Conferences

CHINLONE EIGHTH CONFERENCE "Navigating the Evolution of Myanmar Higher Education: Reflections on the 2011-2021 Timeframe (Online Seminar, 29 April 2021)"

The Chinlone final event has been the Online Seminar “Navigating the Evolution of Myanmar Higher Education: Reflections of the 2011-2021 Timeframe” held on the April 29^th 2021. Aim of this  event was to present the development of Myanmar Higher Education to a wide international audience. The two speakers were Prof. Rosalie Metro, College of Education, University of Missouri-Columbia and Prof. Antonio Fiori, CHINLONE Coordinator. During the seminar, the speakers have offered their perspectives, following their involvement in different projects on higher education reforms, on the changes universities in Myanmar have been going through in the last ten years. It has been also an opportunity to reflect on possible future evolutions of the country’s higher education sector.

Prof. Metro presented an analysis over “Neoliberalism and the Privatization of Higher Education in Myanmar: a frame based on a fragile foundation”. The presentation focused on the peculiarity of the Higher Education System in Myanmar and its limits imposed by the neoliberalist funding system. After a brief historical background over the latest Education Reform, the Professor compared several aspects of public and private HEIs, the different strategies pursued by them and the results achieved by the different strategies. The presentation ended with hypothesis for the future of Myanmar Higher Education system, with reference to the latest political events, suggesting how these could also possibly lead to a change in the educational system.

The seminar continued with the intervention of Chinlone Project Coordinator, Prof. Fiori. The first part of the presentation explained the reasons for which the Chinlone project was originally conceived, and the different frameworks of both Myanmar and Europe according to which the project was defined. The second part exposed a project overview, explaining the main features of Chinlone such as the actors involved, the aims of the project and the activities and methodologies that were used in order to accomplish them.   Finally in the third part outcomes and impacts of the project were analyzed: the training opportunities and mobilities to Europe, the creation of International Relations Offices, the policy papers that were eventually discussed with Myanmar Ministry. The presentation ended with different suggestions on key policies that could be implemented in the future, in order to keep improving the Myanmar Higher Education System.

Please have a look at the box on the right for the conference materials.

CHINLONE SEVENTH CONFERENCE "Enhancing the international dimension of Myanmar Universities: CHINLONE policy suggestions" (Online Seminar, 11 January 2021)

The CHINLONE Consortium was invited by the NEPC - National Education Policy Commission (https://www.nepc.edu.mm/) to present the activities carried out in the INTERNATIONAL RELATION PLATFORM. The National Education Policy Commission (NEPC) is a statutory body established by the National Education Law 2014 and the National Education Law Amendment 2015 to provide policies on education for the promotion of national development.

On January 11th 2021, the NEPC hosted the conference: “Enhancing the International Dimension of Myanmar Universities: «Chinlone» policy suggestions”. The event saw the Participation of Myanmar Rector’s Committee, the members of the NEPC (National Education Policy Commission), a number of Rectors of Myanmar Universities and the Consortium Partners.

Prof. Antonio Fiori (Project’s Coordinator) presented the work done in the Country in the framework of CHINLONE project, starting from an overview on the project, the used methodology and the activities implemented so far in MM with a specific focus on the INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PLATFORM.  A special attention was dedicated to the importance of Internationalization for the enhancement of the quality of education contributing to the society development. Prof. Fiori discussed about the importance of internationalization for HEIs, showing the achievements gained by the Project in this regard, and at the same time, highlighted the main challenges encountered and those which still need to be tackled. As a result, four key policy suggestions have been elaborated and opened the floor to a really interesting discussion among the participants.

Please have a look at the box on the right for the conference materials.

The event was closed by the introduction to the final event of the Project, the online conference “Shaping higher education in transitioning Myanmar” which will be held on 29-30 March 2021. Further information on the event and related call for papers available here: https://site.unibo.it/chinlone/it/call-for-papers.

CHINLONE SIXTH CONFERENCE "National Workshop: A global outlook for Myanmar Universities” (University of Yangon Research Centre, 11 January 2020)

The TOOLKIT and CHINLONE National Workshop “A global outlook for Myanmar Universities” took place on January 11^th 2020 at the University of Yangon. The event was aimed at presenting the report of the TOOLKIT project (more info about TOOLKIT project available here: https://site.unibo.it/toolkit/en), as well as the activities developed by the CHINLONE project. The Workshop saw the participation not only of MM and EU partners of the projects, but also of representatives from other MM universities of the region. The presence of representatives from other MM universities was vital in order to disseminate the good practices that the projects aim at spreading in Myanmar.

