As Cambodia and Japan commemorate 70 years of diplomatic relations, the two nations look forward to a new era in their partnership as they seek fresh fields of collaboration. More and more Japanese recognize Cambodia’s untapped potential and hope to play a role in the development of its population.

For instance, the increased prominence of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia among the expatriate population reveals three key reasons Cambodia’s educational landscape has attracted the attention of the Japanese community.

The population is young, growing and mobile

CiteSeerX reports that nearly 70% of Cambodians are 29-years old and younger.

“Among Cambodia’s younger generation, the literacy rate is reported to be quite high because of increasing opportunities for education. The gender gap among young adults is not so substantial, although some age group differences exist,” Japan International Cooperation Agency said in its 2023 Country Study.

“This implies that very well-targeted literacy education by age, sex, geography, time of the class, and contents of the class will likely bring about significant domestic and foreign partnerships in Cambodia’s education sector,” the study added.An example of such a partnership is that between ITC and Panasonic Cambodia. ITC is one of only two institutions in the kingdom to receive scholarships from Panasonic Cambodia, the local subsidiary of Japanese tech giant Panasonic Group. Panasonic Cambodia Country Head Yosunoby Matsumoto said the initiative will be a means to “maximize workforce potential, fostering growth, and nurturing the next generation of leaders.”

According to Matsumoto, Panasonic Cambodia recognizes the talented local science and technology students and continues to invest in their capacity building to develop the next generation of technology business leaders that will allow them to participate in a global economy.

It is open to international collaboration

Cambodia is home to more than 128 higher education institutions, at least 45 of which (including ITC) have active international partnerships with universities and organizations abroad. ITC’s outreach activities have helped position itself as an ideal partner for Japanese ventures.

Last year, the deputy director of ITC, along with six other academic delegates, visited the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), to partake in the training course “Project for Strengthening Engineering Education and Research for Industrial Development in Cambodia,” organized by JICA.

Subsequently, JICA formalized an agreement with ITC to strengthen engineering education and research in industrial development in Cambodia

A growing vocationally and technically proficient workforce

“Strengthening technical and vocational training is pivotal to attracting Japanese investment in Cambodia,” said Labor and Vocational Training Minister Heng Sour, who urged JICA to persist in developing human resources in these domains, a statement that JICA President Sanui Kazumasa agreed with.

ITC, a partner of JICA, produces approximately 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students specializing in science, technology, and engineering.