Check what we have done
First Round of Building Up the Structural Reform events at Lao Universities
During the period of 30 April – 22 May 2025 the four Lao partner universities – CU, SKU, SU & NUOL – organised the first round of ‘Building Up the Structural Reform’ events – internal dissemination events for own academics, administrators and authorities – aimed at helping to ensure institutional buy-in and achieve institution-wide impact. The seven sessions (SU organised the event in four sessions), brought together over 150 persons to share, learn about and discuss the project objectives, expected outputs and outcomes, the REAL three lines of work, the progress established during General Meeting 1, as well as the next steps and tasks to be carried out by REAL Programme Teams during the months of May – August 2025.
Open Session 1 - 3 April 2025
On April 3, 2025, right after the First REAL General Meeting, REAL Open Session no 1 was conducted in Vientiane, Lao PDR. This was the first time the REAL project was presented to key actors from beyond the consortium: representatives of the fifth Lao public university – UHS, and representatives of the labour market, such as Lao Association of Travel Agents, INTHIRA Group, 108jobs, Sitthi Logistics Company, and L-JAT Airport and Terminal Service Company, whose engagement with the project activities will be crucial in the upcoming months, when the Consultation about the Desired Graduate Profiles will seek in inputs from employers and recent graduates. The presentations made by representatives of the REAL Programme Teams from the four Lao public universities – Dr. Lotchana Taysayavong (CU), Dr. Latsanyphone Soulignavong (NUOL), Thavone Panmanivong (SU), & Khonesavanh Norasane (SKU) – and REAL National Task Force members – Dr Ammany Norrinl, Deputy Director General HE, MOES; Asst. Prof. Thongsouk Keomany, NUOL Vice President for Academic Affairs; Dr. Somchay Phaignavong, SU Vice President for Administration; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khoune Sackbouavong, SKU President; and Dr. Phonesavanh Thepphasoulithone, CU Acting President; – were followed by discussion with active participation of all those attending. Delegation of the European Union to Lao PDR was represented by Mrs. Saymano Sanoubane.
First General Meeting - Vientiane, 31 March - 2 April 2025
The 17 REAL Programme Teams, accompanied by EU partner experts, had a three-day working meeting on March 31st-April 2nd, 2025. Hosted by NUOL, REAL First General Meeting focused on:
(1) Preparation of the Line 1 Consultation about the Desired Graduate Profiles,
(2) Learning Outcomes as essential element of Internal Quality Assurance efforts for effective OBE implementation, with the “Learning Outcomes: why and what for?” first Line 2 capacity building session, and
(3) Line 3 Topic 1: “How to engage students in learning & help them deal with failure?” (sharing and discussing the ASK Students findings, learning what research says, and planning for the next steps, including experimenting with new ways to engage students in learning even better).
The National REAL Task Force representatives from MOES, including
- Deputy Director General HE, MOES, Dr Ammany Norrinl;
- Acting Director General, Department of Education Quality Assurance, Mr. Panya CHANTHAVONG;
- Head of Academic Affairs Division, DHE, Mrs. Nilinthone Sacklokham;
- Deputy Head of the Education Qualifications Management Division, DEQA, Ms. Monica Thipphalangsy;
- Head of Inspection, Monitoring and Evaluation, DHE, Mr. Phoutthasone Phommalath,
- Officer of Academic Affairs Division, DHE, & Erasmus+ National Focal Point for Lao PDR, Dr. Viengdavong Luangsithideth, and
- Officer of Academic Affairs Division, DHE, Mr. Khamla Volady;
as well as the highest educational authorities of the four Lao public universities – NUOL, SU, CU & SKU (see below) – had a number of working sessions and joined the REAL Programme Teams during the Closing Plenary to hear about the progress achieved in the three project working lined: Ensuring Relevance of Higher Education Studies (Line 1), Ensuring Feasibility of Higher Education Programmes (Line 2) and Ensuring Effectiveness of Teaching (Line 3).
The REAL General Meeting 1 was opened by the NUOL Acting President, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dexanourath Seneduangdeth, and Director General Department of Higher Education, MOES, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lavanh Vongkhamsane. The Closing Plenary counted with presence and interventions from the NUOL Vice President for Academic Affairs, Assoc. Prof. Thongsouk Keomany; SU Vice President for Administration, Dr. Somchay Phaignavong; SKU President, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khoune Sackbouavong; CU Acting President, Dr. Phonesavanh Thepphasoulithone; and Deputy Director General HE, MOES, Dr Ammany Norrinl. Delegation of the European Union to Lao PDR was represented by Mrs Saymano Sanoubane. REAL Institutional Coordinators – Dr. Soubin Sisavath (NUOL), Mr. Thavone Panmanivong (SU), Ms. Phetsavanh Somsivila (SKU) and Mrs. Nonghkane Phanthanalay (CU) – and REAL Dissemination Team members from the five Lao partner institutions also contributed to the success of the first project face-to-face meeting.
February 2025 - Kick-Off Sessions
In February 2025, all the project teams were formed: REAL Programme Teams (5 in NUOL, 4 in SU, 4 in SKU & 4 in CU), REAL Institutional Units in four universities, National REAL Task Force led by MOES, REAL Steering Committee and REAL Dissemination Team.
On 11, 12, 19 and 20 February REAL Online Kick-Off Meeting sessions were conducted:
1) General project presentation,
2) Project Financial & Administrative Management,
3) First Academic Tasks Q&A session: what each REAL Programme Team needs to do BEFORE the 1st General Meeting, and
4) First Dissemination Team meeting
107 representatives of partner institutions took part in the sessions – a great start of the REAL 4-year journey!
REAL Erasmus+ project: 101177156