Report
AEI-ASEM Summer School ‘23,
31 July – 13 August 2023,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Asia-Europe Institute (AEI), Universiti Malaya (UM), has successfully hosted the AEI-ASEM Summer School ’23, themed “Civilizational Dialogue for a Sustainable Future.” It was held at Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, from July 31st to August 13th, 2023. Thirty students from seven ASEM partners—Japan, Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Pakistan—participated in this year’s summer school. This year’s summer school was the first face-to-face session held in three (3) years, as the program was moved online during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The program was officiated by the Executive Director of AEI, UM, Distinguished Professor Dato’ Dr. Rajah Rasiah. In his speech, he highlighted the commitment of AEI, UM, and the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia in organizing the summer school as a post-pandemic strategy to revitalize the agenda of balanced mobility between Asia and Europe.
Datin Noorazah Omar, Undersecretary of the International Relations Division, Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) Malaysia, also graced the opening ceremony with her presence and delivered the Keynote Speech. In her speech, she noted that this year’s summer school was a unique platform for participants to comprehend Malaysia’s outlook on sustainable development goals based on the Malaysia MADANI concept. MADANI is a Malay abbreviation for sustainability, prosperity, innovation, respect, trust, care, and compassion. It was coined by Malaysia’s current prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, as a policy framework that was launched on January 19, 2023.
Therefore, the theme for this year’s AEI-ASEM Summer School, “Civilizational Dialogue for a Sustainable Future,” focuses on various topics of interest in line with the concept to generate conversation and ideas among participants of diverse backgrounds in understanding the global challenges we face. It also focuses on encouraging participants to think about impactful solutions and the role they can play in achieving these solutions.
Participants were able to attend lecture modules alongside a strategic mix of activities, field trips, and skills-building exercises. This provided practical and valuable learning experiences for all participants. The lectures and field trips comprised a diverse range of modules, including:
At the end of the Summer School, participants were able to compare and differentiate the issues that serve as barriers to social and sustainable development, assess the use of innovation and Green Technology for sustainable practices, and demonstrate awareness of different civilizational experiences in dealing with contemporary social and developmental issues. Participants also had a chance to visit various sites of interest in Kuala Lumpur and Melacca. The program culminated with a student-led forum where the students conducted four panel sessions concerning different topics related to the themes for a panel of jurors from various industries.
The two-week program ended with an experience-sharing session by the participants and a certificate-awarding ceremony. The participants' certificates were signed by the Minister of Education Malaysia and the Executive Director of AEI, UM. The AEI-ASEM Summer School will be held again next year. Consequently, AEI, UM believes that there will be more participants from Europe for the next summer school. For more information about the programs and events of AEI, UM, please visit us at https://aei.um.edu.my/.
Prepared by: Arief Izuadin Ahmad Jefferi
Edited by: Dr Nurliana Kamaruddin
Last Update: 20/09/2023