On 8-9 July 2015, the Kick-off Meetings of the Great Mekong Sub-region (GMS) University Consortium and the Academic Credit Transfer Framework for Asia were held in Vientiane, Laos. The Meetings were participated by officials from the Ministry of Education and 22 universities from the GMS countries, namely, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam and China. Five of the six participating countries were ASEAN Member States. Ms. Sun Xuejing, education officer of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), participated in the Meeting.
The GMS University Consortium (GMS-UC) was initiated by Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO RIHED) and Asian Development Bank (ADB). Supported and facilitated by ACC, Guangxi Education Department and Yunnan Provincial Education Department participated in this programme. Through ACC's efforts, Guangxi University for Nationalities, Guangxi Normal University, Yunnan University and Kunming University of Science and Technology were nominated and approved as members of the GMS University Consortium.
Dr. Chantavit Sujatanond, Director of SEAMEO RIHED, and Dr. Wolfgang Kubizki from ADB in their remarks said the Consortium aimed at promoting students mobility, faculty exchanges and intercollegiate cooperation among universities in this region. They also added that the Consortium would enhance connectivity, cooperation and competitiveness of this region. Experts from Thailand, the Philippines and Japan delivered keynote speeches on the Academic Credit Transfer Framework and students mobility in the GMS area, while officials from each country shared their views on governmental roles in GMS-UC and the development of Academic Credit Transfer Framework. Representatives from 22 universities discussed on the GMS-UC strategic plan, working mechanisms, and priority cooperation areas.
At the Meeting, representatives from 22 universities signed a Joint Declaration of the Great Mekong Sub-region University Consortium, marking an official establishment of the Consortium. A steering committee would be formed, and regular working group meetings and workshops would be held under the Consortium.
The ACC representative actively participated in the Meetings and facilitated the representatives from China to discuss on the Joint Declaration and other working documents. She also visited the Confucius School, jointly operated by National University of Laos and Guangxi University for Nationalities, and Laos National Academy of Social Science, together with the representatives from Guangxi Education Department and the two universities from Guangxi.
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