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by PAM
Eversince the Heads of State of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) linked arms to vow to open one another's doors to accommodate and cater to one another's needs in a collaborative manner via "One ASEAN 2015", also known as "ASEAN Intergration 2015", or "ASEAN Economic Zone 2015", to achieve regional progress, citizens of ASEAN countries have started to view things differently. They started opening their "windows" and begin to pay attention to what is going on
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| 2014 AUChEEdS... first, historic, relevant. |
The Higher Education sector of the Philippines is not an exception to this "look-out-the-window-and-observe" paradigm shift. Over the past how many years, members of this sector are not just merely looking out the window and observing, they have been adopting good practices by their close and distant neighbors. And now, Filipino educators have opened their doors as they reached out to invite their ASEAN counterparts to the Philippines in dialogues and shared experiences to forge a strong relationship, partnership, cooperation that they hope would help usher in "One ASEAN" in 2015 on positive note.
The Chemical Engineering Education sector of the Philippines, represented partly by the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers (PIChE) College of Fellows and the PIChE- Metro Manila Academe Chapter (MMAC) have been doing the 'observing', 'sharing' and the 'adopting' for years now. This year, they (or, should I say "we"?) went on to organize the 2014 ASEAN Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Education Summit (2014 AUChEEdS) dubbed, "Educating the new generation of ASEAN Chemical Engineers". In the first AUChEEdS, Chemical Engineering students and faculty members from ASEAN countries met to learn together, to establish camaraderie as they learn from each other, and just to get to know one another. Colleagues from non-ASEAN countries (the United States of America, Australia and Japan) also participated by sharing their own experiences and good practices, some via webinar. And, it was a wonderful event!
I believe that now, more than ever before, members of the Chemical Engineering Education Sector of ASEAN realize that, indeed, they have many things in common, and share many values. Therefore, it is easy to collaborate in a way that will consolidate the thrusts and achievements of the Chemical Engineering Education sector in the region for greater, more lasting, and more meaningful progress.
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