Feedback on the INOWASIA visit at ITC during the Biannual Steering Committee in Cambodia

The workshop on “Water Professional and Education in SEA: Strategies for Skills, Sustainability, and Partnerships” and the “Academic Professional Committee (APC) and Stakeholder meeting” have been organized at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (#ITC) on 13th and 14th November 2023. On the 13^th of November 2023, Mr. Soy Ty, Deputy Director of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, co-chaired and opened the workshop with Ms. Flora BERTIZZOLO, Program Manager for Education and Skills of the EU Delegation to Cambodia, and Professor Ignasi RODRIGUEZ -RODA LAYRET, INOWASIA Project Coordinator from the University of Girona, Spain.

The workshop aimed to provide an opportunity for water experts from local and regional universities in Southeast Asia and Europe, more than 40 national and international companies, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations working in the field of water and environment to discuss and to exchange about the current state of higher education on water and environmental skills in the SEA region.

The workshop provided the opportunity for the participant to talk about 21st century skills, practice of Problem-Based Learning (PBL), student internships, job opportunities, finding skill gaps for water professionals, and effective implementation of Water-oriented Living Labs (#WoLL) to better connect in the region to participate in innovative and sustainable water and environment solutions.

Through the INOWASIA project, we have established an APC (Academic and Professional Committee) for water education, which consists of members from government agencies, organizations, and private companies, and we are committed to continuing using this committee for the improvement of the curriculum through providing feedback on the development of curricula on water and the environment to meet the needs of the labor market in this sector. On the 14th of November 2023, we continued our workshop with the working group discussion with APC members' conclusions for implementing innovative water-related jobs in SEA. There were three group discussions conducted in parallel:

Working Group 1: Providing Essential Skills for a Successful Transition into Water-Related Careers

Working Group 2: Southeast Asian Universities' Roles in Addressing Water Challenges

Working Group 3: Enhancing Public-Private Partnerships (3Ps) in the Water Sector

Sources: https://itc.edu.kh/departments-and-sections/workshop-on-water-professional-and-education-in-sea-strategies-for-skills-sustainability-and-partnership/

INOWASIA is an Erasmus + Capacity Building Higher Education project that promotes a joint action of 11 organisations across 5 countries (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, France and Spain) to train a new generation of water professionals in Southeast Asia. More info