Personal and societal development almost always takes into account the importance of education. Today and in the future it will be the international dimension of education that contributes added value in the building of European and ASEAN communities that span borders and will be instrumental in solving the global problems of tomorrow.

Over and beyond student mobility programs based on bilateral cooperation agreements between universities, more and more ASEAN and European institutions of higher education are promoting their programs to non ASEAN and non-European degree-seeking, full-time students. Many institutions, however, have encountered that admitting students from non-ASEAN and non-European countries and cultures is just the first step of a new era in the internationalization of education. Very rarely have institutions of higher learning recognized the fact that as values, attitudes and behavior vary across cultural borders, so do the way students perceive, process and present information. What people sometimes experience include inefficiencies in teaching and learning, both on an individual and an institutional level.

Any effective intercultural relationship and discourse, however should integrate different culture-bound learning styles and exhaust potential synergies. Hence, the general objective of the proposed project is to create awareness and deeper insight for teachers and students in higher education by reflecting differences and similarities and finding ways towards efficient collaboration in learning environments. By doing this, teaching and learning will become more efficient, and institutions of higher education in the ASEAN countries will become more attractive for non-ASEAN students and vice versa. Ultimately, the proposed project may not only contribute to ASEAN and European, and also in the long run, contribute to the competitiveness of ASEAN and European economies.