chanhengmenh/aupp-chatbot huggingface dataset:
AUPP Showcases its Programs at Second Open House
Date: 2014-07-21T17:06:00

Over four hundred hundred visitors – mainly students and teachers from Phnom Penh high schools – visited the campus of the American University of Phnom Penh (AUPP) on Saturday July 19 for the University’s second Open House. The event was designed to provide an opportunity for prospective students, their teachers and parents, and members of the public an opportunity to see the AUPP campus, attend typical university classes, and learn about the University’s mission and the programs it offers.

The morning’s events began with an opening session in which the visitors were welcomed to AUPP by Dr. Margaret Hartman, Interim Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, who highlighted the high academic standards set by the University and gave an overview of the AUPP’s vision and the programs it offers. Mr. Chris Campbell, AUPP Director of Admissions, then gave the students a step-by-step explanation of the AUPP admissions process, and explained the University’s admissions criteria. The visitors then heard an AUPP student’s perspective of the University from freshman Kaknika Lin (pictured above), who talked about the advantages of studying at a university that offers an American-style curriculum, taught by highly qualified and experienced foreign faculty.

Following the opening session, visitors had the option of attending a lecture by one of three AUPP faculty members or participating in a question and answer session with current AUPP students. The morning’s events ended with refreshments and an opportunity for visiting students and their teachers to meet and talk with AUPP students, faculty, administrators, and members of the Board of Trustees.
AUPP Students Learn from their MIT Counterparts
Date: 2014-07-16T14:06:00

The American University of Phnom Penh (AUPP) was proud to host four visiting scholars from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Saturday, July 12, 2014. Mr. Alexander Spencer Lim, a Cambodian-American scholar at MIT, gave a presentation entitled Sharing Experience as a First Generation Cambodian-American Student at MIT.

Alexander Spencer Lim is a candidate for a BS in Biological Engineering with a minor in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, one of the world’s most prestigious higher educational institutions. He is also an undergraduate researcher at the McGovern Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Mr. Lim received several academic honors in 2012, including the Khmer Parent Association Southeast Asian Scholarship, awarded to ASEAN students who have demonstrated academic excellence and outstanding community services.

Following Mr. Lim’s presentation, AUPP students participated in a question and answer session with other MIT scholars Maya Ramachandran, Dana Vigue, and Jessica Torres. Topics included the research projects and general interests of the MIT scholars, the challenge of balancing the demands of a rigorous academic curriculum with a healthy social life, and maintaining personal relationships with friends and family while attending a university located far from home.

After the question and answer session, students broke into small groups and continued informal discussions on a variety of topics ranging from academics to the cultural differences between the United States and Cambodia.

“The students at AUPP were incredibly kindhearted, friendly, and genuinely happy,” Alexander Lim said following the event, “I will never forget my visit – everyone was smiling; this is the image that will be associated in my head whenever I hear about AUPP.”
AUPP Students Learn from Professionals in Law Career Hour
Date: 2014-07-01T13:57:00

Three practitioners in the field of law visited AUPP on June 17th to take part in the first in a series of three Career Hour discussions on each of the three major programs offered by the University: Law, Business and Economics, and Political Science and Diplomacy.

Judge You Ottara obtained a Masters Degree in Law from Kazakhstan National University in 1995 and has practiced law in Cambodia in various different capacities since then. He began as an official in the Department of Criminal and Civil Affairs in the Ministry of Justice, and worked his way up to become a Judge of the Supreme Court. Judge Ottara also works at the Appeals Court and at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

In his remarks, Judge Ottara explained to students the rationale behind having a system of criminal and civil law, and outlined what he sees as the four main functions of law: defending society from the evils that would befall it in the absence of laws, promoting the common good, resolving issues over limited resources, and encouraging people to “do the right thing.”