Dr. Thein Win, Director General, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Prof. Pho Kaung, Rector, University of Yangon opened the workshop with their greetings and remarks. The opening was followed by Prof. Antonio Fiori’s (CHINLONE Project Coordinator, University of Bologna) presentation about the new trends in international relations, through an overlook of University of Bologna’s internationalization strategies and approaches. Prof. Fiori provided the audience with some hints on goals and potential challenges in the implementation of strategic plans and actions for the internationalization of HEIs in the 21^st century world.

After Prof. Fiori’s presentation, the workshop continued with the presentation of the TOOLKIT Project report “Developing an Asian Way to internationalization: needs and priorities in Laos, Myanmar and Sri Lanka” held by Ms. Giovanna Filippini (Toolkit Project coordinator, University of Bologna). Ms. Filippini presented the analysis of data collected on Higher Education systems, Internationalization Policies and Strategies, Mobility and International Projects of the Asian HEIs partners of the Toolkit project, with a special focus on the challenges and needs for the implementation of these areas in MM HEIs. The morning continued with Raimonda Markeviciene’s (Vilnius University) talk about the importance of the international dimension in the development of HEIs and suggestions on how to build up a strategic plan.

The second part of the morning included a presentation held by MM Toolkit Partners, University of Yangon, Yangon University of Economics and Yezin Agricultural University. The participants presented the results of WP2 Training experience on international strategies in Vilnius University and their updated outlines of international strategies and action plans for internationalization.

The conclusive part of the workshop was focused on the challenges in establishing efficient International Relation Offices. Within this framework, Miss Ulrica Ouline (Uppsala University) exposed the challenges encountered by Uppsala University in the establishment and implementation of its Office for International Relations. After Miss Ouline’s presentation, the audience assisted to MM CHINLONE Partners’ (Dagon University and University of Mandalay) presentations, which revolved around the opportunities and challenges in the implementation of IROs in Myanmar HEIs.

If you are interested in the presentations and materials used during the conference, have a look at the box on the right!

CHINLONE FIFTH CONFERENCE "Recommendations for Curricula updating" (Dagon University, 9 January 2020)

On January 9^th 2020, Dagon University hosted the conference “CHINLONE Recommendations for Curricula updating”. The event saw the Participation of Prof. Nay Win Oo from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry on Education who opened the event followed by the speech of Prof. Nu Nu Yi, Dagon University Pro- Rector.

The conference started with the presentation held by Prof. Antonio Fiori, CHINLONE Coordinator, University of Bologna, exposing the activities and results achieved during the WP 3 - Educational Platform and key recommendations for Curricula updating.

During the first part of the morning Aurora del Rio, University of Granada held a presentation on the recommendations for curricula updating in the field of Economics. The presentation revolved around the ways in which the curricula could be updated and the actors involved in the process (other universities approach, stakeholders to involve…). She exposed the activities that the Task force for Economics of tourism carried out during the mobility period at the University of Granada. The main focus was on a student’s centred approach taking into account students employability at the end of their study period, stakeholders involvement and impact on the society.

The conference continued with the recommendations on curricula updating in Oriental Studies held by Prof. Marco Franceschini, University of Bologna. The focus was on the learning outcomes and career profiles of graduates. The key recommendation given for the curricula updating has been to cover broader areas of studies by including the study of extra-Buddhist literatures, philosophy and religions, enhancing the teaching of subjects like History of Buddhism  and gaining a wider view on the history of Buddhism worldwide.

The second part of the morning started with the presentation held by Prof. Yi Yi Lwin, Dagon University, exposing the training experience in Uppsala University, Sweden and the recommendations for the Law curricula updating.

The focus was on enabling students to conserve cultural heritage and to deal with the changes the tourism industry may bring to the society.

Among the suggestions given it has been highlighted the need of including law on cultural heritage and tourism industry in the environmental law curricula.

The event continued with the presentation held by prof. Than Than Thein from Dagon University who exposed the experience of the Mobility Task Force in Cultural Heritage at Uppsala University dealing with the Archaeology Curriculum updating. After exposing the experience learned and the main differences between the two universities, Prof. Than Than Thein recommended the need to upgrade the Archaeology department and its laboratories, the need of GIS and RS experts and the proposal to include of courses addressing the themes on how to preserve the archaeological sites in the updated curricula.   

The suggestion for History Curriculum updating have been exposed by Prof. Mho Mho Thant, University of Yangon. She started her presentation describing how she applied the knowledge acquired during the mobility period in Uppsala University to organize and deliver the cascade training for University of Yangon staff once back in Myanmar. She included the recommendation for curricula updating in History like the possible inclusion of new courses, the need of a shift to a student centred approach and a focus on key concepts and processes rather than on facts and figures in delivering courses.

In the last part of the morning prof. Soe Win form Yezin Agricultural University exposed the experience of the mobility period at the Agricultural and food Science of the University of Bologna and how he conveyed the acquired experience to the YAU staff during the organized cascade training once back in MM.  The main recommendations for the updating of BA and Master Degree in Agricultural Science were: creation of smaller classes, need of more involvement for students, enhancement of the teaching quality.

