Korean Professors to Teach Cambodian Students at Royal University of Phnom Penh

Improving Science Education in Cambodia

Friday, February 24th, 2012
Korea IT Times (info@koreaittimes.com)

SEOUL, KOREA — Korea’s Ministry of Education Science and Technology launched an ODA Project with So-gang University and the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) and created two new research labs at RUPP.

Currently the institute offers physics and biology classes taught by Korean professors at the Cambodian university. The opening ceremony for the second research lab was held on February 3rd on the RUPP campus. Attendees included professors, students, and the Dean of RUPP. Professors and graduate students from So-gang University also attended this spectacular event.

RUPP is Cambodia’s oldest university, opening its doors for admittance in 1960. This university is also the only one of its kind to offer specialized degrees in social sciences, humanities and sciences. The university currently has over 10,000 students enrolled but faces problems such as the lack of research tools/equipment and advanced curriculum for obtaining a degree in science.

The first analytical chemistry lab opened on January 10th, and the following year, So-gang University sent four of its own professors and a graduate level teaching assistant to RUPP to teach four classes. Since January 29, 2012, seven professors from the departments of physics, chemistry, and life science departments at So-gang University will be on RUPP’s campus to train local professors, teach short courses, and to help maintain the labs.

Park Kwang-seo, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at So-gang University stated “We are looking forward to seeing these labs become key facilities for the further development of higher-level science education in Cambodia. Just as the strong education system in Korea contributed to economic growth, we hope to see similar results here.”