Over the last few years, GROUP T has expanded its international activities substantially. To date, it has signed collaboration agreements with more than 15 universities in the Greater Mekong Subregion. One of these is the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. On Saturday, 21 November 2009, a new master program in Information Technology Engineering launched there. GROUP T is closely involved in the genesis and the further development of this program.

Prof. Patrick De Ryck, Dean of GROUP T – Leuven Engineering College

On 28 April 2008, Prof. Johan de Graeve, President and Chief Executive of GROUP T, and Prof. H.E. Lav Chhiv Eav, President of the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), signed a comprehensive academic collaboration agreement in the Cambodian country. Both institutes declared themselves willing to collaborate on governance and on staff, faculty and student exchanges. Also, a second agreement was signed in which both presidents commit themselves to collaborating in the field of engineering education. It stipulates, among other things, that GROUP T will assist RUPP to develop an engineering program in accordance with GROUP T’s engineering education model based on the 5 Es: Engineering, Enterprising, Educating, Environmenting and Ensembling.

Inquisitive

Prof. Patrick De Ryck was a member of the delegations hosted in Phnom Penh as the dean of GROUP T’s Engineering College. He confided to us that even before the agreements were signed by both presidents, there was already an interest for GROUP T in Cambodia. Mr Phal Des registered a couple of years ago for the Advanced Master Program in e-Media at GROUP T. Meanwhile he is back at his home university where he first became the director of the IT Center and subsequently Program Coordinator of the new master program in Information Technology Engineering. Mr Phal Des is also the President of the GROUP T Greater Mekong Subregion Academic Alumni Alliance that was founded in 2007 in Bangkok. It unites GROUP T alumni from Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and the South Chinese province Yunnan. In Cambodia, Prof De Ryck immediately noticed the inquisitiveness of the young people. “Education is highly esteemed there and is considered as the ideal means to advance the country. Everybody who wants to contribute to that cause is welcomed with open arms. When we spoke to the people from RUPP about our 5E model they were very enthusiastic. They were prepared to send four of their best graduates to GROUP T to learn more about it.”

In September 2008, Rim Beanbonyka, Koon Sovathya, Heng Pos and Khoy Saovarah arrived in Leuven. Not only to study but also to learn how a university college is run. After this academic year, they will return to their home university to establish an engineering faculty.

Unique program

Still, RUPP did not wait until the four had returned to get on with innovative work, inspired by GROUP T. On 21 November 2009, the University launched a completely new program: a Master of Science in Information Technology Engineering. “It’s the first program of its kind in Cambodia”, Prof. De Ryck remarks. “Consequently, it is crucial for the development of human resources in information and communication technology for the entire country. But at RUPP, they also realized that they could not establish such an ambitious program on their own. For the design of the curricula, advice is needed from experts, not only from technical specialists but also from education specialists and professionals who have proven to be able to run such programs.” So the university came knocking at the doors of their principal stakeholders and also arrived at GROUP T. President De Graeve was approached to become member of the Advisory Board. He shares a seat there with President Lav Chhiv Lav and professors of the University of Heidelberg, the Dresden University of Technology (Germany), the Waseda University (Japan), Pace University (USA), University of Wolve Hampton (UK) and the National Institute of Technology (Korea).

International academic standards

Prof. De Ryck was invited to become a member of the Academic Board. Vice Presidents Neth Barom and Hang Chanthon and program coordinator Phal Des and deans and professors from Germany, the USA, Japan and Cambodia also sit on the Board. Prof. De Ryck is also adjunct member of the aforementioned Advisory Board. “The primary task of the board members consists of giving advice on the curriculum design and other technical matters that relate to the new program”, Prof. De Ryck explains. “They also assist in the development of the strategic plan of the program. The Board makes sure that everything proceeds according to the vision, mission and objectives of the program and that an academic culture is created that meets the international standards.” “The Academic Board has elaborate competences”, Prof. De Ryck continues. “The Board approves the curriculum, looks for academic resources, examines the course contents and syllabi, verifies the level of the master’s theses and closely monitors the academic performance of the students, including the admission criteria and final certification.”

Elaborate employment opportunities

The new master program is a two-year program. “The first year is joint and ensures a sound technical foundation”, Prof. De Ryck explains. “In the second year, the students can choose one of three specialized technical domains which are Software Development, Network Engineering or Multimedia Science. All three domains offer not only education – theory and practice – but also research. The university has taken great pains to establish the laboratory infrastructure to the greatest extent possible.” The first masters will be graduating in two years. A career as a programmer, software developer, database administrator, systems analyst or developer, IT project manager or consultant, wireless-mobile specialist or sales or marketing manager in IT or electronics companies awaits them. One thing is for sure: Cambodia is waiting impatiently for their introduction to the labor market.

Y.P.