Conference presentations available in the box on the right.

CHINLONE FOURTH CONFERENCE "Managing Academic Affairs from Theory into Practice: a Direct Experience from Myanmar Academic Leadership" (Yangon, 12 July 2019)

On July 12^th 2019, The University of Yangon hosted CHINLONE Final WP2 Conference.

The event was opened to all Higher Education Institutions of the Country with the aim of presenting the results and the activities carried out by the CHINLONE Project.

The conference turned out to be a great success with the participation of representatives from more than 150 Myanmar Institutions. The event started with the opening remarks from Myo Kywe, Chairman of National Education Policy Commission (NEPC), Prof. Thein Win Director General of Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Prof.  Antonio Fiori, CHINLONE Project Coordinator.

Licia Proserpio (UNIBO Coordination Team), presented the activities done within the CHINLONE project to support Myanmar Universities in the management of academic affairs. Following this introduction, Prof. Omar Kyaw and Prof. Nilar Kyu from the University of Yangon exposed the management tools for curriculum development implemented in the framework of the Projects’ activities.

The second session of the conference was dedicated to the management of quality assurance. Aurora Del Rio from the University of Granada, gave an introduction on the actions carried out by the Project Consortium in this regards during the development of WP2. The topic was later addressed by the exposure of MM Institutions’ direct experience held by Prof. Nilar Myint Htoo and Prof. Soe Thu of Yangon University of Economics and Prof. Min Min Yee and Prof. Kyawt Kyawt Khine of Mandalay University.

During the second part of the morning, the topic of management of University Quality Assurance was exposed more in details by focusing on the Teaching Staff’s Quality assurance. Geir Gunnlaugsson and Ulrica Ouline (Uppsala University) introduced the discussion, followed by the presentation of Myanmar Partners held by of Prof. Nu Nu Yi, Prof. Mi Khin Saw Aung, Prof. Lei Lei Wai from Dagon University.

During the last part of the morning, the Conference focused on the topic of External Stakeholders’ Quality Assurance. Angela Ribeiro Cavazzuti (UNIBO) presented the activities implemented in the framework of CHINLONE Project and as in the previous sessions of the conference, the introduction was followed by the direct experience of Myanmar partners presented by Prof. Soe Win from Yezin Agricultural University.

For every session, CHINLONE European Partners introduced the topics in English, followed by the presentation of the MM Partner Universities in Myanmar language. This gave the opportunity to maximise the communication of the achieved results to the entire audience, allowing MM Partners to expose their direct experience in their own language.  

The afternoon was entirely dedicated to table discussions on the topics addressed by the conference with the involvement of all the participants, including MM Institutions external to the CHINLONE Consortium. 

The final remarks from Prof. Zaw Wai Soe, Chairman of the Rectors’ Committee closed the event.

If you are interested in the presentations and materials used during the conference, have a look at the box on the right!

CHINLONE THIRD CONFERENCE "Opening New Ways: Supporting Internationalization Strategies at Myanmar Universities" (Brussels, 13 – 15 February 2019)

After a first wrap up assembly held on 13 February 2019, CHINLONE’s Third Project Conference of the WP2 Management platform focused on the implementation strategies of Myanmar Universities international relations.

The first meeting day (14 February 2019) started with a presentation of the CHINLONE Action Plan aimed at supporting and implementing Myanmar International Relation Strategies and Tools. In fact, during this conference, the basis for CHINLONE internationalization activities have been settled, focusing primarily on the strategies. It was also explained that activities will be developed with concrete actions during the WP4 supporting the implementation of the internationalization strategy. Afterwards, the meeting’s attendees were presented the strategies of two important EU universities, University of Cologne represented by Mariana Arjona-Soberon and the Ghent University, represented by Jean Dhont.

After the lunch break, the attendees had the chance to better get to know the EU’s policy and actors in education and cooperation. Gianpaolo Suriano (Policy Officer of the Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture at the European Commission) explained how the Erasmus+ Programme has been working since the 2015’s re-organization and explained which changes the programme will include in the next European action for 2021 -2027. Mr Suriano’s speech was followed by a presentation held by Alejandro Montalbán (International Aid/Cooperation Officer at the East, South-East Asia and the Pacific Directorate General for International Development and Cooperation) focused on the European Commission’s future development perspectives in the cooperation sector with reference to Myanmar Higher Education.

On 15 February 2019, Fiona Hunter, Associate Director of the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy) led a training session on the topic “Internationalisation of Higher Education - Which direction for Myanmar universities?”. Specifically, the training was divided into four phases, focused on the trends, definitions, and rationales in internationalization, on the building process of a roadmap for internationalization, and on how international partnerships are strategically thought. The final aim of the training was to support the Myanmar Universities in building up their own roadmap, defining their own vision and mission at the international relations level.

