Representatives of governments and leading universities in ASEAN and Japan gathered in Bangkok on November 29, 2012 to sign on the Cooperative Framework of the AUN/SEED-Net or ASEAN University Network/Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network. 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 AUN/SEED-Net was established in 2001 from the initiative derived at the ASEAN – Japan Summit as a framework toward sustainable development after the economic crisis that stroke the Asian region. Initially the Network comprises 19 leading engineering institutions in ASEAN and 11 supporting universities in Japan. These top universities cooperate in joint supervision of AUN/SEED-Net scholars, researches, program development, knowledge exchange and technology transfer. 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’s and doctoral levels to strengthen the faculty qualifications and academic capacities. From this huge number over 500 have graduated from ASEAN countries as well as Japan. 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.
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.
The Signing of the Cooperative Framework was a significant milestone for the AUN/SEED-Net Network since the Inauguration Ceremony. The new Cooperative Framework was made for the operation of the AUN/SEED-Net from March 2013 onwards, identifying the structure and the expansion of the Network. From next March, the Network will include seven new Member Institutions from ASEAN: University of Indonesia and Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember from Indonesia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia from Malaysia, Mindanao State University – Illigan Institute of Technology from the Philippines, and Kasetsart University and Thammasat University from Thailand; plus three new supporting universities from Japan: Nagoya University, Osaka University, and Tohoku University.
For five years from now, 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.