On October 19th, 2015, the University of Cambodia held a Special Honorary Doctorate Conferment Ceremony at the Southeast Asia Television Studio. H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Founder, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and President of the University of Cambodia, presided over the ceremony and conferred an Hon-orary Doctorate in International Relations to H.E. Dr. Philipp Rosler, Member of the Managing Board, and Head of the Centre for Regional Strategies at the World Economic Forum. H.E. Sun Chan Thol, Senior Min-ister and Minister of Commerce, Ambassador Joachim Baron von Marschall, Lok Chumteav Khem Rany, and many other Excellencies and distinguished guests attended this special ceremony to honor H.E. Dr. Philipp Rosler.
In his welcoming remarks, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn thanked H.E. Dr. Rosler, H.E. Sun Chan Toul, and all Excellencies, Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen for attending this special event. He then praised H.E. Dr. Rosler on his many achievements, commenting that his CV is incredibly impressive. He stated that H.E. Dr. Rosler should be seen as an incredible role model for students, because of all he has achieved in his life, especially at such a young age. He expressed that the University of Cambodia is delighted and honored to present to him a well-deserving Honorary Doctorate Degree in International Relations.
Dr. Greg Emery, Dean for the Techo Sen School of Government and International Relations, then took the stage to read the citation for H.E. Dr. Rosler. Dr. Emery explained that Dr. Rosler was born in war torn Vietnam in 1973, he lost both of his biological parents when he was just a baby, and was adopted by a German family. He grew up in Ham-burg and Hanover, Germany. He earned his Doctorate in cardio-thoracic-vascular surgery in 2002 at Hanover Medical. His career advanced very quickly and in 2009 at the age of 36, he became Germany’s Minister of Health. Just two short years later, in 2011, he became Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Economy and Technology – and Chairman of the Free Democratic Party. During this time, he was also nominated as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and became an active participant on several occasions in the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. As of February 2014, Dr. Rosler is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Managing Board and Head of the Centre for Regional Strategies.
Thereafter, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn conferred an Honorary Doctorate Degree in International Rela-tions from the University of Cambodia to H.E. Dr. Philipp Rosler. Lok Chumteav Khem Rany and H.E. Sun Chan Thol then presented H.E. Dr. Rosler with bouquets of flowers to honor this special occasion.
H.E. Dr. Philipp Rosler then gave his acceptance speech, where he thanked the University of Cam-bodia for this great honor. In his speech, he explained that hard work and fair access to education are the keystones to success. He also encouraged students to take advantage of the upcoming ASEAN integration. He explained that although economic communities are made with economic goals in mind, they also have politi-cal intentions and even more broadly, cultural implications. A strong community with economic, political, and cultural ties promotes democracy and development. He did advise students that although the AEC will allow a free flow of people, Cambodians should not simply flee their country to work abroad. He commented on the benefits of travel and studying abroad, but emphasized the importance of building strong human resources in Cambodia, and the key role, as university graduates, they will play in this effort.
H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn ended the ceremony by thanking all those in attendance, especially H.E. Sun Chan Thol, Ambassadors, Execellencies and all others. He also congratulated H.E. Dr. Philipp Rosler once again on all of his accomplishments, and reiterated the University’s pleasure in conferring an Honorary Doc-torate in International Relations to him.
By: Ms. Samantha Smith
