Introduction
Historical Background of RAC
The Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) was originally established by a Royal Decree of 25 August 1965 and placed under the Office of the Council of Ministers. Unfortunately, it could not start its functioning until 1970 when the war broke out in Cambodia. The 1970-1975 war during the Khmer Republic gradually slowed down educational progress and the 1975-1979 revolution under Democratic Kampuchea completely destroyed all previous accomplishments in education as well as other areas.
After the national rebirth in January 1979, great efforts were made to rebuild and extend the educational system. In higher education, institutes, faculties and universities were reopened one after another. Two decades later, four universities have contributed to the training and the development of human resources in Cambodia: the Royal University of Fine Arts, the Royal University of Agriculture and the University of Medical Sciences.
On 11 May 1999, the Royal Academy of Cambodia was re-established by Royal Decree No. NS/RKT/0599/97, at the 2nd early term of the Royal Government of Cambodia under the brilliant leadership of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister. Official Role and Mission/government charter
RAC fulfills its mandate in promoting, orienting, supervising, and expanding research on all fields in the country and forging research cooperation with national and international entities with the same purpose, as well as training and human resource development.
Since its re-establishment, the Royal Academy of Cambodia has fulfilled a number of missions that have actively contributed to the training and the development of human resources in Cambodia.
As the top think tank in Cambodia, the Royal Academy of Cambodia is pursuing the following tasks:
- Managing and expanding research activities on Khmer studies and other fields of study in Cambodia;
- Establishing co-operative relations in research with ministries, institutions, national and international organizations which have the same goals;
- Organizing scientific and educational forums in order to help the country’s development in all fields;
- Training researchers for Masters's degrees and Doctorates;
- Widely distributing documents and research findings in the national language for the public in the country and Khmer studies in foreign languages for the international audience;
- Collecting and preserving research findings on Cambodia, countries in the region and the world;
- Bringing together national intellectuals with a view to fostering the country’s development;
- proposing scientific decorations for national and international dignitaries; co-operating in the examination and evaluation of higher, including postgraduate, education;
- Participating and cooperating in the protection of intellectual property; examining and evaluating scientific research findings;
- Examining and evaluating social evolution and contributing to the development of the country;
- Co-operating in the establishment of research institutes at ministries;
- Establishing and managing branches of the Royal Academy of Cambodia at the regional level throughout the country, and cooperating with relevant ministries for the establishment and management of prehistory and history museums in cities and provinces.
The Royal Academy of Cambodia is a public institution with legal personality and managerial and financial autonomy under the umbrella of the Office of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister's Office). RAC is one of Cambodia’s leading national think tanks. RAC conducts research for the benefit of the Cambodian people and the Royal Government. RAC is not run by the Ministry of Education or any other institution; instead, it works directly with Cambodia’s Prime Minister.
Professional Field:
Promoting, orienting, supervising, and expanding research on all fields in the country and forging research cooperation with national and international entities with the same purpose, as well as training and human resource development.