Abstract
As Southeast Asia emerges as a strategic priority in global higher education, the IAE FRANCE network — comprising over 40 public university management schools — is developing a coherent ASEAN engagement strategy to strengthen academic and institutional partnerships across the region.
This session examines how a national network of public institutions can move beyond bilateral agreements toward a collective, sustainable regional approach. Drawing on concrete initiatives across Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, it explores how shared branding, coordinated student mobility, and joint research programmes can amplify individual institutional efforts at network scale.
A central focus is the mapping of available funding levers supporting these ambitions: Erasmus+ partnerships and capacity-building projects, Campus France mechanisms, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs cooperation instruments, and emerging European frameworks targeting Asia-Pacific engagement. The session highlights how institutions can strategically combine these resources to fund mobility flows, co-develop curricula, and build lasting institutional bridges.
At a time when APAIE 2027 convenes in Kuala Lumpur — at the heart of the ASEAN region — this session offers timely, actionable insights for European university networks seeking structured, financially viable entry points into Southeast Asian higher education markets.
Learning objectives
Map the key national and European funding mechanisms available to French and European public universities for developing ASEAN academic partnerships.
Identify the strategic and operational conditions that enable a multi-institution network to build a coherent regional engagement strategy rather than fragmented bilateral agreements.
Assess how IAE France’s experience can serve as a transferable model for other European university networks seeking structured ASEAN engagement.
Target audience
international strategy officers and network coordinators exploring collective approaches to ASEAN engagement; funding and partnership managers seeking to optimise the combination of Erasmus+, Campus France, and bilateral cooperation instruments; and institutional leaders from Southeast Asian universities