MESCC HOLDS MEETING WITH ASEAN UNIVERSITY NETWORK (AUN)

Dili, 08/08/2024: His Excellency, the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Culture, Dr. José Honório, along with the Ministry’s technical team, held a meeting with Dr. Choltis Dhirathiti, Ph.D., and his delegation from the ASEAN University Network (AUN) of Thailand, in the MESCC meeting room, to discuss future collaboration between AUN and higher education institutions in Timor-Leste.

The purpose of this meeting was to introduce AUN, its role, vision, and mission, linked to the programs AUN offers, aiming to prepare future collaborations with higher education institutions in Timor-Leste. This is particularly to establish a connection between universities in Timor-Leste and higher education institutions from ASEAN and Plus 3 (universities from China, South Korea, and Japan). Other benefits that Timor-Leste can gain from AUN programs include human resource capacity building, student mobility for exchange programs, scholarships, joint research, and other activities that will benefit students and higher education institutions.

AUN was established in 1995 as an organization that promotes collaboration and exchange among universities in the Southeast Asian region. Its members consist of more than 30 universities, with the main objective of strengthening academic ties and enhancing the quality of higher education in the region through its programmatic initiatives, including student mobility programs, joint research projects, and the development of regional curricula.

Participants in this session, led by His Excellency, the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Culture, Dr. José Honório, included the Executive Director of ANAAA, Dr. Nilton Paiva, President of INCT, Dr. José Cornélio Guterres, President of IPB, Dr. Acácio Cardoso Amaral, Director General of Planning and Finance, Mr. Hernâni Viterbo da Costa Soares, Director General of Higher Education and Science, Mrs. Maria Filomena Lay Guterres, Inspector General of MESCC, Mr. Domingos Barros, as well as Unit Coordinators, Heads, and technical staff of MESCC.