The Run-Up
Since
2010, Johns Hopkins University faculty members from the Schools of Medicine,
Public Health, and the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) have
provided scholarships, delivered workshops for faculty members at Medical
School No. 1, and organized workshops in Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw on the role of
the private sector in poverty alleviation. Johns Hopkins University also hosted
two rounds of Track 1.5 talks between the United States and Myanmar in Nay Pyi
Taw and Washinton, organized the first Myanmar parliamentary delegation ever to
visit the United States, brought the first ministerial level health delegation
to Baltimore and Washington, recognized the achievement of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
with an honorary doctorate in 2011 and hosted President U Thein Sein at SAIS in
Washington in 2013. In recognition of the role of Johns Hopkins University
played in promoting excellence at Yangon University in the 1950s, President U
Thien Sein invited JHU to return to Yangon when he met with JHU President Ron
Daniels in January 2012. This invitation resulted in the formation of the ICOE
at Yangon University.
A pilot
program in international relations and political economy was established in
January 2013 in collaboration with Chung Ang University of South Korea. Faculty
from both universities taught 12 graduate level courses to junior faculty who
will be teaching the future domestic and foreign policy makers of Myanmar.
The Here and Now
In October
2013 the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and private sector
partners from the U.S., Thailand, and Myanmar formed a partnership to support
the ICOE program and expand its international focus. Twenty-six new ICOE
Fellows were selected from several universities, government departments, and
think-tanks. Following a four weeks “boot camp” for English language and study
skills, the ICOE Fellows are studying a curriculum on international relations,
economics, comparative politics, and environmental policy with senior
professors from world renowned universities in the U.S., United Kingdom, and
Australia. Together international faculty and ICOE Fellows are developing a
paradigm for advancing higher education in Myanmar.
To encourage
development of a research culture, in March 2014, the ICOE opened an E-Resource
Center for Yangon University faculty and graduate students. The E-Resource
Center library provides access to over 4 million books, articles and
dissertations. The ICOE sponsors conferences and workshops on public policy
matters in both Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw. With its new e-resource center and
conference rooms for meetings of local and international scholars and
institutions, the ICOE is a medium for the international exchange of
information across the academic spectrum. In these and other activities the
ICOE is dedicated to bringing new knowledge to the Yangon campus in creative partnerships.
Partnership Opportunities
The
ICOE encourages and coordinates inputs from universities worldwide through
courses, and joint research.
Courses
A sample
of the courses to be taught over the year includes: Introduction to Comparative
Politics; International Relations; Principles of Economics; International
Finance Issues; and specialization courses on China, India, Indonesia, Japan,
Thailand, and the United States.
Research
The
ICOE will encourage joint research projects between visiting scholars and faculty
and graduate students from select departments of Yangon University as well as
other universities affiliated with the ICOE.
Seminars
The
ICOE opens its doors year round to host seminars on a variety of subjects in the
sciences and social sciences.
How to Partner
The
International Center of Excellence is an open architecture designed to attract
different universities, private companies, foundations, and NGOs bound together
by the desire to enhance the quality of higher education in Myanmar.
Potential co-participants are encouraged to contact:
Professor Karl D. Jackson
School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Johns Hopkins University
1619 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
(+1) 202.663.5980
