With great anticipation, the HAPPY Project was launched on the 6th of April 2021 at Royal Thimphu College (RTC) in Thimphu. The opening was attended by the President and Dean of Academics of RTC, followed by the focal person from the Office of Vice Chancellor (OVC), project members of RTC, Sherubtse College, College of Cultural Studies (CLCS) and Norbuling Rigter College (NRC). The project website has also launched: https://happy-project.eu/

The project is the first of its kind to take place at a national level with a core focus on discussing ways of improving qualitative research methodology (QRM) by introducing new pedagogical approaches to contribute to sustainable development at the level of state, civil society, business, and local communities, in dealing with rapid social change, cultural preservation and promotion, and climate change.

The ultimate objectives of the kick-off meeting were to officially introduce the respective colleges and members, share experiences, discuss about the project’s financial budget & management. During the morning sessions, the Bhutanese partners discussed the plan of action for the project at each institute, conducting baseline analysis of the QRM at each institution and financial management. During the afternoon sessions, all of the Bhutanese and European partners (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Netherlands), Leiden University (Netherlands), the Institute for Innovation and Development (Slovenia) and the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) joined via Zoom – each college presented a brief introductory presentation on their respective institution on the first day of the afternoon session. In the following two afternoon sessions, the project team discussed briefly about the Project Management, Financial Management, Partnership Agreement, Quality Assurance parameters, Dissemination & Exploitation plans and upcoming programs for the next three years. The members had an exciting virtual meeting followed by interesting energizers organised by Ms. Mekky (VU) in between the meetings to keep the participants focused.

The Bhutanese members had the opportunity to meet each other in person and discuss their expectations and upcoming events/arrangements. They talked about the project and their aims over tea and lunch. Meeting the European members via Zoom created a new energy amongst the members and they looked forward to meeting each other in person in the future when the risks of COVID-19 lightens.

However, it was emphasised at the meeting to think about ways to sustain the impact of the project past its deadline.  For this, it is necessary to look at the HAPPY Project as beyond the current project goals.

Mrs. Collete Gerards opened Day 3’s  virtual meeting with three presentations specifically focusing Project – Financial – Partnership Management followed by discussions and alignment from each individual member. Concluding statements were made by the main coordinators from all the partner colleges and then we officially declared the in-person kick off meeting closed until another virtual meeting on the 13th & 15th  of April 2021. These meetings will first involve a detailed session for relevant administrative persons (coordinators + finance officials) on project & financial management, then finish up with work-package (WP) activities planning with the WP leaders. With this, the HAPPY kick-off is officially concluded and the project is launched!

Mekong Business Challenge is an entrepreneurship competition for university students promoting entrepreneurship and business incubation in the Mekong region. This year’s competition was scheduled to be held in Cambodia on 14th March but given the current global pandemic situation, it was held virtually for the first time in the 14 years of its founding. RTC first participated in the Mekong Business Challenge in 2016 and has seen repeated success since the beginning, including winning the top prize in 2018.

A team of three RTC students took part in the competition this year supervised by Mr. Gagan Mongar (Faculty of Business Studies). Third-year students, Sangay Kunchok pursuing BBA (General Management), Ugyen Chozom pursuing BCom (Finance) and Sunny Rasaily pursuing BBA (Marketing) designed an audio guide tour app that displays all the cultural sites of Bhutan in multiple languages and has been aptly named as “Thunder Guide” to align with the ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’. The first prototype application contains four languages, namely German, French, Vietnamese, and Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), and currently covers 9 different cultural sites at Paro, Thimphu, and Punakha.

“It came to us as a disappointment and also as an opportunity. The disappointment was that we could not go to Cambodia for the competition, where we were hoping to meet the international Judges and fellow competitors which would have served as a huge gain of experience and social networking. The opportunity was the competition being an online PPT voice over, it had eliminated a lot of pressure, we could work on the presentation till we got the desired outcome”, said Sunny. 

The team came 2nd in the competition winning a cash prize of $3,000 USD, which they want to invest in launching the app in the market. A total of 11 university teams competed in the region’s business model competition including teams from Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. “I am so happy that our one year’s worth of hard work is finally rewarded. Without the endless support from Mr. Gagan and the college, this wouldn’t have been possible. We would also like to thank Oscar Gue, who was an exchange student at RTC for equally contributing to the business project throughout his stay at the College”, said Ugyen.

“I thank my college for giving me the opportunity to learn outside the context of our books and classroom. I want to reassure and say that I am continuing to work on this business model to launch it as soon as our economy and tourism sector is back on”, said Sangay.

A group of ten RTC students was accompanied by Mr. Tshewang Tandin (President of RTC), Lopen Karma Tshewang (Senior Lecturer of Dzongkha), and Mr. Bahadur Lepcha (Storekeeper) on a visit to Japan for the 9th Annual SEISA Cultural Exchange Programme from 27th January- 4th February 2020.

The long-standing partnership between SEISA and RTC provides intercultural exchange opportunities for students, faculty, and staff within the two institutions. The exchange programme also aims at promoting understanding and building a strong friendship between the two countries and between SEISA and Royal Thimphu College. According to the theme of the programme, titled ‘Inclusiveness’, the participants visited historic temples and various schools, including the SEISA high schools located in Odawara and Oiso which provide facilities for students with disabilities. 

The group also visited some notable places in Japan such as the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, the National Astronomy Observatory, and Odawara castle, followed by a courtesy call with the Vice Mayor of Odawara city. The programme helped the participants experience a wide variety of enriching activities, such as learning about the advancement of technology, and standards of living in Japan, and trying Japanese cuisine and traditional clothing. It also provided a platform for the RTC students to share their own culture and traditions with their Japanese counterparts. 

SEISA and RTC are looking forward to the 10th year of their partnership.