The experience of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia shows that systematic local innovation, paired with steady ecosystem building, offers a powerful path toward advancing educational equity and quality. It's a model at the very heart of what the Pioneer Award recognises and seeks to champion.

The Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC) has been exploring the possibilities of digital education for well over a decade, ever since it joined the ASEAN Cyber University (ACU) project in 2009. But after 2020, when ACU support ended and the push for digital transformation gathered pace, long-standing gaps in Cambodia's higher education system became increasingly difficult to ignore. High-quality digital resources were in short supply, and collaboration between institutions remained limited.

To tackle these, ITC worked with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) to launch the Cambodia Cyber University Network (CCUN) in 2022. The national platform now links 18 public and private universities, creating shared spaces for resources, facilities and ideas, and supporting new models of online learning designed to improve quality and resilience across the sector. As the project's technical lead, ITC has been integrating systems, building capacity and helping universities make the leap into a more connected digital future.

 Cambodia's Version of a "National Online University"

At the heart of ITC's approach is a standardised, centralised teaching platform that serves as the system's core, while allowing member universities substantial autonomy to design and deliver online programmes that meet their own needs. This model maintains coherence in content standards, yet boosts the efficiency of content development by enabling multiple, diversified pathways for creation.

In 2023, ITC launched CCUN pilot programmes across six universities with comparatively strong digital foundations. During this phase, the team not only developed a dedicated CCUN learning management system (LMS), but also supported each institution in setting up local servers and improving network infrastructure to ensure stable platform performance. In June 2024, CCUN was formally inaugurated by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.

One-Click Access, Shared Learning Across Cambodia

A central pillar of ITC's approach to resource integration has been the creation of a unified and efficient digital learning environment, notably through the consolidation of member universities' LMSs. When the project commenced in 2023, the team began migrating existing course materials from participating institutions onto the CCUN platform, standardising online teaching processes for staff and students while streamlining access to, and management of, digital resources. At the same time, ITC set out to build a shared national repository of digital learning materials. Before the platform's official launch, ITC had already contributed more than 340 of its own online and traditional courses to CCUN. These were soon joined by courses from other member universities, hosted centrally by ITC, forming the backbone of a rich and shareable national digital course library.

Part of Course Resource Pages on the CCUN Official Website.

Through this platform, faculty and students across the network can access a wide range of learning materials through a single, unified entry point. Crucially, ITC's approach to resource integration goes far beyond simple consolidation. It involves a process of reconstruction that places quality and practical relevance at the forefront. Working with subject specialists and technical staff, each course is standardised, structurally refined, and supplemented with appropriate assessments. This ensures alignment with shared quality benchmarks while remaining closely attuned to Cambodia's local teaching needs.

CCUN member institutions are encouraged to collaborate on sharing data centre resources, considering some universities cannot afford a data centre.

 ——Hun Manet

By building a standardised and centralised teaching platform—consisting of a unified learning management system and a shared data center—ITC has integrated previously fragmented teaching systems, course content, and data standards into an interconnected national-level digital ecosystem. This model not only reduces platform development and maintenance costs for member universities, but also enables genuine resource sharing, greater standardisation in teaching, and deeper collaboration across institutions.

Training and Localised Support

Alongside the construction of the unified platform, ITC has also delivered systematic digital skills training for faculty and researchers from partner institutions. Training topics span key areas such as online course development, digital resource production, platform management, and network operations. This practical capacity-building system has already covered the vast majority of member universities. Beyond centralised training sessions, ITC places strong emphasis on localised, on-site support. The team regularly visits member institutions to provide hands-on guidance, ranging from network configuration and troubleshooting to content creation and system operation. In addition, ITC offers tailored training sessions addressing specific issues encountered by instructors in their teaching practice, such as how to upload teaching materials or how to organise online classes.

Connecting with IIOE, Reaching the Global Stage

ITC's efforts have not been confined to the national level. It has proactively brought the achievements of the CCUN project onto the international stage. In 2024, ITC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UNESCO-ICHEI, marking the start of CCUN's integration into a wider global digital education network. This partnership has not only enabled the exchange of knowledge and experience, but has also given Cambodia's digital transformation efforts much-needed international visibility.

In June the following year, the two institutions jointly delivered an online training programme for CCUN member universities, offering a comprehensive introduction to IIOE platform and its course resources. Through hands-on demonstrations, the training equipped Cambodian academics with essential skills for using AI tools in teaching and research. While AI adoption in Cambodia remains at an early stage, the development of AI-literate faculty and students is already recognised as a strategic national priority.

Outcomes of Digitalisation

The CCUN LMS has quickly evolved into a nationwide hub for digital learning, greatly enhancing the circulation and use of high-quality educational resources. In just two years, the number of participating institutions has grown from 6 to 18. The unified platform also makes it possible to track learners' learning progress and engagement across universities, enabling ITC to refine teaching practices and raise instructional quality.

The initiative has also driven a marked increase in digital participation among both faculty and students. Between the 2023 and 2024 academic years, more than 5,000 ITC students took part in online learning through the CCUN platform. Faculty engagement has improved significantly as well: since 2023, a total of 563 instructors from member universities have received training, while more than 300 ITC academics have actively contributed to platform-based teaching. Together, these efforts have strengthened educators' capacity to develop digital learning materials and created an essential pool of digitally skilled teaching personnel for Cambodia.

CCUN launch ceremony

When it comes to content, ITC has built an impressive base for the platform to grow on. By December 2024, its e-Learning Centre had created 222 learning modules, ranging from tailored courses for the Ministry of Rural Development to eleven national-level modules produced under UNESCO's Basic Education Equivalency Programme (BEEP). 

What truly sets CCUN apart is the way a centralised platform is paired with hands-on, local support. This approach not only keeps resource development efficient and of high quality, but also gives universities the space to shape their own programmes. Member institutions are now not just confident users of the CCUN system, but are also creating their locally tailored courses that reflect the needs of their communities. The result is a stronger sense of ownership among faculty and students, and a digital education ecosystem that is beginning to take root, grow under its own strength, and gather lasting momentum across Cambodia.

Platforms and Training: What are We Focusing On?

For many institutions in the Global South that face similar resource constraints, the value of ITC's experience lies not so much in the technology itself, but in how technological capacity can be converted into platform resilience, pedagogical innovation, and expanded educational opportunities.

One of the most striking features of CCUN is its digital ecosystem, built on architecture that blends centralised management with distributed innovation. By coupling a unified national platform with hands-on, localised training, CCUN manages to strike a balance: course quality is standardised, yet universities retain the freedom to design programmes that speak to their own needs. This approach tackles the very real challenges Cambodian universities face in their digital transition, while deepening engagement and a sense of ownership among both staff and students. It offers a locally grounded, sustainable development pathway, and a valuable illustration of what it takes for a national digital education platform to genuinely take root.