Main Headline University News

IFT, Royal University of Phnom Penh to enable student, staff exchanges

Royal University of Phnom Penh, in Cambodia
中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

IFT and the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia have agreed to cooperate in promoting exchanges of students and staff. The partnership – made official in February – also aims to foster joint research projects and other forms of cooperation between the 2 institutions of higher education.

Exchange students will be exempt from paying for tuition at the host institution.

The Royal University of Phnom Penh is Cambodia’s oldest university as well as one of the country’s largest public institutions of higher education, according to its website. It was known as the Royal Khmer University when it launched in 1960.

The university has more than 12,000 students, spread across three campuses. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in a range of subject areas, including tourism.

IFT’s agreement with the Royal University of Phnom Penh is the latest example of cooperation between the Institute and organisations in Cambodia, following a memorandum of understanding signed in May 2016 between the Macao SAR Government and the Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The agreement envisions the promotion of sustainable tourism, via the training of professionals in that field, and via partnerships in tourism industry education.

In 2016, IFT organised a professional training programme tailor-made for a group of 20 tour guides from Angkor in Cambodia, home to Angkor Wat, one of the most important – and most visited – archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. Cambodia has been one of the countries sending representatives to Macao to attend training programmes delivered by the IFT Global Centre for Tourism Education and Training, in collaboration with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

IFT’s partnership with the Royal University of Phnom Penh helps the Institute further to position itself as an international training and education hub. The Institute has been advancing with a range of measures to ensure it is – and remains – relevant globally in those fields. These include hosting a number of international conferences and increasing its international network.

IFT collaborates with 106 universities and tourism organisations in an aggregate of 32 countries and regions. The Institute also has partnerships with a range of leading companies in the tourism and hospitality industries at home and abroad.