Abstract:
This poster explores how a European public university has leveraged two complementary partnership models in the AsiaPacific to achieve sustainable, high-impact collaboration: a joint Sino-French institute in China, and delocalised joint training programs in Cambodia. The key insight is that when partnerships are built not just on mobility, but on co-delivery, shared governance, and longterm strategic alignment, they can drive mutual academic transformation. Aix-Marseille University (AMU) established the WUT-AMU Institute in Wuhan as a joint venture in 2018 to accompany a top Chinese university’s diversification into biology and health sciences. This provided AMU with an institutional base in Asia and redefined its international profile by embedding it within an Asian partner’s development strategy.
In parallel, AMU’s joint degree programs in Pharmacy (with the University of Health Sciences of Cambodia) and Digital Law (with the Royal University of Law and Economics) show how delocalised education, when co-designed and coaccredited, strengthens local capacity, expands inclusive access, and creates new academic pipelines. These initiatives are supported by Erasmus+ KA171 mobility grants that amplify both academic and social impact.
Together, these models demonstrate that anchored, multi-layered partnerships can serve the global good by enabling more equitable, relevant, and resilient higher education ecosystems.
Contribution to SDGs:3,4,5,10,16,17
Learning objectives:
– Understand how institutional anchoring in Asia (e.g., joint institutes) can serve as a strategic platform for long-term collaboration, academic diversification, and regional engagement beyond mobility.
– Discover how delocalised training programs support capacity building by addressing local sectoral needs through codesigned curricula, dual accreditation, and faculty development.
– Examine the role of Erasmus+ KA171 in amplifying the academic and social impact of partnerships, particularly in underresourced contexts.
– Gain insight into managing complex governance and intercultural alignment in multi-country, multi-disciplinary partnerships—addressing challenges such as internal stakeholder engagement, long-term adaptability, and language barriers that can affect academic integration
– Reflect on how combining complementary partnership models can build institutional presence, strengthen academic ecosystems, and generate sustainable global impact
Target audience:
– International Partnerships Managers
– TNE Coordinators
– Erasmus+ Program Coordinators
– Curriculum Developers
– Regional Education Specialists focused on Asia-Pacific and global partnerships
– Regional university networks and development organizations
– Institutions seeking scalable models for transnational education in Asia-Pacific