In the past year, the Parami Institute of Continuing Education (PICE) at Parami University has offered about 80 two-month long courses. Close to 800 young people across Myanmar and neighboring countries have completed the courses.
Based on this experience and feedback from students and faculty, we will offer courses in a slightly different format. The new courses are designed for young professionals who wish to expand their knowledge and skills for career development while working full-time. Therefore, all courses are organized after work hours from 18h00-19h30 or from 19h30-21h00.
Parami will offer two rounds of courses: one at the end of 2022 and another round of courses in the first half of 2023. All courses are 12 weeks long, including time to implement the learning in projects, with guidance from valued instructors worldwide.
In 2022, we will offer four courses that will start in the week of September 5, 2022, and end in the week of November 25, 2022. Please have a look at the instructors and the courses they are offering!
NOTE: Maximum 20 students per course. Course registration on a first-come, first-serve basis. As all courses are in English, interested applicants will have to take an English proficiency test before signing up for the courses. Applicants may register for more than one course. Fees to cover ICT costs are 25000 MMK or $20, non-refundable.
The course registration form will be available on the PICE Facebook page soon. Before the application form is available, we would like you to explore the details of the courses and get to know the instructors who will be teaching this coming term: Bruce Bolnick (Ph.D.), Myo Thida (Ph.D.), Jack van Dokkum (M.A.), and Akary Tun Thein (M.Sc.).
Course title: Public Finance for Developing Countries
Instructor name: Dr. Bruce Bolnick, Ph.D.
Course detail:
Everyone is affected one way or another by the government budget, either through taxes, or various expenditure decisions, or both – in short, by "public finance." With this course, you, as a concerned citizen, will gain an understanding of key issues and controversies in public finance as applied to developing countries, with special attention to Myanmar and southeast Asia. While focusing on economic analysis, the course also includes an interdisciplinary blend of political science, public administration and data analysis, providing you with a basis for lifelong learning about public policy.
Instructor Biography:
Dr. Bruce Bolnick (Ph.D., Yale University) is an international development economist with more than 40 years of experience as a professor, policy advisor, and international consultant.[*] His special interests include public finance, macroeconomic policy, financial sector development, and growth and poverty reduction strategies.
Dr. Bolnick has taught economics at the Harvard Kennedy School, Northeastern University, Duke University, and the University of Nairobi. He also served as Chief Economist for the International Group at Nathan Associates (an international economics consulting company) and as Senior Associate at the Harvard Institute for International Development.
Over his career, Dr. Bolnick spent more than 12 years as a resident adviser to finance ministries and central banks in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Indonesia, and Zimbabwe. He has written many academic papers, policy studies, consultancy reports, and several books. His work in Myanmar included a 2016 study on Strengthening Macroeconomic Policy Management in Myanmar, through USAID.
Course Title: Data Science in Python for Beginners
Instructor name: Dr. Myo Thida, Ph.D.
Course detail:
Today, Data Science is the most exciting and fast-growing field. This course will introduce you to this most exciting field through theoretical concepts and practical exercises. You will learn the steps by steps of data science workflow: starting from the data collection, data preparation, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and data visualization. You will also be introduced to the concepts of Machine Learning and learn ML methods for solving different problems in the area of data science. Through the different hands-on exercises, you will learn survival skills in Python and become familiar with popular Data Science libraries such as pandas, Numpys, Matplotlib and Seaborn.
Instructor Biography:
Dr. Myo Thida is a social entrepreneur with a strong belief in Education for reforming a country. With a scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, she graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree in Engineering from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2005 and 2008. She received her Ph.D. degree in Computer Vision from Kingston University, the UK, in 2013. Her research interest is in the areas of Computer Vision and Video Analytic. She has published a book on" Contextual Analysis of Videos" and more than five scientific journals in Computer Vision and Machine Learning.
