Connecting Across Cultures: Building Multinational Education Partnerships in the Mekong Basin

1. Connecting Across Cultures: Building Multinational Education Partnerships in the Mekong Basin Presented by Professor Roberto Rabel Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) Victoria University of Wellington ‘Going Global 2012’ London, United Kingdom 14 March 2012

2. Challenges of Capacity Building for Developed World • Multiple pressures on contemporary universities in developed world: teaching, research, equity, service, innovation, economic growth, social transformation, international outreach. • Resource limitations—more with less. • Internationalisation vs. ‘export education’ as competing paradigms. • Is international capacity-building still appropriate for universities in rapidly changing global environment? If so, how to develop institutional strategies and mobilise resources?

3. Challenges of Capacity Building in Emerging Economies • Multiple pressures on contemporary universities in emerging economies: teaching, research, equity, service, innovation, economic growth, social transformation, international outreach. • Resource limitations—in spades! • Challenge of English as lingua franca of academe and business. • International capacity-building imperative but how to develop institutional strategies and mobilise resources?

4. Collaboration as a Response • One response is multinational collaboration on basis of genuine partnerships. • Offers mutual benefits, shared burdens, more appeal to third parties for funding. • Raises prospects of multiple synergies if developed creatively, especially the nurturing of long-term connections among universities in developed and emerging economies. • Perfect fit for universities with integrated internationalisation strategies which include equity and international development objectives, such as VUW.

5. Greater Mekong Subregion Tertiary Education Consortium GMSTEC is a charitable trust and multinational network established in 2002 with a mission of: Sharing knowledge and building cultural understanding; Advancing the quality and diversity of programmes offered among GMSTEC members; Expanding learning and research opportunities available to staff and students in GMS, New Zealand and Australian universities; Mobilising academic and other resources to assist development of the Greater Mekong Subregion. GMSTEC has contributed to capacity building by combining local and international expertise to provide a unique perspective on challenges for higher education in the Mekong Basin and to deliver university-led solutions to these challenges.

6. GMSTEC Members New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington Australia: The Australian National University Thailand: Khon Kaen University King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi Cambodia: Royal University of Phnom Penh Royal University of Agriculture Lao PDR: National University of Laos Vietnam: National Economics University, Hanoi University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City Hanoi University of Science and Technology Can Tho University China: Yunnan University

7. GMSTEC Achievements (1) • Capacity building programmes in Lao PDR and Vietnam on: Managing Network Infrastructure; Social Protection; and, Strategic Human Resource Management. • Capacity building in English language training; Royal University of Phnom Penh. • Teacher Development Workshops in Thailand • Workshop on Development studies in the Mekong Region. • Training needs analysis for government officials in the GMS. • Text books for Cambodian Universities campaign.

8. GMSTEC Achievements (2) • International conference on Sustainable Development for the GMS in Bangkok in 2010. • GMSTEC Research Fellowship Programme. • GMSTEC Research Grant Programme • Two planned GMSTEC Symposia for 2012 on Climate Change Impacts in the GMS and China’s engagement with the GMS. • Planned Mekong Study Abroad programme for 2013

9. Conclusion: GMSTEC as Case for Multinational Capacity-building (1) • Challenges of using multinational networks for capacity-building include: • Cross-cultural communication; • Managing diverse academic cultures, resources and interests; • Institutional vs. individual/faculty buy-in & commitment; • Sustaining momentum as ‘coalitions of the willing’; • Amassing concrete achievements; • Justifying opportunity costs and funding.

10. Conclusion: GMSTEC as Case for Multinational Capacity-building (2) • Benefits of using multinational networks for capacity-building include: • Research collaboration to facilitate academically informed contributions to GMS development challenges; • Enhanced English, research and teaching capacity for GMS universities; • Innovative networking opportunities; • Multidimensional and multinational interactions amongst partners rather than narrowly focused, bilateral interactions; • Profile-building and other opportunities in GMS for VUW and ANU, such as VUW campus in Vietnam in cooperation with the University of Economics-HCMC. • Above all, ventures such as GMSTEC create platforms and frameworks for capacity-building in emerging economies while facilitating the enduring multinational partnerships among universities that will increasingly characterise the globalised international education era we are entering.