The Centre for Research in International and Comparative Education (CRICE) at the University of Malaya (UM) has recently been awarded the UNESCO Chair in International and Comparative Educational Research with Special Reference to South East Asia. This is the very first UNESCO Chair to be awarded to Malaysia and the first to focus on education in the South East Asian region globally. This award highlights the role of CRICE as the emerging focal point for issues pertaining to education issues in South East Asia. This award also positions the leading role of the University of Malaya in education issues relating to the region, in consonance with the call for strengthening the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). It also cements the position of UM as a leading higher education institution in Malaysia and the region. The Chair, through CRICE, will facilitate collaboration between high- level, internationally recognised researchers and teaching staff of the University and other institutions in Malaysia, and in other regions of the world. It also envisions to support capacity building in the country and the sub-region notably through, among others, relevant teacher and research training in local universities in the region. The University of Malaya was awarded the UNESCO Chair based on the relevant expertise and experience of its Chair holder, Dr. Lorraine Pe Symaco who is the founder director of CRICE and holds a DPhil in Education from the University of Oxford. The Chair was formally awarded to UM in February 2016.
