GMSTEC: Greater Meking Sub-region Tertiary Education Consortium Trust

Greater Mekong Subregion Tertiary Education Consortium Trust
The Greater Mekong Subregion Tertiary Education Consortium (GMSTEC) is a university-led initiative that combines the academic resources of leading New Zealand, Australian and GMS universities to support mutual development and to assist with development of the GMS.

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)
The Greater Mekong Subregion is defined geographically by the path of the Mekong River. From its beginnings in the highlands of China, the Mekong River flows though Yunnan Province of China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia before it flows into the South China Sea from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

With a combined population of over 240 million people, abundant natural resources, and increasing cross-border transport and commercial linkages, and the Greater Mekong Subregion is a region of enormous potential.

GMSTEC'S mission is:
Universities from the Greater Mekong Sub-region, New Zealand and Australia committed to:
• Sharing knowledge and building cultural understanding;
• Advancing the quality and diversity of programmes offered at member institutions;
• Expanding the learning and research opportunities available to staff and students in GMS, New Zealand and Australian universities; and
• Mobilising academic and other resources to assist with development of the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

Our objectives are:
• To develop and teach some common curricula and courses among consortium partners.
• To develop common systems for quality assurance including processes for enrolment, teaching, assessment and certification of students to international standards.
• To develop and teach new and innovative courses of relevance to the GMS.
• To develop the teaching abilities and experience of the staff of GMSTEC universities.
• To enhance the international content of member universities’ academic programmes.
• To conduct, encourage, and facilitate research into issues of key importance to development of the GMS.
• To promote cultural and academic exchange among member universities including staff and student exchanges and other programmes that enhance the cross-cultural and academic understanding.
• To promote English language capability and English language teaching capability amongst member universities including the development of degree programmes taught in English as GMS universities.
• To provide expertise and resources that will assist with development of the GMS.