Page 19 - AEI Insights Vol. 7 2021

AEI-Insights: An International Journal of Asia-Europe Relations
ISSN: 2289-800X, Vol. 7, Issue 1, January 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37353/aei-insights.vol7.issue1.2

THE ASEM EDUCATION PROCESS: IMPLICATIONS FOR HIGHER
EDUCATION INTERNATIONALISATION IN MALAYSIA

M.Miandy Munusamy*
Azirah Hashim

Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

*Corresponding author: miandy781121@gmail.com

Abstract
The education process of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) has played an important role in
higher education internationalisation since the establishment of ASEM in Bangkok, Thailand
in 1996. The ASEM Education Process (AEP) consists of 53 ASEM partners and more than 15
ASEM education stakeholders who meet regularly for discussions on policies and reform
measures. There are four priority areas and two transversal themes introduced in the AEP for
policy direction and strategy implementation in the field of higher education. Malaysia has
participated in the AEP since 2008 and has led and organised various initiatives and meetings
on the internationalisation of higher education and global recognition. This study aims to
explore the implications of the AEP for the process of internationalisation of higher education
in Malaysia. A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was conducted with fifteen
senior officers of the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia and five Malaysian research
universities. The data were analysed by employing the Qualitative Data Analysis software, the
Nvivo version 11, to identify themes and categories. The findings reveal that the AEP can play
a major role in internationalising Malaysian higher education through effective networking and
strategic alliances. The four priority areas of the AEP has provided opportunities for Malaysia
to work closely with European and Asian counterparts in the field of higher education. The
findings can assist the Malaysian higher education stakeholder to participate actively in the
inter-regional organisation to learn and share best practices and to formulate and revise policies
on higher education internationalisation.

Keywords: ASEM Education Process, Internationalisation of higher education, Malaysian higher education
system, NVivo and Networking

Introduction
The significance of higher education for local and global development was developed and
enhanced through effective initiatives of international, intergovernmental and inter-regional
organisations (Shahjahan, 2012). International and intergovernmental organisations such as the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and inter-regional organisations such as the Asia-Europe Meeting
(ASEM) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) place emphasis on the reform
agenda for higher education internationalisation (de Wit, 2020). Among these organisations,

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