Creating Multilateral Collaboration Mechanism- Experiences of JICA’s STI Higher Education Cooperation -Naoki Umemiya, Ph.D.
Japan International Cooperation Agency
at JASTIP Symposium
December 13, 2021
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ASEAN-Japan Cooperation in STI• Global/regional issues• Climate change, disaster prevention & mitigation, infectious
diseases• Rich storehouse of next-generation natural resources & rawmaterials• Difficult for one country alone to address them
• Resource sharing through ASEAN-Japan cooperation inresearch & education• Mechanism for multilateral cooperation
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JICA’s STI Higher Education Cooperation inSE Asia
• Technical & financial cooperation to strengthen leading universities via
technical & financial cooperation• 26 universities in 10 ASEAN countries under ASEAN University
Network/SEED-Net• Cambodia Institute of Technology• Institute Technology Bandung & Gadjah Mada U in Indonesia• National U of Laos
• Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology• Myanmar Technological Universities• Chulalongkorn U, KMITL in Thailand• Vietnam-Japan U & Can Tho U in Vietnam
Source: ITB HP3

JICA’s STI Higher Education Cooperation inSE Asia
• SATREPS to promote international
joint research on global issues, withJST• A number of joint research between
ASEAN and Japan• Example: Development of low carbon
society for Asian regions, led by Kyoto Uand Universiti Teknologi Malaysia(UTM) and Iskandar Regional
Development Authorities (IRDA)
Source: SATREPS HP

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JICA’s STI Higher Education Cooperation inSE Asia
• Primary objective is to help strengthening education &research capacity• Components on university network & international jointprograms• Linkage with universities in other countries along withglobalization & issues crossing borders

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ASEAN University Network/ Southeast Asia Engineering Education
Development Network (AUN/SEED-Net Project)

67Framework of AUN/SEED-Net
Advanced ASEANCountries*
Host U.
Master’s/Doctoral
programs inASEAN

Japanese U.

Co-supervisionInter-University
Network

Collaborative
Research
Co-supervision

Sending staff

留学生の研究参加

Networking
Sending staff

CLMV**
Sending U.

Field-wise Regional Conference
Japanese staff dispatch
Short-term visits to Japan
Short-term visits in ASEAN* Advanced ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore & Thailand** CLMV: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar & Vietnam

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Achievements of AUN/SEED-Net Project
1. Improvement of Quality ofAcademic Staff
Over 1,400 academic staff at
Member Institutions obtained
master’s degree and/or Ph.D.

3. Establishment of Network
A human resources network
developed and participated by400 ASEAN and 200 Japanese
academic staff.

2. Improvement of Quality ofResearchMore than 700 collaborative
research projects undertaken andmore than 1000 academic papers
have been published.

4. Linkage between universities
and industry
University-Industry collaboration
promoted through collaborative
research with Industry.
9SEED-Net• Bringing together strength & resources of eachmember to address common issues• From vertical to horizontal network• as multilateral co-creative mechanism• linking 40 leading universities in ASEAN-Japan

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Coordination in SEED-Net• To set common goals• To identify & match needs & strength of member countries &Us• To formulate win-win programs• To gain competitive funds• Logistical arrangements such as documentation, meetingarrangements• Significant amount of “cost” for coordination
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Coordination in SEED-Net• Secretariat office in Bangkok: 17 Japanese and Thai staff• JICA HQs & ASEAN country offices• Focal point at each member U: academic & admin staff• Players at each member U: academic staff• Future direction• To strengthen coordination function of member Us• STI Coordinator can play important roles
12Expectation for STI Coordinator• Surging needs to promote multilateral cooperation in STI• STI coordinator can play important roles for smooth &effective implementation of multilateral cooperation• To identify policy, needs & challenges of ASEAN, governments anduniversities• To network with governments, Us, research institutes, funding
agencies• To propose & implement innovative programs
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Challenges and Way Forward• Human resources development• Budget for personnel & activities• Commitment by ASEAN, member countries and Us
Coordination does cost, but it is worth investing, and costburden should be shared.

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Thank you for your attention!

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