IDPP February Networking and Partnership Mission
The IDPP for the ASEAN Region is conducting its fourth Networking and Partnership Mission of the past year - this time throughout Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Myanmar from 14 February - 1 March 2013 - to deepen and expand relationships with existing and prospective partners and constituents.
Photo Caption: IDPP Accessibility Committee meets with Mahidol University (MU) leadership on the MU campus near Bangkok, Thailand.
The IDPP mission delegation includes IDPP/COTELCO Executive Director Dr. Derrick L. Cogburn; Program Coordinator Ms. Kerry Honeycutt; Regional Coordinator Mr. Joni Yulianto; and Language Specialist Ms. Kelly Wiechart.
The first stop of the mission was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 February. Ms. Wiechart and Ms. Honeycutt met with Dr. Asha Doshi and Prof. Rajeswary Appacutty from the University of Malaya’s Center on Continuing Education (UMCCed), where further productive discussions ensued surrounding the possibility of offering a virtual English language proficiency (ELP) course that provides prospective CIDP Master’s students the opportunity to refine academic English language skills. While in Malaysia, IDPP staff also visited with current CIDP Master's student Ms. Azeera Ariffin.
Ms. Wiechart and Ms. Honeycutt subsequently joined Dr. Cogburn in Singapore, where they met with Professor Kanti Prasad Bajpai, current Vice Dean of Research at the Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The IDPP delegation also met with Dr. Astrid Tuminez on 15 February.
Dr.Tuminez, an IDPP Executive Committee member, currently serves as Regional Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs for the Southeast Asia region at Microsoft Corporation. The IDPP delegation also visited with Mr. Vijay Krishnamani, current CIDP Master's student, before the team’s stay in Singapore ended on 16 February with a meeting with COTELCO Senior Faculty Associate and NUS–LKY School of Public Policy Visiting Professor Dr. John Richardson. 
The third leg of the mission took place in Bangkok, Thailand from 18 – 20 February, where the delegation was joined by Mr. Joni Yulianto. On 19 February, the IDPP Accessibility Committee met with Mahidol University leadership, including Vice President for International Relations Dr. Surakit Nathisuwan and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies Dr. Banchong Mahaisavariya.
IDPP staff met with staff from Mahidol University and the Asia Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) to plan for the 2013 IDPP Residency in August. Mahidol University and APCD have worked extensively and graciously with the IDPP to host and facilitate past residencies, and we look forward to our continued collaboration with both partners for this year’s event.
In Bangkok, the IDPP Accessibility Committee convened on 20 February and IDPP staff met with representatives from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) to discuss deeper collaboration with this CIDP Master's program partner.
The last stop of the mission takes place from 21 February - 1 March in Myanmar, where Dr. Cogburn participated in the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairments’s Inclusive Higher Education Initiative Meeting on 21 February. Following the meeting, Dr. Cogburn is joining an AU delegation to participate in the International Academic Partnerships Program-Myanmar visit hosted by the International Institute for Education. The 24 February – 1 March visit throughout the country includes meetings with numerous universities and government officials.
Follow @aseanidpp for the latest from the mission!
