The Project for Strengthening Human Resource Development of Engineering and Technology for Industry Development in Lao P.D.R 6th JCC
The sixth JCC of the Project for Project for Strengthening Human Resource Development of Engineering and Technology for Industry Development in Lao P.D.R (HUGETECH) was held at Faculty of Engineering (FEN), National University of Laos (NUOL) on 7th June 2024. HUGETECH aims to foster improvement of coursework through introducing necessary experimental/practical work and implement final projects including studies on practical problems with appropriate utilization and maintenance of the equipment as well as extension of industry-university collaboration in order to materialize the quality of undergraduate engineering education.
The meeting was opened by the Co-Chair, Director General of Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Sports. He stated that HUGETECH will shape the future of higher education as well as the future of Laos. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of human resource development, particularly in the fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), to cultivate a skilled workforce capable of driving innovation and sustaining economic progress, highlighting the urgent need for skilled engineers and technicians.
This was followed by a presentation on the project activities and achievements so far. HUGETECH installed about 40 million yen of equipment for experimental/practical work at FEN and is working on revising the syllabus and student experiment guidebooks. In addition, in cooperation with professors at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), HUGETECH has supported more than 60 students‘ final projects, and since the academic year 2023/2024 has provided support and advice to research activities of 18 teams consisting of teachers and students (including 59 final projects of students). Furthermore, improvements are being made to equipment management (e.g. organization of shelves and laboratories) based on practices at Tokyo Tech, and visible improvements have been confirmed. Moreover, as part of industry-university collaboration, a Job Fair was held in May 2024, attended by more than 1,000 people, providing an opportunity for students and companies to connect.
During the discussion, the Acting President of NUOL stressed the significance of HUGETECH for strengthening human resource development, particularly in engineering and technology for industry development. He also expressed the hope that the project would successfully achieve objectives and maintain the good relationship between Laos and Japan for future development.
After the lively discussion, the Co-Chair, Chief Representative, JICA Laos Office, gave closing remarks. HUGETECH will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the project.
