Taking Action at the International Level
SDGs as a Catalyst to Reorient Internationalisation
“Education serves as a means of implementation (MOI) that cuts across all of the SDGs and will support the overall achievement of the post-2015 development agenda, for which education is recognised as having one of the highest long-term returns on investment of all development goals,” Robert and Paul.In a narrower context, internationalisation in education is significantly driven by universities. Internationalisation in university is viewed to optimise international opportunities and developments. To further understand internationalisation in university, this paper takes a case study of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, aiming to discuss about (1) the Purposes of university in internationalisation, (2) the Focuses or Policies of internationalisation, (3) the Benefits of internationalisation, and (4) the Relations between internationalisation in the university and the Sustainable Development Goals. The method of this study is an In-depth Interview with the director of the International Relations Office (IRO) of the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP).
I. Purposes of University in Internationalisation
RUPP is a flagship university of Cambodia, having the largest number of students. Not only is it a home for higher education to local students, but also to a number of exchange students. RUPP opens its doors for international mobility, which supports both inbound and outbound activities. Internationalisation is not new for the largest national university. The establishment of the International Relations Office (IRO) allowed to ease the process of internationalisation more than ever. The Director of IRO states that RUPP has clear and direct purposes for the internationalisation of the university. “First of all, we internationalise our institution to improve the quality of education,” said Mr. Vong Chorvy, director of IRO. He continues saying that “in that sense we are committing and assisting our students and staff to move to different places, conferences, and study programmes.” He mentions that the university aims to send students and staff to experience different life in different places and different study programs from different countries. “That is very important and that is what RUPP has been doing to provide the best assistance to our inbound and outbound students,” he said.
II. Focuses or Policies of Internationalisation: Students Mobility, Credit Transfer, Quality Assurance
RUPP regards internationalisation as one of the priorities among others. “The internationalisation in RUPP focuses on student and staff mobility, conference and joint research,” said Mr. Chorvy. RUPP aims to assist students and staff mobility by having MOU with different universities across the world, partnering with various programmes, such as EU-SHARE and Erasmus programmes. In addition, to improve the process of internationalisation in university, RUPP also actively participates in international conferences on student mobility, credit transfer system and quality assurance. The university also welcomes joint research programmes with different institutions.
III. The Benefits of Internationalisation: Students, Teachers and Community
Mr. Chorvy stresses the importance of internationalisation in university: “It helps students and staff being exposed to different study programmes and culture and it is very important that they bring back the knowledge from the world to refine and develop our education and community.” He mentions that “not only does our job [internationalisation] help our university to provide better quality of education, but it also helps students and staff to strengthen their knowledge and skills for future job opportunities and social contribution.” He implies that by having study mobility, students are equipped with better knowledge, social skills and culture understanding and that helps them to find jobs more easily, locally or abroad. At the university level, internationalisation allows the exchange of ideas, knowledge and skills that help university to provide better study programmes to the students. At the community level, internationalisation in university allows students and staff to see the possibility of networking, to initiate social projects, and to support the community.
IV. Relations between University Internationalisation and Sustainable Development Goals
When asked about the relations between internationalisation in university and the SDGs, Mr. Chorvy says there is a strong linkage between the two. “Education plays a vital role in supporting our basic daily life, responding to social and world change,” he explains. “SDGs are global commitments and those goals need global efforts. Internationalisation in university responds to the commitments because by internationalising our institution and boosting the mobility of our students and staff, we are partnering with others to see the problems and collaboratively find responsive solutions to reach our goal,” said Mr. Chorvy. He also mentions that education is important for achieving all of the other goals. If the university can produce quality education, it helps the citizens to respond to the problems effectively and if the university supports the students and staff to mobilise, it promotes students’ motivation, networks and cooperation that will turn into action to achieve all the goals.
Written by Uk Dararath, ACR7 participant from Cambodia
Reference
Robert J. D. and Paul O. The Role of Education in the Sustainable Development Agenda: Empowering a Learning Society for Sustainability through Quality Education. Retrieved from https://pub.iges.or.jp/pub/role-education-sustainable-development-agenda
Interviewee
Mr. Vong Chorvy, a director of International Relations Office of Royal University of Phnom Penh