Brad Gordon is an American lawyer and member of the New York Bar; he has practiced law in Cambodia for six years, and is founder and Managing Partner of the Phnom Penh-based law firm Gordon and Associates, a firm dealing mainly with a corporate clientele, particularly in the tourism and hospitality industry. He spoke about the challenges of working as a foreign lawyer in Cambodia, abiding by the practices and legal culture of the country while at the same time making sure that he complies with the stringent requirements of the New York Bar. Mr. Gordon also talked to prospective law students about the work he does on an everyday basis, including drawing up of contracts and conducting due diligence investigations of companies (the equivalent of a “legal health check,” he explained.) He is most proud, he said, of the fact that over the years he and his firm have been able to train many Cambodians on how to deal with international clients.

The third Career Hour speaker was Mr. Hak Sok Heng, a US graduate who works both for Gordon and Associates and for Cambodia’s Council of Ministers. He highlighted several important parts of his job, including that of helping foreigners understand the Cambodian legal system. He stressed to students that obtaining a university qualification is not in itself enough to ensure career success, in law or any other field. “You need to update yourself all the time,” he said, “just as you need to update the apps on your phone when a new version comes out.”

The next Career Hour will feature speakers from the world of business and economics; a date has not yet been announced, but when it is it will be posted on the AUPP website.
Dr. Sharon Siverts To Be New AUPP President
Date: 2014-06-27T13:54:00

The Board of Trustees of the American University of Phnom Penh today announced the appointment of Dr. Sharon A. Siverts as the University’s new President. Dr. Siverts will begin her duties on 1st July 2014.

Dr. Siverts brings to AUPP a long history of experience as a teacher, administrator, and educational strategic planner. She has, as Vice Chancellor or the equivalent position of President, led the Universities of Lesotho and Botswana, Kampala International University, and the American University of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE.) In the United States she served as Associate Provost at George Mason University in Virginia, and as Vice President for Academic Affairs at North Dakota State University and at Metropolitan State College of Denver in Colorado.

Sharon Siverts has considerable experience in strategic planning for institutions of higher education, in teacher education, and in international education. In the UAE she was Director of the Commission for Academic Administration of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research; she also served as a Senior Program Specialist in Higher Education and Teacher Education at UNESCO in Paris.

Dr. Siverts received her Ph.D. in Education from the Pennsylvania State University, and her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Ohio University. She was a Fulbright Fellow in the Philippines and Germany, and served as a Board member of Association of Commonwealth Universities, Associate Board member of the International Association of Universities and International Association of University Presidents. She speaks and writes in the areas of international education, teacher education, higher education, and human ecology. She has been active in HIV-AIDS education, and has worked with post-conflict countries in the development of higher education and teacher education.

Speaking at the AUPP campus after the announcement of her appointment, Dr. Siverts said was “happy and excited” at the opportunity take part in the building the American University of Phnom Penh. “We are going to do this together,” she said, “the students, the staff, the faculty, and the Board of Trustees.”

The Board of Trustees also announced the AUPP’s current Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Margaret Hartman, has agreed to remain in her post until the end of 2014. Dr. Hartman had previously been scheduled to leave AUPP at the end of August.
AUPP Hosts Students from California
Date: 2014-06-01T13:52:00

Thirteen students and one professor from the University of Redlands (California, USA) recently paid a visit to the American University of Phnom Penh. The students participated in a round-table discussion about the similarities and differences between the lives of students in the USA and Cambodia.

The University of Redlands students spent about three weeks volunteering on various projects in the north of Cambodia before returning home. The University of Redlands is interested in promoting student and cultural exchanges with AUPP, and there will be more discussion of this between the two universities later this year.
AUPP at Cambodia Town Culture Festival in Long Beach, California
Date: 2014-04-07T13:50:00

More Cambodians live in Long Beach, California, than in any other city outside Southeast Asia, and although most Cambodians have been in the city for a relatively short time they have succeeded in building a vibrant and dynamic community. Evidence of this is the Cambodia Town Culture Festival, an annual event dedicated to documenting, preserving, and showcasing Cambodian arts and culture in Long Beach.

