On a sustainable future for international education – APAIE 2023
24.03.2023
Ewa Kiszka, Head of the Internationalization Office of the MUG and Dr. Habil. Sławomir Wójcik, Head of the University Admissions Office took part in one of the largest and most important higher education conferences APAIE 2023 (Asia Pacific Association for International Education), which took place from 13th to 17th of March 2023 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand.
APAIE is an organization that promotes international higher education in the Asia-Pacific region. The annual conference gathers representatives of the academic community from around the world. It is accompanied by an international education fair presenting higher education systems from several dozen countries. This year’s event, organized in the stationary formula after a 3-year break caused by the pandemic, was attended by nearly 3,000 participants from 70 countries. This proves the great interest in this region of the world and the important role of Asia and the Pacific in international education.
The session was opened by the President of APAIE Prof. Sarah Todd.
– This region of the world is one of the most diverse regions in the world, and this diversity is evident not only in geography, culture, lifestyle and language, but also in higher education. The approaches and stages of internationalization of higher education systems vary widely, and APAIE gives you the opportunity to better explore this exciting part of the world and develop lasting partnerships with institutions from across the Asia-Pacific region – said Prof. Sarah Todd.
The Polish stand prepared by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) represented 7 universities of various types from different parts of the country. The delegation was accompanied by the Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education and Science (MEiN) Przemysław Skrodzki and the Director of NAWA Dawid Kostecki, Ph.D.
During the conference, there was also a meeting between the management of the Ministry of Education and Science and NAWA with representatives of the Thai Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, during which the Polish side presented an offer to include Thailand in the Zawadzka NAWA programme. This underlines our country’s interest in bilateral cooperation with the countries of Southeast Asia. The offer consists of 5 annual scholarships (exemption from tuition fees in the amount of approx. THB 100,000 per year + scholarship in the amount of THB 12,500 per month) for students from Thailand coming to Poland under the Polish-Thai bilateral cooperation agreement.
After the conference, the Polish delegation also met at the seat of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in the Kingdom of Thailand with Ambassador Waldemar Dubaniowski. The talks were an opportunity to summarize the participation in the event and plans for further activities, and to discuss the potential of cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region. It is worth noting that young Thais are interested in studying medicine abroad, so it is worth encouraging them to study in Poland. Representatives of our University also met with the Thai Recruitment Agency based in Bangkok.
photos by Ewa Kiszka/MUG