Since the end of 2013, Dr. Myo has been working in the area of training, capacity development and data analytic. Through her own training institute (iSTAR Institute) and consulting firm (VigorZwe), she has trained a wide range of audiences, starting from university lecturers to the Member of parliaments. She has worked with Technological universities and Colleges in Myanmar to reform the curriculum and lectured on courses in Programming such as MATLAB, C++, Python and Data Analytic, Data Science and Machine Learning in Myanmar and Bhutan.
Dr Myo Thida was Vice Principal of Singapore Myanmar Vocational Training Institute (2014-2017) and ASEAN-US science and technology fellow (2019) and ASEAN science diplomat (2021).
Student quote about Dr. Myo Thida: "When I started studying engineering at a university abroad, I found programming really complicated and challenging for me first due to my lack knowledge in this subject. However, when I came back to Myanmar during a semester break, I luckily got to meet Teacher Myo Thida, who could guide me very well in studying MATLAB. Her teaching was so excellent that I once again found programming interesting and became happy to learn more about it. It has inspired me to establish a social enterprise to equip young learners with Computer Science knowledge since childhood, realizing the importance of STEM education. Thanks to Teacher Myo Thida, I could ease myself into programming subjects as well as founded an organization to empower our next generation." (Student from Myanmar)
Course Title: The Story of Us – Different Perspectives of the History of Humanity
Instructor name: Jack van Dokkum, M.A.
Course detail:
In this course, we will run through human history to understand what makes us who we are and whether we are really that different around the world. We will also use and interpret different sources of information, learning to distinguish between different styles and objectives.
Those completing the course will be able to better assess the value and perception of written text and other media, and will have developed a critical view on information snippets that they are confronted with on a daily basis.
Instructor Biography:
Jack van Dokkum (MA) has a diverse background, starting in Development Cooperation both in India and in The Netherlands, and moving through Higher Education teaching and management to his current life in Sustainable Business Management. He is a staunch supporter of a new organizational culture that supports sustainability and, as such, is skeptical of classical management and business models as a vehicle for progress.
For the past 12 years, he has worked mainly in Asia and is currently employed to develop the Safety and Sustainability agenda for the new factory of the UK brand 'innocent drinks' in the port of Rotterdam. He is an avid sailor, a volleyball player/coach, and loves playing music.
Student quote about Jack van Dokkum: "The way Tr. Jack tells us how social development came to be in the East and West, and how climate and geography, along with greed, sloth, and fear, played a role in social development were very relatable and understandable." (2022, Parami Spring Mod 2)
Course Title: Organizational Culture, Workplace Communication and Conflict Resolution
Instructor name: Akary Tun Thein, M.Sc.
Course detail:
The organizational culture is generally recognized as the set of values, ideologies, way of understanding and norms that members of a society or an organization accept and practice. In a healthy organizational culture, the relationship and communication between employees and organizations play an important role. Also, cultures that are psychologically safe encourage communication. This course intends to nurture good communication skills by providing the students with communication theories and techniques from the interpersonal level to an organizational level. Barriers and misunderstandings are common in communication, and as a result, conflicts arise. Therefore, this course will provide the students with knowledge on the nature of workplace conflicts and the skills to mediate, facilitate, and resolve them.
Instructor Biography:
Akary Tun Thein (MSc) has a Master of Engineering in Construction, Engineering, and Infrastructure Management from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand).
She acts as a management consultant in project and construction management for global brand client like Six Senses. Also, she is responsible as a regional business partner of Procore, a leading digital construction management platform. She volunteered as an assistant lecturer in a project management course at the King Mongkut's University of Technology for two years. Also, she gave occasional lectures in good working practices in corporate culture and corporate ethics for the Master's level students of AIT. She worked as an instructor in contract management for experienced management professionals. She is enthusiastic about making Education accessible to anyone and therefore, she is currently engaged in community education projects via digital platforms in Myanmar.
Student quote about Akary Tun Thein: "I gained a lot of insights into management and the business world throughout these eight weeks. Moreover, thanks to Tr. Akary for hearing us out, listening patiently, and empowering us to become better." (2022, Parami Spring Mod 2)
The course registration form will be available on the PICE Facebook page soon. Please stay tuned!