NEWS

The Centre of Excellence in Higher Education Teaching and Learning Innovations (CEHETLI) and Faculty of Education and Human Development at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) co-organised the fourth policy dialogue virtually on ‘Championing the Professional Development of University Teachers in Cambodia’ on 24 February 2022. The event brought together 48 university leaders and senior higher education management officials from Cambodia and EdUHK to celebrate the professional development journey of the Master Teachers.

A total of 21 Master Teachers have successfully completed the Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education programme (GCTLHE). During the last few months, the GCTLHE programme co-developed by the CEHETLI and EdUHK have provided a variety of learning opportunities for the Master Teachers to build up their capacity for quality higher education teaching and learning. In this event, the participants also shared their reflections and ideas on how the Master Teachers can be supported to scale up quality professional development in their universities to enhance inclusive and quality teaching and learning in Cambodia.

The event started with project updates by Professor Lim Cher Ping, Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation of EdUHK. Prof Lim highlighted the Master Teachers’ professional learning journey in the GCTLHE. Also, he shared the resources would be shared with the Master Teachers to facilitate them to carry out quality professional development with their colleagues in their university.

Next, was the Graduation Ceremony for GCTLHE (First Cohort). His Excellency Mak Ngoy, Director General of Higher Education (DGHE) in MoEYS congratulated the Master Teachers for their commitment and accomplishment and commended to CEHETLI and EdUHK team for developing and running the GCTLHE. He emphasized that the mission for the Master Teachers is to be change agents to transfer the knowledge to the teachers in their universities and scale it up to other universities in Cambodia.

In his presentation, Professor Lim shared the ideas and examples of professional development in higher education in Asia. He highlighted that “university teachers play a pivotal role in providing all their students with access to quality higher education that prepares them for the changing demands of the workforce and the complexities of the society and world they live in and serve.”

Professor Lim’s presentation was followed by the discussion of senior management staff and Master Teachers from six partner universities chaired by Dr Sok Soth, from the Faculty of Education at RUPP. During the discussion, the senior management staff and the Master Teachers shared their expectations and challenges on how to carry out the professional development for the quality enhancement of teaching and learning. The Master Teachers pointed out that the support provided by the senior management such as policies, initiatives, etc., is crucial for them to scale up the professional development in their universities. Dr Sok Soth echoed their concerns and emphasised that CEHETLI would work closely with EdUHK and the senior management team to support the professional development.

At the end of the event, H.E Mak Ngoy said, “I believe with the support of CEHETLI, EdUHK and the senior management team, the Master Teachers can bring what they learnt from the Graduate Certificate to enhance and the inclusiveness and quality of the teaching and learning at their universities.”