Announcements

Comparative Education Society of Cambodia (CESCam) was established in 2018 by a group of researchers of Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) and scholars of some Cambodian universities. It was inaugurated during the 11th Biennial Conference of Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA) hosted by CDRI in Siem Reap in May 2018. Approximately 350 participants from over 150 academic institutions across Asia and beyond attended this regional conference.

With a vision to promote comparative education for higher learning in Cambodia, CESCam intends to foster teaching and research in the area of comparative education in Cambodia, produce publication about Cambodian education and beyond, contribute to advancing philosophy, methodology and methods in comparative education in Cambodia, and establish networks with local and international research and educational institutions and other counterpart societies.

The first biennial conference of CESCam on “Education for Shared Community and Prosperity” was hosted by CDRI in Siem Reap on 6–7 December 2019, with the financial contributions from the Australian’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trades (DFAT) through The Asia Foundation, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund through the Embassy of China in Cambodia and Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It was attended by over 100 participants from 12 different countries, discussing a range of topics, such as curricular and pedagogical innovation, (global) citizenship education, globalisation and internationalisation of education, and vocational and technical education. This academic discourse has contributed significantly to theoretical and methodological perspectives in the development of comparative education as a field of study in Cambodia and beyond.

To further promote the debate among scholars, researchers, practitioners and policymakers about the vital role of education in a rapidly changing world, largely driven by technological innovation and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, CESCam is organising its 2nd Biennial Conference on the theme “Envisioning Education 2030: New Models of Education,” to be held on 14-15 October 2021. Given the current situation of COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia, CDRI will co-host the conference with the Kirirom Institute of Technology (KIT) in hybrid format (physically at KIT and virtually via Zoom), supported financially by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through The Asia Foundation’s Ponlok Chomnes Initiative.

The conference is now inviting abstract proposals for paper presentations, panel discussions, poster sessions, and workshops on various issues related to education in Cambodia and beyond, highlighting the theme: “Envisioning Education 2030: New Models of Education”. Proposals should address one of (but are not limited to) the following sub-themes:

• Education and employability
• Innovative and emerging models of education in the new normal
• Digital education
• STEM education
• International faculty and student mobility
• Research culture and practice in higher education institutions
• Gender and inclusiveness in education
• Industry-university partnership
• Evidence-informed practice in educational policy

For more detail, please view CESCam Booklet 2021 or visit: http://www.ces-cam.org/call-for-proposals/