ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Islamic Universities Network: An Appraisal

Abstract

ASEAN Economic Community just started in the end of 2015. The AEC project’s integrated ASEAN economic region was built on four pillars of integration: a single market and production base; a competitive economic region; equitable economic development; and integration with the global economy. The AEC Blueprint(ASEAN Secretariat 2008), signed by the ASEAN leaders on 20 November 2007 during the 13th ASEAN Summit, serves as its road map. The AEC Scorecard was formulated to track the progress of the members in implementing the plans for the AEC.Among the changes and challenges that face Islamic universities and higher learning institutions are Islamic university education and the issues of quality and accreditation from an Islamic perspective; Islamic university education, sustainable development and the labour market; the patterns of new universities and the knowledge society; means to upgrade the capacities of scientific research institutions; the optimal use of educational technology in Islamic university education; university competences and the requirements of Islamic civilizational revival; Furthering interactions between academia and industry; university education in the service of the issues of the Islamic Ummah; university education and contemporary problems: towards an authentic Islamic vision; developingand updating funding sources and means in Islamic university education; University scientific research: development sources and tools; towards an efficient methodology for teaching Arabic for non-Arabic speakers; Quranic script and university education: the civilizational and cultural role and the scientific and technological challenges; challenges of university education in the third millennium; globalization, cultural diversity and dialogue among cultures and civilizations: action and interaction; and towards a contemporary Islamic enlightening discourse in university education.This paper is an attempt to highlight the existent of Islamic universities and higher learning institutions in the region and their role as well as ASEAN Economic Community in themaking. When we realize this factwe may make a step forward to gather those institutions in a vast in order to make them a giant higher learning institution in the region.