Output 1: Quality and Relevance of HE services (teaching, research and extension) enhanced
- The project will support the development and establishment of centers of excellence in participating universities.
- program and curriculum development and preparation of course materials for blended learning.
- strengthening of entrepreneurship training. Support for these specialized program areas will also bring programs and curriculum into alignment with the Lao national qualifications framework as well as labor market demand.
- Support for program development at the centers of excellence will be coordinated with support for research, as well as with strengthened delivery of extension services
- The project will support the upgrading of university-based research through a number of interventions, including
- establishment of a competitive research fund for universities,
- development of an office of research support and industry engagement with incubation centers at two universities (CU and SKU),
- the development of research centers of excellence (at CU and SKU),
- outfitting of research laboratories (at CU, SKU and NUOL), and
- upgrading of research staff at individual HEIs,
- as well as development of university system IT infrastructure. The feasibility of innovative arrangements for the design, financing, delivery and maintenance of laboratories will be examined and assessed.
- Support will be provided for training in writing research proposals and academic articles as well as on-line and off-line publication of journals.
- Systems will be established so that research findings can be incorporated into teaching subjects in study programs and for pilot testing.
- provide international master and doctoral degree programs (including a matching scholarships program and in-country master degree programs for DHE staff and staff and faculty members of three public universities (NUOL, CU, and SKU).
- project will provide international study tours/training programs for staff and faculty members, as well as in-country short-term staff/faculty development programs.
- Opportunities will be assessed for the extension of the recent, positively evaluated online mathematics interactive learning pilot.
- strengthening of international university partnerships and networks by increasing the opportunities for Lao HEIs to be more proactive in implementing MOUs.
- The e-learning and e-library systems that have been established as part of SHEP will be expanded to all public universities, system bandwidth will be expanded and subsidized on a declining cost basis as the universities gradually introduce the marketing of internet services to students and staff, and SKU will be connected to the system.
- As part of the ‘employment skills’ development initiatives, the project will also support extracurricular activities through the creation of an innovation fund.
Output 2: Access to modern higher education programs introduced
The project will focus the bulk of civil works and equipment procurement to support the establishment of a modern campus at Savannakhet University following international standards.
As a modern university at Nongpheu, the campus will have an initial capacity of 3,700 students and a design to later accommodate 5,000 students, including laboratories, equipment, furniture, dormitories, and student facilities (3,000 students in 2 faculties will remain based at the Naxeng campus).
SKU plans an annual admission capacity of some 1,900 students by 2025.
The infrastructure component will include development of basic infrastructure designed on principles of functionality and adherence to modern teaching and research methods; delivery of teaching spaces, laboratories, dormitories, student facilities, furniture, and equipment. An administration building will be included.
The project will also strengthen systems for student selection and admissions applicable at the university level.
An assessment of strategies for increasing regional access to HE will be undertaken. This will include updating the HE master plan, and an assessment of strategies for the delivery of HE on a regional basis.
As a modern university at Nongpheu, the campus will have an initial capacity of 3,700 students and a design to later accommodate 5,000 students, including laboratories, equipment, furniture, dormitories, and student facilities (3,000 students in 2 faculties will remain based at the Naxeng campus).
SKU plans an annual admission capacity of some 1,900 students by 2025.
The infrastructure component will include development of basic infrastructure designed on principles of functionality and adherence to modern teaching and research methods; delivery of teaching spaces, laboratories, dormitories, student facilities, furniture, and equipment. An administration building will be included.
The project will also strengthen systems for student selection and admissions applicable at the university level.
An assessment of strategies for increasing regional access to HE will be undertaken. This will include updating the HE master plan, and an assessment of strategies for the delivery of HE on a regional basis.
Output 3: Governance and management of higher education institutions strengthened.
- The project will support capacity development for participating university administrators, managers and administrative staff, provide long- and short-term international visiting scholars to Lao PDR to provide support to public universities, and review the regulatory and funding framework for private HEIs.
- It will also support studies on the quality, performance, effectiveness and internal and external efficiency of the HE subsector in Lao PDR.
- The HE management information system (LUMS) will be upgraded to incorporate timely and accurate information
- It will also provide support to mainstreaming of the government’s national human resource development strategy 2016–2025 that is being developed with ADB’s assistance.
- This support will be to the newly established Human Resource Development Office (HRDO) through the provision of basic office and IT equipment, capacity building for the staff to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the National HRD Strategy 2016–2025 and Action Plan 2016–2020 and provide timely reports to the Human Resource Development National Committee (HRDNC).
- Quality assurance will be further strengthened through support to the establishment of QA cells at each public university and selected private universities, including training in internal quality assurance, assessment and feedback systems.
- Employer surveys and tracer studies will be undertaken.
- To build capacity at the macro level, scholarships for DHE staff in specified areas will also be provided.