AUPP Continued to Explore Mobility Opportunities for its Students!

A successful international institution for higher education builds partnerships worldwide. Despite COVID-19 challenges, the American University of Phnom Penh (AUPP) continued to explore mobility opportunities and has managed to send one (1) staff, four (4) students, and four (4) faculty members abroad to grow international relationships ensuring personal, professional, and inter-institutional development.

AUPP signed Erasmus+ mobility agreements with the Ovidius University of Constanta located in Romania and the European Business School, the Superior Institute of Administration and Hospitality in Portugal in 2019.

Our AUPP students, Ms. TY Naomy and Ms. CHIN Sreypich are currently exploring the environmental science questions of Romania. In the west of Europe, AUPP students Mr. KOY Virakboth and Mr. MENG VanWilliam are expanding their academic knowledge in business management in Portugal.

Our Director of Admissions and Student Affairs, Mr. Marko Delić, and our Program Chair for business, Ms. Yamuna Sithambalam, visited Portugal in early May for a one-week professional retreat. Many countries were represented at the introductory session including staff and faculty members from Azerbaijan, Italy, Kosovo, Malaysia, Montenegro, Moldavia, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain. The week included social and professional activities and lectures related to business management, and sustainable entrepreneurship, which also touched on the role of social sciences in business. Following several social activities, cultural visits, and a crash course in Portuguese, our staff and faculty have returned to share the experience through their work and curriculum.

Three of our faculty members have visited Romania in early June, Dr. Jose Mora and Dr. Sara Rose-Jensen of Global Affairs, and Dr. Soriya Yin of Tourism and Hospitality Management. Multiple activities were carried out to properly introduce daily operations of the Ovidius University of Constanta, visit the facilities, and connect with faculty and management. Our faculty members each had a chance to deliver a lecture on environmental and global issues. We anticipate that our faculty will bring fresh worldly perspective into the classroom as soon as our upcoming Fall semester and will be able to share the knowledge they learned with their colleagues and AUPP students.

“The next steps of maintaining current and building new mobility partnerships have already been taken”, said Mr. Delić who along with the Student Affairs team manages the requirements of the mobilities. He also added that “we will continue to create these opportunities for our staff, faculty, and most importantly – our students. This way, we go beyond our mission and allow our students to also study globally.”

AUPP anticipates that the next phase of our current mobilities will kick off this summer, continuing to evolve conversations on how we can collaborate both socially and academically with our partners. So, what is our next destination, and where will we exchange our academic and cultural knowledge? Time will tell because options are vast, and so is the passion we see in our community.