The 2014 Festival took place on April 6, and the American University of Phnom Penh (AUPP) was privileged to be able to take part. Over a hundred people stopped by the AUPP table to pick up brochures explaining the University’s mission and to ask questions about its academic programs. Among those asking for information were students from the California State University campuses at Long Beach and Fullerton; they planned to share the information with members of Khmer clubs at their universities.

Visitors to the AUPP booth at the Festival were particularly impressed with the fact that AUPP offers students who are interested in doing so the opportunity to transfer credits directly to universities in the U.S. after completing a year or two at AUPP in Phnom Penh.
Zaman Students Visit AUPP
Date: 2014-03-09T13:46:00

The American University of Phnom Penh was pleased to welcome members of the twelfth grade class from Zaman International School to AUPP’s Toul Kork campus this week. 120 students, accompanied by some of their teachers, toured the campus, saw the classrooms, computer lab, writing center, and library, and met members of the faculty and administration.

Welcoming the visitors to AUPP, speakers including the University founders, administrators, and faculty emphasized the importance of quality higher education for Cambodia its citizens. They outlined the history of the University and its plans for the future, and emphasized AUPP’s commitment to provide its students with rigorous, high quality educational experience designed to prepare its students to be competitive not just in the local job market but also internationally.

AUPP offers three Bachelor’s degree programs. Should students decide to continue their studies in the U.S. after successfully completing a year at AUPP, however, they can transfer to Middlesex Community College (MCC) in Massachusetts. There they will study for one year to obtain an Associate Degree and, if successful, gain automatic admission to any public university in Massachusetts. Alternatively, the students may apply to over a thousand universities throughout the United States whose admissions requirements they meet.

Speaking to the Zaman students, Dr. Margaret Hartman, AUPP’s Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs explained the AUPP program model, in which students begin their studies with two years of Liberal Studies and General Education courses. In the last two years of their studies, students focus on courses in one of the three major areas of study currently offered at AUPP: Business and Economics, Law, and Political Science and Diplomacy.

One of AUPP’s faculty members, Dr. Grant Rich, provided students with an example of one of the subjects all students study as part of their General Education curriculum. Psychology, he said, is an part of a Liberal Studies education, and there are wide variety of career opportunities available to students who choose to continue their studies in psychology.

The American University of Phnom Penh is proud to count four alumni of Zaman International School among the members of its first incoming class of students, and looks forward to welcoming more Zaman graduates to its student body in the future.
AUPP Participates in US-Cambodia Education Fair
Date: 2014-02-20T13:43:00

AUPP joined more than 30 U.S. colleges and universities at the 2014 US – Cambodia Education Fair, an annual event aimed at promoting educational opportunities in the United States for Cambodian students.

More than 180 students stopped by the AUPP table to ask about the University, the programs it offers, and the opportunities AUPP provides for students wishing to transfer to the U.S. during the course of their studies.

The night before the Fair, AUPP hosted representatives of the U.S. universities at its Toul Kork campus. The group heard from AUPP Vice President Margaret Hartman and Senior Advisor Professor Ken Dunn about the mission and objectives, the programs offered by the University, and its partnership with Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts. Visitors also toured the campus, and later attended a dinner at which they had the opportunity to meet and talk with members of the AUPP Board of Trustees, faculty, and administrators. Among the topics of discussion were ways to help education in Cambodia, and partnerships between AUPP and U.S. institutions of higher education.
Minister of Education Meets AUPP Leaders
Date: 2014-02-07T13:41:00

H.E. Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth, and Sport expressed his support and encouragement for the work being done by the American University of Phnom Penh in expanding and improving higher education in the Kingdom of Cambodia. He did so in a January 29 meeting with AUPP Vice President Dr. Margaret Hartman, and the University’s Senior Advisors Dr. Jacqueline Armitage and Prof. Ken Dunn.

