TOOLKIT Project

TOOLKIT Project

Objectives

TOOLKIT is a three years (2018-2021) international project co-funded by the European Union in the frame of Erasmus+ Capacity Building Key Action 2 the field of higher education. It is a multi-country project, which comprises Higher Education Institutions from Laos, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

TOOLKIT’s main aim is the enhancement and modernization of the internationalization strategies pursued by Asian universities, especially in terms of the capabilities displayed by the university governance and IRO staff in building up an “Asian way” to internationalization. To achieve this result the project will focus on the following main objectives:

  • Drafting efficient and sustainable strategies, to support the Asian Universities in developing or updating their international relations strategies in a way that they can address challenges and needs of Asian Higher Education. A strong emphasis is addressed on students and faculty members as the real protagonists and catalysts behind an effective modernization of local HES;
  • Designing and supervising innovative educational projects, enhancing the capacity of IRO staff and Faculty members in writing and managing international educational projects.
  • Designing a shared mobility management model that will enable Asian Partners to better strategize, promote and manage student mobility flows within their respective regions and beyond.
  • Consolidating a diffuse and long-lasting engagement towards HE internationalization strategies in the three counties involved, capable of encompassing not only the academic community, but also local policymakers, economic stakeholders, and civil society;
  • Establishing and nurturing a network of European and Asian universities, so to share knowledge and good practices, while supporting the effective integration of the higher education systems of Myanmar, Laos, and Sri Lanka within a regional and global framework.

Please visit it at this link: https://site.unibo.it/toolkit or you can find the link also here

 

  

On 29th January 2020 the University of Yangon Toolkit project team delivered a half-day training workshop for representatives of the International Relations Offices from 18 other universities in Yangon.  The aims of the workshop were:

  • To familiarise the other universities with the development of the International Cooperation Office at UY
  • To share the learning from the Chinlone and Toolkit projects.
  • To consider how the IROs of different universities can collaborate in the future.

Presentations covered the Toolkit project, an introduction to internationalisation, developing a website and the basics of how to set up an international relations office in the Myanmar context.  Participants worked on developing their international strategies, and in the final session a lively discussion developed about some of the challenges of international working.

Participation-in-the-Toolkit-Myanmar-Cascade 29th January 2020

Outcomes included sharing the presentations and setting up an email group to keep in touch, and to meet again for further training in the next phases of the Toolkit project.

For further information please contact international@uy.edu.mm

 

Internal Cascade Training

(21 September 2021)

(Virtual)

University of Yangon organized the programme on the Internal Cascade Training (Online) on 21st September 2021 with the aim of giving training to the internal staff on the expertise acquired through the 3WPs training: International strategies, Project Design and Management and Staff and Student’s Mobility as part of the TOOLKIT Project.
Ten administration and academic staff who engaged in internalization from the University of Yangon, Yangon University of Education and Dagon University participated in the training.
At the training, Mr James Kennedy, Advisor, International Cooperation Office, University of Yangon presented the Introduction to Toolkit Project, Dr Than Zaw Oo, Deputy Director General, Department of Higher Education gave a lecture on Designing and Managing International Relations, Educational Project and Mobility Scheme to Asian Universities, and Dr Khin Khin Oo, Pro-Rector, Yangon University of Education gave a lecture on Staff and Student’s Mobility. The participants gain knowledge on developing internationalization in universities and networks.

 

National Cascade Training, Internationalization for Higher Education in Myanmar

(16 December 2021)

(Virtual)

The first National Cascade Training organized by the Myanmar partners was held on December 16th 2021. The training aimed to share the expertise and knowledge acquired through the project with the country’s Higher Education Institutions leaders and stakeholders. The training started with the opening remarks and welcoming speeches from the Rector of the University of Yangon, the Yangon University of Economics and the Yezin Agricultural University. The Toolkit Consortium partners participated in the training.
The Myanmar Toolkit partners presented the three trainings carried out within the project framework: Development of Internationalization Strategies, Effective project Writing and Management and Effective mobility flows Management.
The event continued with a presentation delivered by the invited international speaker Dr. Fiona Hunter, Higher Education Management Consultant. Dr. Hunter presented the challenges and benefits of what she defined the “Virtualization of the internationalization”, explaining how the Higher Education community adjusted to the pandemic dynamics.
Finally, Mr. James Kennedy, Toolkit Project Advisor, concluded the event presenting the evaluation and the synthesis of the national cascade trainings. Mr. Kennedy shared with the participants a brief introduction to the Toolkit project website and the related materials, which hopefully will be useful for future collaborations among the Myanmar Higher Education Institutions.
The National Cascade Training was attended by 66 participants from 20 universities in Myanmar. The training offered opportunities to develop internationalizations in different HEIs and a greater collaboration between institutions, which became inclusive and thus creating more opportunities for all.

 

Roundtable Discussion on Internationalization

30 August 2022

(Virtual)

On 30th August 2022, Myanmar TOOLKIT Project universities organized a Virtual Roundtable Discussion on Internationalization in the framework of TOOLKIT Project WP5 – Promoting Engagement in International Relations. The objective of the event is to promote the academic and administration staff’s engagement towards international relations and mobility opportunities by sharing experience and exposure. Approximately 60 academic and administrative staff from the universities across Myanmar attended the event.
The event started with a welcoming speech by Dr. Tin Maung Tun, Rector of the University of Yangon, opening speech by Dr. Tin Tin Htwe, Rector of Yangon University of Economics, followed by an opening remark by Dr. Hla Than, Pro-Rector, Yezin Agricultural University. After the introductory greetings, Prof. Dr. Aye Thu Htun briefly explained the introduction about the TOOLKIT Project including purposes, work packages and its outcomes.
In this event, roundtable speakers: Prof. Dr Wint Wah Wah Hlaing from University of Yangon, Prof. Dr. Myint Myint Kyi from Yangon University of Economics, Prof. Dr. Hnin Yu Lwin from Yezin Agricultural University, Dr. Tin Maung Oo from University of Yangon and Dr. Thuzar from Yezin University shared their experience and exposure on internationalization as the first round. And then, the barriers and challenges for engagement towards internationalization from each speaker’s perspective have been presented as the second round.
The event is concluded with open discussion on possible ways forward to enhance and promote engagement in internationalization for higher quality education.

 

Information Day for Students

(23-9-2022)

Arts Hall

The University of Yangon usually conducts the sharing experiences programme when a student or staff came back from abroad after their further studies programmes, trainings and workshops. These programmes were organized and conducted within their respected departments.
Toolkit Project’s information day for students was conducted on 23rd September 2022 at the Arts Hall with the objective of student’s engagement towards international mobility opportunities by sharing experience and exposure. The programme was started with the opening remarks of Pro-Rector Dr Cho Cho and followed by the four academic staff who received Ph.D and Master’s degrees from the universities from Japan, Hong Kong, China and Russia sharing their experiences on mobility.
As the programme was conducted between the semesters, all the undergraduate classes were closed, the target participants were post graduate students, mostly PhD preliminary students and PhD candidates. 59 postgraduate students from 12 academic departments participated in the information day for students’ programme.
The participants greatly showed their interest by discussing the scholarship programmes.