Summer School 2008 at the Royal University of Agriculture in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Committed to a sustainable future for Cambodia: Land Management for the people, for the country

As one result of a meeting in Munich in April 2008 the Chair of Land Management was invited to the first joint Summer School at the Faculty for Land Management and Land Administration of the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Phnom Penh in September 2008. Beside the TUM, students and teachers from the RUA also members of the Cambodian Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction and the GTZ took part.

The objective was to train the participants on the topics concerning faculty development and comprehensive Land Policy for a sustainable Cambodia. Representing the TUM, Prof. Dr. Holger Magel, Mr. Jorge Espinoza and Dr. Michael Klaus gave lectures and participated in workshops on Land Administration including Cadastre, Registration, Land Conflicts and Spatial Data Infrastructure, especially to give the audience inputs and expertise in the Cambodian way of sight.

One important point to strengthen the RUA Course of Land Management is the development of the curriculum, e.g. in creating a study handbook and to enhance the lectures: more practical work, the instruction of soft skills and the implementation of certain subjects as concrete courses. Furthermore the future organisation of the faculty with staff, teachers and partners was discussed in order to improve the national and international position of the Land Management Programme: qualified alumni are an important
contribution to the competitiveness in a global context and to ensure a sustainable future of the country.

In conclusion the Summer School presented a good combination and insight of all subjects, the reality of daily life and the challenges of Cambodian Land Management. It enables both local and external experts to exchange the experiences and to develop suitable solutions in a collaborative manner. At the request of GTZ, this qualification measure should be established as a continuous series.

Prof. Magel, H.E. Dr. Chan Nareth (Rector of RUA), Dr. Franz Volker Müller (GTZ), Mr. Jorge Espinoza and Dr. Michael Klaus.	Intensive discussions in the workshop.