The University of Seoul and the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) have celebrated the first graduates of their jointly established Department of Sustainable Urban Planning and Development.

The university said Monday that the graduation ceremony was held at RUPP’s campus in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on July 31 for 31 students who completed the department’s undergraduate program.

The event marked the first graduation since the department was established in 2022.

The graduation represented a major milestone in the Leading University Project for International Cooperation, which has been led by the Korean government and implemented by the University of Seoul’s International School of Urban Sciences since 2021.

The initiative has been funded by the Ministry of Education and supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea.

In May 2022, the two universities received approval to establish Cambodia’s first urban planning department. They have since incorporated the University of Seoul’s urban planning curriculum and Korea’s expertise in urban development into the department’s academic program.

University of Seoul President Won Yong-kul, RUPP Rector Chet Chealy, Korean Ambassador to Cambodia Kim Chang-yong, as well as more than 200 officials and scholars from Korea and Cambodia attended the ceremony.

In his congratulatory remarks, Won said, “We launched this project in 2021 with the belief that knowledge and experience grow and transform the world when they are shared.”

“I hope the 31 graduates will become world-class professionals who combine Seoul’s development experience with the academic foundation they gained at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, and pioneers who will write a new chapter in Cambodia’s urban history,” he added.

Since the project began, the University of Seoul has helped build the department’s educational foundation by jointly developing 28 urban planning courses and textbooks.

The university provided faculty training, established infrastructure such as smart classrooms, supplied educational equipment, operated internship programs in Korea and built industry-academic cooperation networks.

During the visit, Won and his delegation held high-level meetings with the rector of RUPP and officials from Phnom Penh Capital Hall.

They agreed to establish a Center for Smart City and Infrastructure Development at the RUPP to provide a foundation for continued cooperation beyond the completion of the project.

Meanwhile, the University of Seoul has contributed to urban development in Korea and abroad through its expertise in education, research and policy development across a wide range of urban fields, including urban engineering, urban planning, transportation engineering and urban administration.

The university’s International School of Urban Sciences is a specialized graduate school focused on urban studies. It was created to share Seoul’s urban development experience and policy expertise with the international community.

Since opening in 2013, the school has offered master’s and doctoral degree programs, international training programs and official development assistance projects for officials and urban professionals from developing countries.