Towards Sustainable Future of International Education: Visit to APAIE Conference 2023
One of the largest educational fairs was hosted in Bangkok 13-17 March 2023 by APAIE (Asia-Pacific Association for International Education). Vice-rector of HSE Honorable Victoria V.Panova headed a delegation of the University to present new ideas developed by the teaching and administrative staff and develop strategic partnerships with the best universities from the region and beyond. Some of the events were held in the beautiful oasis like campus of the Mahidol University, outside Bangkok. It has traditional Thai architecture, protected by UNESCO, and a cohort of green varans who enjoy the tropical sun.
Professor Ksenia Gerasimova, School of Politics and Governance, served as a representative of the Faculty of Social Sciences in the official visit to APAIE and delivered a speech during a round table co-hosted with Mahidol University:
“This has been an amazing opportunity to connect with the academic and administrative counterparts. Actually for the first time offline. The conference offical launch was opened by the traditional Thai ceremony to ‘drum the victory’ of coming offline, as joked by the APAIE President Sarah Todd.
The theme of the conference was explained by the president of the Mahidol University, who was the co-host of the conference, Prof Banchong Mahaisavariya - Towards a Sustainable Future for the International Education.
But what does it mean? It means a serious commitment following the UN Agenda 2030 to implement principles of inclusivity and community engagement in all aspects. Noone should be left behind”.
Under the unprecedented challenges of the COVID years, the inevitable theme for the discussuon has become digital education and the different hybrid forms of student inclusion. HSE and Mahidol University organised a special roundtable to exchange experiences and pave the way forward in the area of digital education.
‘I have been fortunate to be nominated by my department to first experiment with the the blended teaching mode back in 2015. It has been a successful journey which prepared our department to adapt to online teaching in the COVID-19 quarantine and better respond to the needs of our international and Russian students. The feedback of students has shown that smart application and combination of offline and online is possible, but requires higher degree of adaptability and patience. But the results are worth it and create a pattern that can be recreated for expanding horizons for our students and staff, and thus can be a foundation for forming and maintaining new and existing partnerships.
During the visit Dr Gerasimova also met with her former student Phumjai Krisintu (Shane), who is now pursuing his PhD and works as a lead in the Pepsi Foundation, Bangkok. Shane is now part of Dr Gerasimova’s international research team on the sustainable management of cordyceps. This is another example how partnerships that can be expanded and implemented.
