ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNER

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and the Government of Canada are pleased to announce the winning research for the 2013 SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award with the theme Education and Employability:

“Does Post-Migration Education Improve Labour Market Performance?: Findings from Four Cities in Indonesia”.

The author of the winning research is Dr Devanto Shasta Pratomo, Lecturer and Researcher at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Brawijaya University, Indonesia.

The winner of the SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award 2013 will receive the Plaque of Recognition at the Awarding Ceremony in the 36th SEAMEO High Officials Meeting to be held in 18-20 February 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand.

High appreciation is extended to all researchers who participated in the 2013 SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award.

Appreciation is also extended to the Ministries of Education of Southeast Asian countries, SEAMEO Regional Centres and SEAMEO partners for their assistance in the promotion and information dissemination of the 2013 SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award.

SEAMEO Secretariat extends gratitude to the unceasing support of the Government of Canada for the SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award.

Click here for the Abstract and Summary of the winning research
.

I. Background

The SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award was established in 1990 with the support of the Government of Canada as a way of recognizing exemplary research conducted by Southeast Asian nationals in the region. The yearly award aims to encourage young scholars to conduct researches on a relevant theme on social development in Southeast Asia and to facilitate continued interaction and knowledge-sharing among Southeast Asian and Canadian researchers.

II. The Theme for 2013 SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award

The theme for 2013 SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award is Education and Employability.

This year’s theme aims to raise the importance of placing employability at the core of the national and regional strategies of the Southeast Asian region, preparing students for sustainable labor market and enabling them to be better prepared for an increasingly competitive regional economic environment.

The 2013 SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award recognizes studies or investigation on the dynamics and interplay of education and employability in Southeast Asia and the myriad issues related to efforts of different sectors to increase the region’s competitiveness through improving employability skills of graduates.

Enhancing graduates’ employability is a cross-cutting regional concern; becoming even more timely as Southeast Asia works on its way to becoming an integrated economic community by 2015 (ASEAN Community). A number of contentious arguments could be raised on the issue of putting employability as the primary basis for shaping the directions and policies of education systems, there is no doubt though that education predicts employability. The task of producing graduates does not rely solely on higher education but on the education system as a whole. With the onset of greater integration by 2015, the education system will be faced with the greater challenge of producing graduates who will not only be meeting the national industry requirements but who will be able to compete successfully at the regional level.

With this year’s research theme of Education and Employability, SEAMEO and the Government of Canada hope to highlight the importance of graduate employability and the concerted efforts needed by all sectors to adequately prepare students to meet the challenges of a new economically integrated Southeast Asia.

III. Thematic Strands:

Research studies may cover one or more of the following thematic strands:

Relationship between Higher Education and Employability
This thematic strand focus on the significant roles of higher education in producing employable graduates and the challenges of adapting the higher education system to labor or industry needs. This track includes studies that explore higher education efforts to determine pedagogical approaches that would facilitate students’ better transition from an education based on knowledge to an education fostering independency and development of skills required by the labor market. Further, this track explores how higher education institutions are gearing their policies towards improving students and professional mobility in the region.

Education and Business Partnership in Addressing Jobs and Skills Mismatch
This thematic strand responds to research studies that investigate the variety of strategies education institutions and business organizations could collaboratively undertake to improve the employability of higher education graduates. This research track focuses on partnerships between the education institutions/universities and job providers to meet the labor market’s long-term requirements, and how these initiatives have contributed to efforts exerted by national governments to enhance the conditions of employability.

Science and Technology Manpower Development
This thematic strand pertains to research studies that investigate the state of science and technology manpower development in the region and the variety of strategies national governments, education institutions and industries are taking to upgrade the science and technology competencies of Southeast Asian peoples to enhance the region’s human resource competitiveness.

Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Entrepreneurship and Employability
This thematic strand focuses on traditional and innovative models on developing, sustaining and scaling up of entrepreneurial skills among students, graduates and non-graduates not only for the purpose of generating income but more so to create next-generation jobs and fresh innovations. This strand also explores government and TVET institutions’ policies and strategies to improving employability skills of students.

Culture and Employability
This thematic strand draws out studies that look into culture-related factors that have implications to employability of graduates from the region such as ethnicity, language, traditional management or leadership practices that have been known to affect recruitment process, work culture and others.

IV. Eligible Applicants
  1. A national of a SEAMEO Member Country*;
  2. Holder of a master’s or doctorate degree;
  3. Not more than 55 years of age at the time of application;
  4. Not currently associated with or employed by any of the SEAMEO Centres/Network or SEAMEO Secretariat;
  5. For studies/projects conducted by a team of researchers, only one author will be eligible for nomination. The submission should include a written note from the co-author(s) waiving any claim to the award, in case the research is selected; and a statement indicating the nominee’s level of responsibility (in percentage) for the research work and;
  6. Physically fit to travel; certification by a competent physician may be requested before travelling.

* SEAMEO Member Countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.

V. Eligible Research Entries
  1. The research must be a completed research study/project conducted in Southeast Asia (covering one country or more in the Southeast Asian region) relating to the identified theme for the year;
  2. The research must have been completed within the past three years and has never been published;
  3. All submissions, including photo captions and other materials, must be in English;
  4. All research entries conducted for graduate/post-graduate theses or doctoral dissertations will not be accepted;
  5. Research entries from previous winners of SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award will not be accepted;
  6. A research entry should comprise:
    (i) 20-page summary of the research paper;
    (ii) one-page abstract of the research paper;
    (iiii) Complete research paper
  7. Research entry should have the following essential sections:
    I. Introduction (including rationale, statement of problem, research objectives);
    II. Methodology;
    III. Results and Discussions
    IV. Conclusions and Recommendations;
    V. References
    VI. Appendices
  8. Winning and non-winning research entries may be selected to be featured in SEAMEO’s Southeast Asian Journal of Education, subject to permission/approval from the author.

VI. Award Selection Process

A Selection Committee composed of representatives from relevant international organizations, experts in the field covered by the theme and officials of SEAMEO will be convened to review the submitted entries.

Selection will be based on the quality of the research, its relevance to the theme, to improving education in Southeast Asia and its potentials for promoting better understanding between Canada and Southeast Asia.

VII. Benefits to SEAMEO-Jasper Research Awardee
  1. The winner of the SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award will be awarded a Plaque of Recognition at the 36th SEAMEO High Officials Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2013.

  2. The SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award winner will receive a travel fellowship to Canada or to any two (2) of the SEAMEO Member Countries to disseminate the results of winning research to relevant education/research institutions.

    The fellowship includes 8-day all expense paid travel to Canada/Southeast Asian countries (inclusive of travel time). The fellowship will include assistance by the SEAMEO Secretariat in travel and meeting arrangements. The fellowship visit shall be done within twelve months from the date of the awarding.

VII. Submission of Research Entries

Candidates are expected to submit one set of hard copy and one set of electronic file of the following:

  1. Completed application form (Download the form here)
  2. A 20-page summary of the research paper (including rationale statement of the problem, objectives, methodology, results and discussions, conclusions and recommendations; and references/appendices);
  3. A one-page abstract of the research paper;
  4. Complete research paper.

Hard copy and electronic submissions must reach the SEAMEO Secretariat on or before 30 September 2013.

The submissions should be clearly marked and addressed to:

2013 SEAMEO-Jasper Research Award
SEAMEO Secretariat
Mom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building
920 Sukhumvit Road
Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 2391-0144
Fax: +66 (0) 2381-2587
E-mail: secretariat@seameo.org


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