Tuesday 5 September 2023

Virtual Fair The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) are leveraging academic excellence and diversity from the two continents through the organisation of the ASEAN-EU Higher Education Fair (AEHEF), to be held virtually on Saturday, 2 September 2023.

AEHEF is one of the biggest gateways to higher education and academic career development opportunities in Europe and South-East Asia for students, researchers and higher education institutions.

The 2023 edition will highlight the richness and diversity of ASEAN’s and EU's education systems, enabling participants to benefit from both regions' academic excellence, educational programmes, scholarships and mobility opportunities.

Ms Rodora T. Babaran, Director of Human Development, ASEAN Secretariat said ASEAN Secretariat is proud to do this event in collaboration with the EU as it aligns with the Roadmap on the ASEAN Higher Education Space 2025.

"We envision a resilient and sustainable ASEAN Higher Education Space that enables greater harmonisation and internationalisation of the region’s higher education systems."

H.E. Hjayceelyn Mancenido Quintana, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Philippines to ASEAN, who is also Country Coordinator for ASEAN- EU Dialogue Relations, emphasised, the AEHEF will contribute to ASEAN’s efforts to promote access to higher education.

The EU’s other flagship programs, EU Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region (EU SHARE) and ERASMUS Plus, also offer valuable opportunities for ASEAN and EU students to explore higher education options in Southeast Asia and Europe.

"We encourage our dear students and the youth in the virtual room to seek learning and training opportunities either in ASEAN or in EU member states.”

H.E. Sujiro Seam, EU Ambassador to ASEAN, said higher education and students have always been an important element in our relationship with ASEAN. Higher education student mobility plays essential role in the future of our two regions and strengthen people to people connectivity between the two regions.

In line with the EU “Global Gateway” strategy supporting investments and links around the world, the EU will also facilitate the mobility of students, staff, teachers, and trainees, with support from the Erasmus+ programme.

"This virtual Higher Education Fair allows to spread the word on EU and ASEAN study opportunities to an even wider and diverse range of students and academics from across the EU and ASEAN.”

AEHEF 2023 exhibitors consist of 65 higher education institutions from Europe and 15 from ASEAN. Over 3000 participants will gain first-hand information on various academic and scholarship programmes and tips for successful applications through 14 online discussions.

Furthermore, the participants will be able to interact with the exhibitors through the ‘live chat’ channel of the virtual fair. (**)