“We are proud of the work we are doing at AUPP,” said Dr. Hartman after the meeting, “We greatly appreciate being given the opportunity to brief the Minister on the University’s progress so far, and our plans for the future.”
AUPP Student Lim Vannaroth a Winner in SpringBoard 4 Cambodia English Speaking Championship
Date: 2014-01-24T13:39:00

Only four Cambodian students made it through the first two rounds to the finals of the 2014 SpringBoard4Cambodia English Speaking Championship. Each was from a different university, and first-year AUPP student Lim Vannaroth was one of the four.

On Thursday January 23rd, he and the other three finalists presented speeches to an audience of about five hundred people at Phnom Penh’s Chaktomuk Conference Center. In the final round, finalists each had to argue for or against a statement provided to them only fifteen minutes before their speeches.

Lim Vannaroth’s topic was ‘We should invest now in a low carbon economy powered by renewables.’ He argued that moving toward an economy making use of solar, wind, and hydro power would not only help avoid potentially devastating environmental damage to the planet, but also provide an economic advantage by reducing dependence on ever scarcer – and therefore more expensive – fossil fuels.

Other contestants spoke on topics ranging from cyber bullying to ASEAN integration. After their presentations, each student had to answer questions on their given topics from members of the panel of judges.

The contest ended with Lim Vannaroth winning third prize, a trip for three days to an ASEAN country. His win in this highly competitive contest was made all the more noteworthy by the fact that he only completed his preparatory semester at the end of 2013, and was less than three weeks into the first year of AUPP’s academic program.
Dr. Benny Widyono Talks About Economic Globalization
Date: 2014-01-23T13:37:00

Early in the 21st century the world is in the midst of a ‘tectonic economic shift’ to a ‘post-American’ world, according to accomplished economist and author Dr. Benny Widyono.

Speaking to an audience at the American University of Phnom Penh (AUPP,) Dr. Widyono traced the history of global economic integration, from the beginnings of European colonization in 15th century to the rise of ‘China and the rest’ five hundred years later. Midway through this period, the advent of the Industrial Revolution gave rise to rapid economic growth, he said, and this was accompanied by an increasing gap between the world’s richest and poorest countries.

In 1820, Dr. Widyono noted, per capita gross domestic product in the then-dominant global power, Britain, was four times greater than that in Africa. By 1998, the United States had become the undisputed global superpower, dominating global economics, politics, science, and culture. In that year, per capita GDP in the U.S. was twenty times that of Africa.

America’s superpower status, however, is waning in the 21st century. Although the U.S. remains dominant in global political and military arenas, in all other dimensions – including industry, finance, education, and culture – a major change is underway. “We are moving toward a post-American (but not anti-American) world,” Dr. Widyono said.

Benny Widyono is no stranger to Cambodia, having served for three years during the 1990s as the Representative of the United National Secretary General in Cambodia (his memoir of this period, Dancing in Shadows: Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge, and the United Nations in Cambodia, was published in 2008.) In his lecture, he noted that since stability returned to the country in 1998, Cambodia’s economy has grown at a ‘spectacular’ average annual rate of seven percent. Only 46 countries in the world have achieved this level of economic growth for fourteen consecutive years. The three main engines of Cambodia’s economic growth are agriculture, garments, and tourism.

Economic growth has been accompanied in Cambodia by a sharp drop in poverty. The percentage of people living on $1.25 a day or less dropped by more than half in the seven year period ending in 2011. Dr. Widyono warned, though, that in order to reduce poverty in the future, Cambodia must rapidly move its labor force from subsistence agriculture to an expanded manufacturing, construction, and services base. The country also needs to prepare for the future by strengthening institutions dealing with ASEAN integration, and more importantly by improving the skills of its labor force through vocational training and improvements in the Kingdom’s higher education system.

