International Conference on University Capacity Building in Academic Research

By Chea Sophal
26 August 2011

Phnom Penh:  Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE) and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung organized a one-day workshop on University Capacity Building in Academic Research at InterContinental Hotel.  The main topics include Education Quality Assurance and Academic Research Policy, Rule and Research Activities, Quality of Research Paper and Academic Ethics, Ph.D Program (Opportunities and Challenges).

H.E. Ngoy Yuok, Rector of RULE expressed the minimum standards of educational quality by looking at the Mission, Management and Master Plan Infrastructure, Curriculum, Staff, Students and Services, Educational Services, Physical Material Location, Budget Management, and Information Dissemination.

The curriculum would be taken into the consideration on the grounds of developing curriculum committee with clear role and responsibility, content of curriculum, curriculum organization, process of credit studies and credit transfer, teaching and learning efficiency, student evaluation, research, system ensuring internal education quality, system of managing and maintaining students' work, and revision of curriculum.

H.E. Ngoy pointed out that main factor for educational quality also involves in students and services such as school entrance requirements, requirements for issuing degrees including public announcement, school feed determination, scholarship provision process, service provision for students, and service provision for the community.  Cambodia still has limited facilities in providing the above-mentioned factors.

The 2011-2015 Master Plan for Research Development in the Education Sector reveals major objectives to enhance the quality of education in Cambodia, increase new knowledge and develop the society, economy and the culture by:
- ensuring that a wide range of research is conducted;
- improving the capacity of researchers and higher education institutions;
-  promoting resect for research ethics;
- encouraging wide dissemination of research results; and
- promoting research that leads to the development of new knowledge and inventions.

H.E. Dr. Neth Barom explained the Cambodia's higher education overview to the participants on several points such as enhancing quality of higher education to meet the labour market demands through providing budget for institutional operation and research activities to HEIs (ESSP, 2005, p15), research is still in a dark stage for Cambodian higher education (Chet, 2009, p161), University research has not received any significant or concrete emphasis in Cambodian national policy (Kwok, 2010, p29), and there have been a need for research policy, national and sub-national, as the guidelines and decisions expressed in directives, regulations, or laws with regard to funding and regulation of research activities.

The challenges and issues faced by Cambodia includes lack of research capacity, academic professionalism, research facilities, budget for university research, and administrative management.