UBC leads higher ed engagement with Southeast Asia

When it comes to impactful collaboration worldwide, it’s all about relationships, says Cheryl Dumaresq, Executive Director and head of UBC’s Office of Global Engagement. And right now, a big focus for the university is Southeast Asia.

In fact, UBC is amplifying its proactive engagement with the region and its universities, government, educational organizations and businesses, Dumaresq says.  

Case in point: The Office of Global Engagement hosted a campus tour and networking mixer for institutional delegates from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the Vancouver campus with the Institute of Asian Research, a founding partner of the UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, on Nov. 30 at the C.K. Choi Building. The delegates were in Vancouver for the annual Canadian Bureau for International Education conference.

Says John Roosa, Director of the Centre for Southeast Asia Research (CSEAR) under the Institute of Asian Research: “We are pleased to see the renewed interest Canada has in Southeast Asia, and we hope the visit will lead to an expansion of our existing connections. Students and researchers at Canadian and Southeast Asian universities have much to offer each other.”

We spoke with Dumaresq about UBC’s focus on the region.

Why now? The federal government launched Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy a year ago. This has created new opportunities for Canadian higher education institutions to collaborate in the region. As Canada’s educational gateway to the Asia Pacific, UBC plays a key role in building stronger academic ties with Southeast Asian institutions, which has led to closer economic, social and personal connections. UBC also hosts the Centre for Southeast Asian Research at its Institute of Asian Research—the only academic institution in Canada exclusively dedicated to the research and study of Southeast Asia.

Current focus: UBC has clearly identified ASEAN as a key priority region for international engagement. We’re committed to fostering sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships with ASEAN institutions, and our office will work to support more scholarly and student exchanges, and stronger research partnerships.  

Which countries make up the ASEAN? Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam

Who attended the UBC mixer? UBC made positive new connections with the universities represented at the event: about 50 delegates from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Also attending were Canada’s trade commissioners to Brunei, Cambodia and the Philippines; 20 UBC representatives from the Office of Global Engagement, Faculty of Education, Forestry, Land and Food Systems, Medicine, Institute of Ocean and Fisheries, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, School of Music and UBC Okanagan.

Other recent ASEAN engagement:

• Student programs: In May and June, 30 UBC students participated in research and study programs organized by UBC Go Global in Vietnam and Indonesia. They did research and study on topics including human development, policy analysis and project evaluation in the local context.
• Vietnam reception: 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Canada-Vietnam diplomatic relations. In May, the Office of Global Engagement hosted a reception in Hanoi to celebrate UBC’s educational partnerships with Vietnam. UBC alumni, students, faculty members, representatives of UBC partner institutions in Vietnam, Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training and Canada’s Ambassador to Vietnam attended the event.
• Thailand trip: In March, the Office of Global Engagement staff travelled to Thailand for the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) conference in Bangkok, marking APAIE’s first in-person conference since the COVID-19 pandemic. The group met with Dr. Sarah Taylor, Ambassador to Thailand at the Embassy of Canada, and spoke with partners about solutions to global issues in sustainable development and capacity-building, as well as elevating existing international programs, such as student exchange. In a whirlwind networking session, UBC staff joined some 40 meetings in three days with higher education and government agency reps from countries including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
• Virtual workshop: UBC’s Global Partnerships team also hosted an online best practices workshop with UBC and 40 Vietnam university administrators in August 2021. Workshop topics ranged from university management and efficiency to strategic planning, quality assurance and student services.

What’s next? Expanding UBC’s academic partnership networks in ASEAN, building mutual understanding and growing the people-to-people ties between Canada and ASEAN countries.

Closing thought: Says Kai Ostwald, Institute of Asian Research Director: “This is an exciting time for the relationship between Canada and Southeast Asia, since Canada’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy recognizes the importance of Southeast Asia and calls for stronger ties with the region. Closer collaboration between universities would have a meaningful impact in short term and bolster people-to-people ties in the longer term. That makes it really heartening to see representatives from leading Southeast Asian universities visiting UBC’s Institute of Asian Research.”

Learning about the architecture of the Asian Centre at UBC (photo: Mahnoor Lone/UBC)

Read more about the UBC Office of Global Engagement.

Find out more about the Centre for Southeast Asia Research.