Students at ACLEDA Institute of Business (AIB). SUPPLIED
The ACLEDA Institute of Business (AIB) has teamed up with the IELTS Cambodia Official Test Centre at IDP Education to administer the English proficiency exam at the institute, as part of its ambition to gain widespread international recognition.
Speaking at a ceremony of memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing between the two organisations on March 28, AIB director Phon Narin highlighted his institute’s “need” for an “internationally renowned collaborative partner” to measure students’ performances in specific skills areas and improve their prospects of studying abroad.
“IELTS is an internationally recognised institution with more than 11,000 collaborative partners worldwide and now AIB is among these,” he said.
“The main thing we want to do to make life easier for our students who want to take the test is to allow them to do so at the institute. In case students’ abilities are still limited, the school will be able to adjust and further develop itself to make sure that our students are truly competent in English.”
Thap Chanthorn, president of AIB’s Department of Foreign Languages, emphasised that the IELTS is a highly sought-after exam for anyone looking for a scholarship or opportunity to study or work abroad.
Thus, he said, AIB’s vision is to prepare students to compete not only domestically but also internationally.
“With the IELTS test, we can guarantee that when our students graduate, they will not only have financial or banking skills, but also foreign language skills – specifically in English – to compete with others both domestically and globally,” he said.
Neil Wilford, senior marketing and business development manager at the IELTS Cambodia test centre, noted that the AIB was the 15th institution to partner with the centre in its more than 30 years of operations.
He stressed that the IELTS is recognised for “high standards” and that not all educational institutions in Cambodia are qualified to administer the test. Wilford said the AIB meets the desired criteria and that the centre wants candidates who pass the test to be internationally competitive.
