2025 CAMPUS Asia Plus Annual Symposium in Laos Held at the National University of Laos

On August 21, 2025, the CAMPUS Asia Plus Annual Symposium was held at the National University of Laos (NUOL) in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Faculty members and students from Kobe University (Japan), Fudan University (China), Korea University (South Korea), Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), and the host institution, NUOL, participated in the event.

In the special keynote session, Dr. Toshihisa Toyoda, Professor Emeritus at Kobe University, delivered a talk titled “Risk Management in East Asia for Envisioning the Future Direction of the CAMPUS Asia Plus Program.” He highlighted the recent developments in disaster and risk management across East Asia and outlined future directions for the program.

This was followed by the keynote session on ASEAN collaboration, moderated by Professor Keiichi Ogawa from Kobe University. The session featured a lively discussion on concrete approaches to deepening academic exchange, human resource development, and joint research within and beyond ASEAN.

From Professor Ogawa’s seminar, the following students presented their research:

Bengo, A. N. “Formative Program Evaluation in In-Service Primary School Teacher Training: Technology for Data Collection and Analysis.” Research presented at the 2025 CAMPUS Asia Plus Annual Symposium, Vientiane, Lao PDR, 2025 (E).
Koike, T. “Double-Shift Schooling in Cambodian Primary Education: Spatial Determinants and Educational Impacts.” Research presented at the 2025 CAMPUS Asia Plus Annual Symposium, Vientiane, Lao PDR, 2025 (E).
Vanmanivong, C. “Determinants of Household Food Consumption: Evidence from Households under the Strengthening Livelihood System Project” Research presented at the 2025 CAMPUS Asia Plus Annual Symposium, 2025, (E).

Each presentation was followed by constructive comments and an engaging Q&A with faculty members from the participating universities. The feedback provided concrete guidance on broadening research perspectives and ensuring methodological soundness, with particular emphasis on contributions to educational equity and quality as well as implications for risk management. These insights will serve as valuable input for the further development of the presenters’ research.

I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Professor Keiichi Ogawa for his continued guidance, from participation to research supervision; to Assistant Professor Tatsuya Maisawa, Project Assistant Professor Ayumu Yagi, and Ms. Mikiko Bothra Osaka of the Kobe University CAMPUS Asia Office for their dedicated support in making this opportunity possible; and to our colleagues at the National University of Laos for their meticulous preparation and warm support in hosting the symposium.