Higher education institutions need to further strengthen their management and administration including governance to improve overall quality, efficiency, relevance, equity and access.
This was the message conveyed when the European Union in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Sports and the National University of Laos (NUOL) held the 2nd European Union-Laos Higher Education Policy and Cooperation Roadshow in Vientiane yesterday.
The event joins others in Luang Prabang, Savannakhet and Champassak provinces which in total attracted almost 1,000 people.
The purpose of the event was to provide a platform for discussion and exchange of views between Laos and the European Union, including EU Member States, on how to improve the quality of higher education, to strengthen exchange and cooperation, and to promote study and training opportunities in Europe.
The EU-Laos Higher Education Roadshow is important to enhance education exchanges between the two parties. Through people-to-people contacts and academic exchanges, Laos and Europe will get to know each other better and work closer together.
After the three events in the provinces and this one in Vientiane, EU Ambassador to Laos Mr Leo Faber said he hoped to see an increasing number of EU-Laos Partnership projects under the Erasmus Plus Programme, more students from Laos going to Europe for their studies, and increasing numbers of European staff and students coming for exchanges in Laos.
At the event participants shared their experiences of higher education and discussed the priorities of higher education in Laos, regional and international integration in higher education and cooperation between EU and Lao universities.
Since 2004, more than 250 students from Laos have received scholarships from the European Union Erasmus Mundus Programme to further their studies at various levels ranging from professional training, bachelor, master’s and doctorate degrees in the European Union.
EU Member States such as the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom also regularly provide scholarships for students from Laos.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Education and Sports, Ms Sengdeuan Lachanthaboun, Acting President of NUOL, Prof. Dr Somsy Gnophanxay, EU Ambassador to Laos, Mr Leo Faber, German Ambassador to Laos, Mr Michael Grau, members of the diplomatic corps, education officials and students.
Source: Vientiane Times
