International Conference 2025: Internationalization in higher education leadership and management: Perspectives, innovations and best practices

08/10/2025

On October 8–9, 2025, SEAMEO RETRAC, in collaboration with the Alberta Bureau for International Education (ABIE), the British Columbia Council for International Education (BCCIE), and the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), Canada, successfully organized the International Conference 2025 on “Internationalization in higher education leadership and management: Perspectives, innovations and best practices” at its premises located at 35 Le Thanh Ton Street, Sai Gon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

This year, the Conference had the honor of welcoming representatives from various SEAMEO Centers across the region, together with leaders, administrators, scholars, researchers, and educational practitioners from numerous universities and higher education institutions worldwide. The event brought together approximately 80 delegates from Canada, Australia, Israel, France, USA, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and Vietnam.

The Conference featured keynote speeches and presentations by distinguished leaders and experts, including Mr. John Arnold Siena (SEAMEO Secretariat), Dr. Tim Loreman (Concordia University of Edmonton, Canada), and Dr. Nathalia Holtzman (CUNY College of Staten Island, USA), along with speakers from various international higher education institutions. Their plenary sessions and discussions enriched the collective understanding of internationalization trends and practices in the region.

Mr. John Arnold Siena (SEAMEO Secretariat), Dr. Nathalia Holtzman (CUNY College of Staten Island, USA), and Dr. Tim Loreman (Concordia University of Edmonton, Canada)

Six crucial sub-themes which were discussed in the International Conference included:

Internationalization in educational policy, leadership, management and administration;
Quality assurance and accreditation in higher education;
Design, implementation and assessment of emerging technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality) in higher education to meet the internationalization context;
Internationalization of curriculum development and implementation in higher education;
Teaching methodologies, theories and practices;
New trends in research in higher education