If a young person from Southeast Asia wants to become a data analyst, they must enrol in a university and study for several years. However, a course in programming and data visualisation, lasting only a few months and preparing the student for the current demands of the labour market, would help accelerate their entry into employment. Once completed, the graduate would receive an internationally valid certificate that would make it possible for them to find a job even outside their home country. This is the kind of a lifelong learning system that the ECON MUNI team led by Dr Dušan Mladenović is helping to create in Vietnam and neighbouring Laos.
Microcredentials are a major innovation in education, helping universities remain relevant and responsive to the dynamic demands of the labour market. "They provide a structured but very flexible way of acquiring and verifying specific skills that meet the current needs of students and employers," explains Dušan Mladenović. He believes that microcredentials are a bridge between academia and industry and offer people a path to lifelong employment. Meanwhile for businesses, they serve as a transparent and reliable method of assessing the qualifications of potential employees.
According to a 2022 study by the ASEAN University Network, recognition of alternative learning credits is provided by less than a third of degree programmes in Southeast Asia. This creates a significant barrier for local students who cannot transfer credits and therefore demonstrate their competencies internationally or even between institutions within their country. The introduction of a unified system would make the situation much easier. One example is the recent report on educational mobility by UNESCO which highlighted that countries with internationally recognised qualifications systems are seeing an increase in cross-border opportunities for students of up to 30%. Moreover, the 2023 World Bank study revealed that 60% of employers in Southeast Asia perceive a significant mismatch between their requirements and the actual skills of local university graduates. It is this gap in skills that microcredentials can help bridge.
The MICRO4ASIA project, in which the Institut de Haute Formation aux Politiques Communautaires from Belgium, the University of Dubrovnik in Croatia and the University of Siena in Italy are participating together with MUNI, seeks to address these challenges. "The experience of European partners can serve as inspiration. It can be adapted to the local context in Vietnam and Laos to make the local higher and lifelong education system more up-to-date and internationally connected," says Dr Mladenović. Long-established and proven systems in European universities include the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), which measure academic mobility and recognise skills internationally.
The main task for the ECON MUNI team is to develop a comprehensive training programme for university teachers from Laos and Vietnam to learn how to design and implement a microcredential system in line with European standards. It will also include a toolkit that will guide users through the process step by step. "We will create templates for curriculum development and describe quality assurance methods as well as best practices for establishing cooperation," explains Dušan Mladenović. Masaryk University will also oversee the testing and verification of qualifications and ensure their compatibility with international European standards.
Designing the microcredential system for Asian countries will not be without challenges. The partners will not only have to develop it from scratch, but they will also have to take cultural differences in the approach to education into account. "In Europe, we often favour education based on the acquisition of practical skills, whereas institutions in Southeast Asia have traditionally emphasised more theoretical knowledge. Reconciling these approaches without compromising local academic values will require care and diligence," explains Dušan Mladenović, adding that microcredentials can help universities attract more students and strengthen partnerships with businesses.
The project “Strenghtening the international dimensions of universities in South-East Asia through the development of micro-credentials and their recognition (MICRO4ASIA)“ is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme.