Useful materials about the presentations are available in the box on the right.

CHINLONE SECOND CONFERENCE "Towards Academic Autonomy: Tools for Curriculum Design and Quality Assurance"
(Granada, 26 - 27 November 2018)

On 26 and 27 November 2018, the second conference of the CHINLONE Management Platform was held at the University of Granada (Spain) and covered the core topics of curriculum design and quality assurance.

Today’s main theme in the Myanmar Higher Education System is increasing the autonomy of Higher Education Institutions. To achieve this goal, it is crucial to problematise and rethink the organisation of university curricula also by taking into account the issue of quality assurance.

Against this backdrop, Granada’s conference started with a visit to the host University’s Quality Assurance Offices, where participants were explained how the QA System of the University of Granada works, what is their vision, their mission, and the challenges they face.

After this visit, , encompassing both Myanmar HEIs and EU partners, discussed the WP2.2 assignments, whose goal was to analyse degree programmes in the fields of Humanities and Cultural Heritage, Economics of Tourism, and Agricultural Sciences on the basis of a student-centred approach, also considering the goal of developing staff mobility agreements (WP3 – Educational Platform). In particular, the work groups were composed as follows:

1. University of Yangon and University of Granada
2. Yangon University of Economics and University of Granada
3. Yezin Agricultural University and University of Bologna
4. Mandalay University and University of Bologna
5. Dagon University and Uppsala University

During the conference’s second day, the debate over QA practices was further enhanced by bringing into relief the most suitable monitoring tools for quality assurance. The discussion has been divided into three sub-sessions, one for each specific target group involved in and/or touched by QA practices: students, teaching staff members, and external stakeholders.

As far as students are concerned, Aurora Del Rio (University of Granada, Spain) provided examples of strategies for mapping and analysing students feedbacks and opinions thanks to surveys. These are an extremely useful tools to proactively evaluate both teaching units and teaching staff members in an anonymous way. CHINLONE partners will develop and pilot a survey tailor-made to the Myanmar context by summer 2019.

As regards teaching staff members, Geir Gunnlaugsson (Uppsala University, Sweden) emphasized how instructors can be supported in gaining a reflective approach to their own teaching practice as to the background factors and context that circumscribe higher education. CHINLONE partners will plan continuous education programmes specifically designed for instructors and for the Myanmar context by summer 2019.

With respect to stakeholder external to academia (e.g. employers, representatives of the “civil society” , alumni, and higher education institutions), Angela Ribeiro Cavazzuti (University of Bologna, Italy) explained how they can play a pivotal role in designing the structure of degree programmes, in proactively monitoring their success, and in defining the universities’ strategic planning. These aspects will be further explored in the next CHINLONE conference in Brussels.

Useful materials about the presentations are available in the box on the right.

CHINLONE FIRST CONFERENCE "Reforming Higher Education: a Lesson from the Bologna Process" (Nay Pyi Taw, 4 September 2018)

More than 90 Myanmar universities, the country's Minister of Education, the Director General of Myanmar’s Department of Higher Education, numerous HE experts from EU academic institutions, the Deputy Head of Cooperation from the EU delegation to Myanmar, and the Italian designated Ambassador! With such an exceptional audience and lecturers, the CHINLONE Conference on ‘Reforming Higher Education: a Lesson from the Bologna Process’ turned out to be a great success. After the opening remarks of the project’s Coordinator, Prof. Antonio Fiori, the meeting has been enriched by the contribution of Prof Joaquim Carvalho (University of Coimbra), who lectured on ‘The Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area’. His presentation was followed by the intervention of Ms.Giovanna Filippini and Angela Ribeiro (University of Bologna), who addressed the participants regarding ‘The approach of the European Standards and guidelines for quality assurance’, before leaving the floor to Prof Loreta Skurvydaitė (Vilnius University) and her insightful remarks on ‘Curriculum development: the design of study program & degree course’. Subsequently, the focus of our discussion moved to the topic of ‘Policy for quality assurance and on-going monitoring of the degree programs’. In the afternoon, instead, the conference agenda revolved around a series of ad hoc Group Discussions, ranging from the issue of University strategic planning process and quality assurance mechanisms to the most relevant challenges in terms of design of study programs. After a very fruitful day of brainstorming, the conference was wrapped up by the considerations of HE Dr Myo Thein Gyi, Myanmar's Minister of Education, who addressed the audience on the ways through which the Chinlone experience can actually be significant for Myanmar’s Higher Education Sector.

The Conference was anrticipated and followed by the second Project meeting which took place on September 3rd,5th and 6th. (see meetings for more details)