Aung Tun Oo

Early life

My early life was difficult, with limited access to everything. My parents were farmers, and I was born and raised in a small Myanmar village. One day when I was sick, my mother drove me to the nearest town to see the doctor using a tractor. We didn't have decent transport, so we used to go to nearest town by bicycle. We did not have electricity or anything else that could be used with electricity.

I studied high school courses using candlelight. I believed that education would provide hope in my life. I studied at school during the day and at night with candle's light. The high school is roughly 3 miles from my village, and I used to get there by bicycle every day. Finally, I passed the high school exam with three distinctions over six courses. I attended Yezin Agricultural University and obtained my first B.Sc degree in 2008. I obtained my first foreign degree, an M.sc, from Ghent University in 2014. Then, in 2018, I completed my Ph.D. at Ghent University in Belgium. I was proud that I was the only and first person to get a foreign Ph.D in my region. Perhaps one of the youngest foreign degree holders within Myanmar.

On my birthday in July, I always offer food or school supplies, such as books and pens, to youngsters in my village. I often tell them that they should believe in themselves and in education. 

Brief Bio (update on Apr, 2024)

I am an agricultural and environmental economist with over ten years of experience in agricultural and rural development research and implementation, including four years working on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and vulnerability assessments in the Myanmar and Mekong regions. In addition, I have four years of experience as a project leader for the implementation of joint research projects, particularly those addressing the water-food-energy nexus, and climate change adaptation in Myanmar and the Mekong region. I recently served as a National Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Management, and Vulnerability Assessment Specialist for the FAO (UN) FishAdapt Project.

Education: Aung Tun Oo obtained his PhD at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University Belgium in 2018. The PhD dissertation is entitled as ‘Characterizing farm households’ vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Myanmar”. In 2008, he received Agricultural Science degree with specialization in soil and water management from Yezin Agricultural University, Myanmar. In 2011, he further obtained a diploma in Agricultural Business Management at Ruppin Academic Center in Israel and in 2014; he received an International Master of Science in Rural Development (IMRD) at Ghent University in Belgium. 

Currently, I am working for the University of Urbino Carlo Bo (Italy), as a postdoctoral research fellow.