Final EU Greencap Conference Took Place at RULE on December 12th-13th

On December 12th-13th, the final Greencap Conference took place at the Royal University of Law and Economics.

This final conference comes to terminate a four year long project : GREENCAP Project, funded by the EU, which objective was to have a long-lasting impact on the Cambodian high education towards the realization of the SDGs.

Amongst these objectives, the following were considered as great successes:

1.the greening of the curricula and syllabi of the under-graduate and graduate academic programs offered in Cambodia;

2.the various capacity building initiatives for both Cambodian professors and students;

3.the connection of Cambodian students with major stakeholders of the green economy, so as to provide them with career opportunities in the industries of the future;

4.the introduction of debates and public conversations over major environmental challenges facing Cambodia in the decades to come.

This EU funded project was implemented by a consortium of universities based in Cambodia and Europe, including the Royal University of Law and Economics, the National University of Management, the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, the National University of Battambang, Vigo University, the University of Southern Denmark and Nantes Université. The Dual Degree Department at RULE, under the supervision of Mr Laurent MESMANN, was in charge of locally coordinate the capacity building efforts of Cambodian universities and to liaise with the private actors involved in Cambodia in the field of Sustainable Development Goals, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environment.

The conference was led by H.E Dr. Om Romny, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports as well as other important guests, including Ms. Flora Bertizzolo, Programme Manager, Education Skills, EU Delegation in Cambodia, Ms. Philippine Guillaume, International Relations Manager, Nantes Université, Dr. Soeun Sophorn, RULE Vice-Rector and Mr. Shakeel Ahmad, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Cambodia.

The morning discussions on December 12th focused on the impact of the Green Courses, the various Green Internships and Credit Mobilities for students as well as the Green Debates with both professors and students partaking in the exchanges.

The afternoon discussions on the 12th comprised of two round table discussions on the ”future job market to combat climate change” and ”green skills amongst university graduates”, involving multiple experts from Europe and Cambodia.

The morning of December 13th focused on a strategic discussion over teaching practices to support the green transition in Cambodia, with academics from various European and Cambodian universities exchanging their experiences. This second day of discussion took place under the leadership of H.E. Dr. Chhem Rethy, Senior Minister and Chairman of Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Cambodia.

RULE would like to congratulate the thousands of individuals in Cambodia and Europe involved in the Greencap project, from students to academics and civil servants. We hope the legacy of the project and its effects will continue in the years to come.