive personnel in leading engineering institutions in the region and to promote collaboration and solidarity among academics and professionals in the region.
From the beginning until now, the AUN/SEED-Net Project has given scholarships to over 800 students and young teaching staff to study in master and doctoral levels to strengthen the faculty qualifications and academic capacities. Most alumni has been working in their home countries as academic staff, determining to educate and develop more qualified lecturers and professionals in engineering, which are needed for sustainable development of the member countries. It also produces a number of collaborative research projects between the ASEAN member institutions and Japanese supporting universities, tightens connection and partnership among them, and sets off the network of engineering experts among ASEAN and Japan. Around 90 scholarships and a lot of research grants are awarded annually to ASEAN students and faculty staff; while 80 professors from Japan are dispatched to the ASEAN region for expertise transfer each year.
Since implementing this project so far, HCMUT has been given many scholarships in Master Degree, PhD Sandwich Degree, Doctoral Degree Program in Japan & Doctoral Degree Program in Singapore. Besides, there are also other programs in the framework of this project, such as: Regional Conferences, Collaborative Research with Industry (CRI), Special Research Program for Alumni (SRA), Collaborative Research for Alumni (CRA), Collaborative Research Program for Common Regional Issues (CRC), Short-term Visit to Japan, Short-term Visit Program in ASEAN, Japanese Professor Dispatch Program, etc…
Impressive outputs of the AUN/SEED-Net Network include development of engineering lecturers and researchers, strengthening of graduate programs, and establishment of human network among ASEAN and Japan. The strategy of AUN/SEED-Net in assigning a number of universities as hosts or regional hubs to train students and young staff of other universities have become a flagship model for other academic networks.
On November 29, 2012, representatives of governments and leading universities in ASEAN and Japan gathered in Bangkok to sign on the Cooperative Framework for phase 3 of the AUN/SEED-Net. The signing marked the new page of higher education collaboration in the ASEAN region where leading universities work together for socio-economic development with cooperation from the industry, which would contribute to the establishment of the ASEAN Community. The Network now consists of 26 leading institutions (selected by the Ministries in charge of higher education of respective countries) from 10 ASEAN countries with the support of 14 leading Japanese Supporting Universities (selected by Japanese Government). For five years from 2013, the AUN/SEED-Net would focus on three missions. First, it would contribute to advancement of the industry in the ASEAN region through promotion of university - industry collaborative activities. Second, regional common issues would be intensely addressed and responded through collaborative researches and conferences. Last but not least, the Network would continue enhancing educational and research capacities of our member institutions through production of high-qualified faculty staff, promotion of researcher and student mobility around the region and with Japan, alongside encouragement of joint international program development by the member institutions. These are new collaborations among the universities in this region and also the first kind of cooperation between the academic network and the industries in ASEAN. With high expectation from the concerned parties and governments, the AUN/SEED-Net can contribute to the establishment of the ASEAN Community especially in fostering solidarity among academics and professionals and producing high-quality manpower with ASEANness.
LIST OF 26 UNIVERSITIES FROM ASEAN
Country |
University |
Note |
Brunei Darussalam |
Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB-BRU) |
|
Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) |
|
|
Cambodia |
Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC) |
|
Indonesia |
Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) |
|
Institut Teknologi Bangdung (ITB) |
|
|
Universitas Indonesia (UI) |
New |
|
InstitutTeknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) |
New |
|
Laos |
National University of Laos (NOUL) |
|
Malaysia |
Universiti of Malaya (UM) |
|
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) |
|
|
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) |
New |
|
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) |
New |
|
Myanmar |
Yangon Technological University (YTU) |
|
University of Yangon (UY) |
|
|
Philippines |
De La Salle University (DLSU) |
|
University of the Philippines-Diliman (UP/UPD) |
|
|
Mindanao State University - Illigan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) |
New |
|
Singapore |
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) |
|
National University of Singapore (NUS) |
|
|
Thailand |
Chulalongkorn University (CU) |
|
King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) |
|
|
Burapha University (BUU) |
|
|
Kasetsart University (KU) |
New |
|
Thammasat University (TU) |
New |
|
Vietnam |
Hanoi University of Science Technology (HUST) |
|
Ho Chi Minh city University of Technology (HCMUT) |
|
LIST OF 14 JAPANESE SUPPORTING UNIVERSITIES
Ord. |
University |
Note |
1 |
Hokkaido University |
|
2 |
Keio University |
|
3 |
Kyoto University |
|
4 |
Kyushu University |
|
5 |
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies |
|
6 |
Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT) |
|
7 |
Tokai University |
|
8 |
Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT) |
|
9 |
Toyohashi University of Technology (TUT) |
|
10 |
University of Tokyo |
|
11 |
Waseda University |
|
12 |
Nagoya University |
New |
13 |
Osaka University |
New |
14 |
Tohoku University |
New |
II. The implementation activities in cooperation with this project HCMUT has involved in:
- Scholarship Programs:
1.1. Master’s Degree Program
1.2. Doctoral Degree Program in Japan
1.3. Doctoral Degree Sandwich Program
1.4. Doctoral Degree Program in Singapore
1.5 Integrated Graduate Program
2. Supporting Programs:
2.1. Short-term Study Program in Japan
2.2. Short-term Research in Japan Program (SRJP)
2.3. Collaborative Research Program
2.4. Regional Conference
2.5. Japanese Professor Dispatched Program (JPDP)
2.6. Research Alumni (RA)
2.7. Short Visit Program in ASEAN (SVAS)
2.8. Collaborative Research with Industry (CRI)
2.9. Collaborative Research Alumni (CRA)
2.10. Collaborative Research Program for Common Regional Issues (CRC)
2.11. Research Fellowship (RF)
.....