The Sihanoukville Institute of Business and Technology (SIBT), located in the Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone (SSEZ), is quickly emerging as the Cambodia China education model, with full scholarships available to Cambodian students. The institute, fully funded by China's Wuxi Vocational Institute of Commerce (WXIC), a state-owned higher vocational college, gives local students exposure to international-standard education and career opportunities.
Xu Fuwen, Rector of SIBT, referred to the institute as a Sino-Cambodian joint venture aimed at providing high-quality education compliant with Cambodian law and supplemented with Chinese best practices. "This small, pretty college is set up to give local young talents a chance at quality education, create a bright future, and begin their careers here in the SSEZ", he says.
Joint Chinese and Cambodian press toured the institute complex within the SSEZ in Sihanoukville. SIBT's course of study is designed to comply with both Cambodian regulatory requirements and the functional requirements of the SSEZ's industrial setting.
"All our programs are designed and implemented in accordance with Cambodian educational law, sub-decrees, and regulations", Xu explained. "We brought the courses and the staff here. Some of our staff members are from China, and there are also some local Cambodian teachers here." The institute's openness is seen in its multinational team and its accessibility. "Up until now, 100% of students have been given full scholarships by us", Xu affirmed. "Right from the start, we wanted to offer human resources and human talents to the SSEZ and its growth."
The scholarship scheme was also a tactical move to recruit students in the early days of the college, particularly since it opened in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently concentrating on undergraduate studies, SIBT has no immediate plans to diversify into postgraduate courses, Xu added. Currently, the institute provides three Cambodian students' majors business management, logistics management, and information technology with a four-year full-time bachelor's degree course.
Local students are grabbing new learning opportunities brought by SIBT with anticipation for a good future. SIBT is the first institute with Chinese features in Cambodia owned by higher learning institutions of China.Among its student body is 19-year-old Hong Heng Leap, a second-year Business Management student from Prey Nop district of Preah Sihanouk province. Leap says that SIBT provides a clear pathway to a promising career, due to its close Chinese connections.
I believe Preah Sihanouk has a lot of Chinese, so we can study Chinese and easily get a job," he said. "I hope to have a good job and receive a high salary after I graduate. He urges other Cambodian young people to study at SIBT, not just mentioning the language benefit but also the ease of finding employment in the booming SSEZ. "They should study at SIBT because they can study more Chinese, and it's extremely easy to get a job here", Leap added.
Seng Ratt, 20, another second-year student from Sihanoukville, concurs. He selected SIBT for the quality of study and the chance to study overseas in China. "This institute has Chinese instructors and provides students with the chance to travel to China to study", he said. "After graduating, I plan to find a good job and enhance my knowledge of the Chinese language".
Ratt is one of the several students who are eagerly awaiting the third year of the program, during which opportunities to study in China are included as part of SIBT's course. "Yes, I'm sure. In the third year, we will go to China to study", he assured confidently.
He emphasized the need for Chinese language skills among Cambodian youth, particularly with the surge of Chinese investment and enterprise in the country. "There are so many Chinese investors and businesses coming to Cambodia, so learning Chinese is very important for us," Ratt says. Supported by China's WXIC, SIBT is growing into a center for developing a new generation of talented, bilingual professionals who can contribute to Cambodia's fast-growing economy.
In accordance with Seng Sothan, Head of Internal Quality Assurance, the institute has provided scholarships to approximately 80 Cambodian students annually, and 70% of the students are females, with strong potential for job placement in the SSEZ. Up to now, the institute granted 256 full scholarships to its students, who also have prospects of employment with a high income in the SSEZ even without graduating.
