Building Bridges: EU-ASEAN Launch EUR 9.3 Million Initiative to Transform Higher Education and Research

Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN
Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN (KalderaNews/JS de Britto)
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JAKARTA, KalderaNews.com – Today, ASEAN and the European Union (EU) launched a new programme called Sustainable Connectivity Package (SCOPE) in Higher Education at the ASEAN Headquarters in Jakarta.

The launch event of SCOPE Higher Education programme was officiated by Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN and Sujiro Seam, Ambassador of the European Union to ASEAN.

The programme is designed to enhance sustainable connectivity between the EU and ASEAN and within ASEAN itself. The programme will support all ASEAN Member States with a funding value of EUR 9.3 million until January 2028 and aims at strengthening student and academic mobility in ASEAN, fostering EU-ASEAN cross-regional university networks in research, and strengthening vocational education, focusing on the green transition, sustainability, and digitalisation.

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“The collaboration between ASEAN and the EU through this programme will undoubtedly enrich our educational landscapes, fostering mutual understanding and driving collective progress. These partnerships not only empower our future leaders but also serve as bridges that close divides and create equitable opportunities for all,” Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, said.

“Southeast Asia is a key region, and we want to further develop sustainable and trusted connections with ASEAN countries. People-to-people connectivity and investment in education and research are key components of the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership,” Sujiro Seam, EU Ambassador to ASEAN, said.

“Today, we celebrated the launch of the SCOPE Higher Education programme and explored avenues to further develop this cooperation in the context of the EU Global Gateway Strategy, working with partners for the betterment of our regions and their people,” he added.

Sujiro Seam, Ambassador of the European Union to ASEAN
Sujiro Seam, Ambassador of the European Union to ASEAN (KalderaNews/JS de Britto)

Sustainable connectivity is one of the key priority areas for EU cooperation with ASEAN. The SCOPE Higher Education Project is part of the overall EU-ASEAN Sustainable Connectivity Package (SCOPE) that was adopted by the EU in April 2023.

In addition to the higher education project, the SCOPE package – with a total commitment of EUR 60 million – will cover other sectors such as trade, intellectual property rights, air and maritime transport, digital connectivity, energy and investments.

The SCOPE programme is part of the Global Gateway, a new European strategy to promote sustainable investments and links around the world through the promotion of smart, clean, and secure links in climate and energy, digital, health, transport, education, and research across the world.

The SCOPE Higher Education programme builds on the success of the EU’s Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region (SHARE) programme, which awarded 590 intraASEAN and ASEAN-Europe scholarships and facilitated over 1,600 virtual exchanges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, through the Erasmus Plus programme, the EU granted Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s degree scholarships to more than 200 ASEAN students, allowing them to study in two or more European countries. From 2014 to 2023, nearly 12,000 ASEAN students and scholars participated in short-term studies and teaching in Europe, while around 6,000 European students and scholars came to ASEAN for similar opportunities.

In research, the EU funded 90 grants through the Horizon Europe programme between 2021 and 2024, involving 109 institutions from ASEAN, with a total EU contribution of EUR 10.6 million.

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