Parami University, part of the Bard Global Degree Program, was covered in Forbes magazine. Forbes interviewed Kyaw Moe Tun SR ’05, founder and president of Parami University, about his educational background and his decision to move back to Myanmar to found the school in 2021 after earning his PhD in chemistry. In 2021, just before Parami was established, a military coup threatened its construction. Tun believed “liberal arts and sciences education that encourages critical thinking was the best form of resistance,” and continued despite these challenges.

Tun said that "the academic credibility that Bard [lent] to Parami" was one of the biggest contributions to the university's founding. Bard assisted Parami with setting up a registrar and managing student affairs, from the perspective that “higher education institutions are not supposed to be standing on an Ivy League tower.” For Parami students still facing barriers to their education, Tun believes “these liberal arts approaches, discussions, and readings help them find meaning and purpose.”

Parami is part of the Global Higher Education Network for the 21st Century (GHEA21), an organization that prepares students from diverse geographies and backgrounds to address global challenges through rigorous liberal arts and sciences education. Underlying its work is a commitment to academic freedom and a belief in the fundamental link between higher education and democracy.

Post Date: 04-14-2026