Reimagining the education system in Myanmar
Spring University Myanmar is a youth-led, alternative higher-education community, founded in May 2021 to keep learning alive for the country's youth.
Spring University Myanmar was founded in May 2021, after the February 2021 military coup pushed the country’s education system into crisis. As universities closed and many educators joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, students across Myanmar were left without access to higher education pathways.
SUM was established to respond to that need. What began with short courses and virtual workshops has grown into diploma programmes and a wider education initiative reaching students across Myanmar and beyond.
Today, SUM operates through 11 interdisciplinary schools, with more than 136 faculty members and over 40 staff drawn from CDM educators, working professionals, the Myanmar diaspora, and international partner institutions. We have delivered more than 850 courses to over 25,000 students.
Our work now combines online learning through SUMLearn, offline digital learning through the SUM Box, scholarships, and community-led education for underserved learners. Alongside this, we continue to advocate for the long-term systemic strengthening of Myanmar’s education sector.
SUM’s long-term vision is to grow into an open university platform for distance education, vocational training, and research, creating flexible and credible learning pathways for Myanmar’s next generation.
By 2023, an estimated 350,000 students and 10,000 academics had been pushed out of Myanmar's higher-education system. Spring University Myanmar exists to keep that generation learning.
Our vision
To empower young people to lead, collaborate, and thrive in a free and democratic society.
Our long-term aspiration is to become an open university platform for distance education, vocational training, and research.
Our mission
To provide alternative education resources for Myanmar youth and to advocate systemic strengthening for the Myanmar education sector among local and international stakeholders.
The values behind every programme.
Keeping reliable education within reach despite crisis, connectivity, or cost.
Standing with educators and students who resist authoritarianism.
Youth-led, and rooted in Myanmar's diverse communities.
Inclusive, ethical education that respects every learner.
Guided by people who believe in Myanmar's youth.
SUM is led and advised by educators and scholars committed to the country's democratic future.
Saw Kapi is the founder of the School of Governance and Public Administration and a Director of the Salween Institute. A former Executive Director at Thabyay Education Foundation, he previously served as Director of Admissions and Records at California State University, Bakersfield, and as Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Dr. Miemie Winn Byrd is a professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, where she teaches and researches U.S.–Myanmar relations and the interaction of economics and security. She is also a civil affairs officer in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Dr. Tun Myint is Professor and Chair of Political Science at Carleton College and a co-founder of Mutual Aid Myanmar. He has served on the Technical Advisory Team of the Federal Constitution Drafting Coordinating Committee and is a founding editorial board member of the Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship.
Want to support our work?
Partner with SUM or help fund a student's education.