Dr. Widyono’s address was the third in a series of public presentations at AUPP. On January 9, former Korean Deputy Prime Minister Okyo Kwon discussed the Korean ‘economic miracle’ and its lessons for Cambodia, and on January 13 former Ambassador Sichan Siv told of his experiences in Cambodia and the United States.
Bestselling Author & Former US Ambassador to UN Speaks About His Life, Gives Advice to Students
Date: 2014-01-13T13:24:00

“People who disagree with you are not your enemies. They are just people who disagree with you.” Ambassador and author Sichan Siv, speaking at AUPP.

For thirty years, people asked Sichan Siv when he would write a book about his experiences. He certainly had a compelling story to tell.

Born in Phnom Penh, he attended Sisowath Lycée and the Royal University of Phnom Penh, and was a young man beginning his career when the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975. After enduring a grueling life of forced labor in the northwest of the country, he managed to escape across the border into Thailand, and eventually made his way to the United States as a refugee. Thirteen years later he was in the White House, working for President George H.W. Bush, and in 2001 he became a United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

Five years later, Siv became convinced that the ‘temporary sadness’ of revisiting his painful past would be outweighed by the benefits of sharing his story. And so, on March 1, 2006, he sat down to write Golden Bones: An Extraordinary Journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in the United States.

Speaking to an audience at AUPP on January 13, Ambassador Siv talked about his life, and lessons he learned from his experiences from his life in Cambodia and the United States. He stressed the important of hope, the value of ideas, and adapting to new and different circumstances. “Nothing is permanent except change,” he said.

Ambassador Siv’s talk was the second in series of public lectures hosted by the American University of Phnom Penh. The next presentation will be given by Dr. Benny Widyono, former Personal Representative to the United Nations Secretary General, and author of Dancing in Shadows: Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge, and the United Nations in Cambodia. Dr. Widyono’s talk will take place on Friday January 17th on the AUPP campus, and is free and open to the public.

More information:
Phnom Penh Post article about Ambassador Siv’s book and presentation.
Lessons for Cambodia in the Korean ‘economic miracle’ Says Former Korean Minister Dr. Okyu Kwon
Date: 2014-01-12T11:42:00

The ‘Korean economic miracle’ that has taken place over the past fifty years can provide some valuable lessons for Cambodia, according to a former Minister of Finance and Economy.

In a presentation at the American University of Phnom Penh (AUPP) on Thursday January 9 Dr. Okyu Kwon (pictured on the right) traced the development of the Republic of Korea’s economy from the time of the country’s liberation from Japanese occupation in 1945 up to the present.

Dr. Kwon, who also served a term as his country’s Deputy Prime Minister, identified several stages in Korea’s economic growth and political development, from an only partially democratic country with a per capita income of US$100 in 1964 to thriving democracy with per capita incomes averaging $24,000 in 2013.

AUPP’s library was filled to capacity with an audience of students, faculty, and visitors for the speech, the first in a series hosted by AUPP and open to the public.

The next speech in the series will be delivered on Monday January 11 by Sichan Siv, former US Ambassador to the United Nations and author of the memoir Golden Bones: An Extraordinary journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in the United States. The speech begins at 2.30 pm in the Library at AUPP’s Tuol Kork campus, and is open to members of the public.
AUPP Students Advance to Second Round of English Speaking Championship
Date: 2013-11-24T11:29:00

Seven AUPP students recently participated in the first round of the Springboard English Speaking Champoinship, organized by the social enterprise SpringBoard4Cambodia. This contest gives Cambodia students the opportunity to participate in high level debates and to compete against students from other countries.

AUPP was represented in the championship by Taing Bun Hong, Mau Pichvuthyka, Lim Vannaroth, Nong Siharany, Sok Virabot, Thun Winpichmonika, and Touch Youlong.

The purpose of the competition to to help promote English speaking awareness among students, develop leadership and speaking skills, foster self-confidence and personal growth, and also to promote British education to Cambodian students.

The second round of the championship takes place on December 14, 2013, and the competition with culminate in a final round on January 23, 2014 at the Chatomok Conference Hall in Phnom Penh.