CamBio: Bolstering secondary education in Cambodia

In 1975, the Khmer Rouge executed everyone in Cambodia suspected of having an education. This included anyone who spoke a foreign language or even who wore glasses. Since 1980, Cambodia began building back its education system, beginning with foreign language programs and training primary school educators. Since the year 2000, the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) has developed Science and Engineering programs. However, the curriculum is still not on part with international standards. Since 2013, our group has been working to provide educational curricula, instructor training, student research mentorship, and virtual exchange programs to bolster the Cambodian secondary education system.

There are multiple ways to help, depending on your time and resources. Please note that the following options are not mutually exclusive (you could do more than one).

Make a short instructional video for translation into Khmer

We develop short, 10-20 minute videos on specific topics (see the list of requested topics). You can record yourself giving this talk, and then share it with us. We will share it with a RUPP instructor, and schedule a 1-hour zoom meeting so that they can ask you questions about the material. Then they will add Khmer translation to your video between your slides. We will then post these videos up on our CamBio youtube channel.

Mentor a research project in Conservation Biology

RUPP has a Master’s and PhD program in Conservation Biology, and they have highly skilled students who are trained to go into the field. Please consider mentoring and/or sponsoring a student research project. It is a 2-year commitment, and the average cost of fieldwork is $1000-$2000. Below is the timeline:

  • April Year 1: Faculty sponsors submit research project ideas

  • October Year 1 -February Year 2: Development of the thesis proposal

  • February Year 2: Defense of thesis proposal (presentation to department before research begins)

  • March-June Year 2: Data collection (Opportunity to join field work)

  • June-September Year 2: Thesis preparation

  • July-August Year 2: Thesis progress report

  • September Year 2: Draft submission

  • November Year 2: Final submission

  • February Year 3: Final defense

Here is the template to propose a project.

Here is a list of previous thesis topics.

Donate money to the cause

We will use donations to fund student research projects, hire instructors to work as translators for Youtube videos, and send instructors to Cambodia on our annual trips, and send research supplies to the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Please check back in Fall 2024 for our Giving Tuesday fundraiser through the University of Michigan.

Expanding awareness of Cambodia through Wikipedia

One of our ongoing missions is to help Cambodian students and researchers add to the wikipedia pages for Cambodian endemic species and topics. We are also seeking to expand the Khmer-language versions of existing Wikipedia pages. See some of our progress here:

Ziziphus oenopolia before and current page

Nepenthes holdenii before and current page