Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

Image: SEAMEO RIHEDThe 2010 ASEAN Quality Assurance Network roundtable meeting, 29-30 July 2010, Jakarta, Indonesiawhole region needs to be defined and clarified so that each nation willhead in the same HESD direction.Stage 2: Cooking HESDThe process of implementing HESD needs involvement both at decisionmakingand higher education institution (HEI) levels for policy synergiesand common practices. Funding sources, independent bodies, professionalbodies and communities must participate as stakeholders in theprocess to ensure the alignment of HESD and local and regional context.Sharing of responsibility among ministries of education, environment,commerce, state, health and culture is crucial to combine expertise andresources to build better quality HESD. Furthermore, sharing good practicesof curriculum development and pedagogic methods among regionalHEIs is another way to make HESD sustainable. An informed society withvarious relevant stakeholders could collaboratively assist in developingrealistic strategies to build human capacity equipped with knowledgeableand capable leadership. The capacity-building process can occur throughacademic training as well as teaching and learning. Financial and materialresources for higher education must be developed by national and localgovernments and the development of curricula, materials and humanresources, including administration, must be funded at both levels.Stage 3: Serving HESDIn order to deliver HESD to the public effectively and successfully, themost important factor is popularity. HESD should use ‘bottom-up’ practicesby promoting the concept of sustainability in popular culture andgovernment policies. For instance, His Majesty the King of Thailand’ssufficiency economy philosophy, 3 which emphasizes SD, has beenshaped and encouraged at both local and national levels. Its practicesof moderation, reasonableness and self-immunity are woven into Thaipeople’s daily lives. Moreover, the adoption of the philosophy into theHE curriculum by some Thai HEIs 4 shows remarkable outcomes atgovernment level. In order to bring about major changes in HESD, stateand community need to nurture a climate of creativity and safety thatallows risk-taking to achieve new educational and sustainability goals.The role of SEAMEO RIHED in HESDIn an effort to promote HE cooperation in the SEA region, SEAMEORIHED’s activities benefit SD goals in terms of producing qualified humancapital and creating a dynamic education climate. TheSEAMEO RIHED roadmap for the harmonization process inhigher education in Southeast Asia is designed to reinforcethe three pillars of the agendas for the ASEAN Communityin 2015, which foster SD. Our attempt to create a commonspace for HE in SEA has been advanced by identifying andimplementing the following areas:• Student and staff mobility• ASEAN Quality Assurance Framework• Southeast Asia Credit Transfer System• Leadership development programme• E-learning and mobile learning• ASEAN research clusters.These are the mechanisms prioritized by SEAMEORIHED to establish a Southeast Asian Higher EducationArea (SEAHEA), which will be the overarching infrastructureto support HESD. They will help create a highlyskilled workforce to serve cross-border employability,ongoing productivity and stable economic growth.Student and staff mobilityIn 2009, SEAMEO RIHED developed the M-I-T (Malaysia-Indonesia-Thailand) Student Mobility Pilot Program,which is our attempt to overcome the limitations of previousprojects (which were restricted to selected HEIs) byworking with governments and HEIs at a regional level.This project has impacted positively on both academic andsocio-cultural development in the region, helping to nurturea sound and innovative environment for promoting HESD.ASEAN Quality Assurance FrameworkThe ASEAN Quality Assurance Network was initiated in2008 to share good practices of quality assurance (QA),recognize HE qualifications and facilitate cross-bordermobility. This mechanism ensures a standardized HEsystem and educational quality. The goal of developingthe ASEAN QA Framework will help shape and establishHESD in the region.[ 67 ]