The Signing Ceremony of Cooperative Framework of AUN/SEED-Net Transitional Period

The 27^th AUN/SEED-Net Steering Committee Meeting was conducted on 16 December, 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand. This was also a momentous occasion as the event marked the 20th year since the establishment of the ASEAN University Network/Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network (AUN/SEED-Net), a thematic network of AUN, and the beginning of the transitional period. In order to initiate the next stage, The Signing Ceremony of Cooperative Framework of AUN/SEED-Net Transitional Period was officiated at this Steering Committee Meeting. This signing was jointly organized by the AUN/SEED-Net Secretariat and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and was attended by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), Thailand, representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat, representatives of the AUN/SEED-Net Member Institutions, Japanese Supporting Universities (JSUs), as well as invited observers.

The AUN/SEED-Net thematic network was initially conceptualized at the ASEAN-Japan Summit Meeting in 1997. Discussions concluded that there was a need to upgrade higher education in the engineering field by creating engineering institution networks throughout ASEAN and resulted in the establishment of AUN/SEED-Net in 2001. After two years of preparation, full-scale operation as a JICA technical cooperation project began in March 2003 and will last until 2023. Throughout the 20 years, the AUN/SEED-Net network has undergone the process of four Phases, each lasting 5 years. Now that the four Phases have been completed, AUN/SEED-Net will now proceed to its Transitional Period during 2023 to 2026, after which the AUN/SEED-Net will continue to be a hub for ASEAN and Japanese universities and to further build connections. 

The 27^th AUN/SEED-Net Steering Committee Meeting, began with Prof. Dr. Kasem Choocharakul reporting on the following current programs:

1. Collaborative Education Program (CEP)
2. Alumni Support Program for Event (ASP-E)
3. Regional Conference (RC)
4. Collaborative Research with External Partners (CRX)
5. Public Relations (PR) Materials: The AUN/SEED-Net 20th Anniversary Booklet
6. ASEAN Engineering Journal (AEJ)

Highlights of the Collaborative Education Program were shared, and afterwards a presentation on the plans of AUN/SEED-Net Transitional Period were given by Mr. Daisuke Ueda, Deputy Director General, Human Development Department, JICA; and Prof. Emeritus Dr. Tamon Ueda, Chief Advisor and Acting Executive Director, AUN/SEED-Net Secretariat.

The meeting came to a conclusion with The Signing Ceremony of Cooperative Framework of AUN/SEED-Net Transitional Period. It proceeded with the signatories of Prof. Sirirurg Songsivilai, M.D., Ph.D., Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Thailand, Chairman of the AUN Board of Trustees; and Ms. Sachiko Imoto, Senior Vice President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Headquarters; and was also witnessed by Ms. Rodora Turalde-Babaran, Director of Human Development ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Department. AUN/SEED-Net will be smoothly transferred to AUN Secretariat and the network among universities of ASEAN countries and Japan will be continuously utilized and strengthened. This will guarantee the continuation of AUN/SEED-Net, a long-standing thematic network of AUN that has grown to levels beyond where it initially started from. AUN/SEED-Net started as a robust network of collaborations for ASEAN and Japanese universities. Today it has flourished into a strong community of practitioners in the Engineering field through the many years of collaboration.