Mini Conference: Intensive English Proficiency Course
Organized by Shan State Sangha Council Education Committee
Monday, 27th July 2026 | Venue: KBZ International Meeting Hall, SSBU
Overview
The Shan State Sangha Council Education Committee held a mini conference on Monday, 27th July 2026, at the KBZ International Meeting Hall, Shan State Buddhist University. The event marked the close of a three-month Intensive English Proficiency Course. Novices, nuns, and monks who completed the course presented papers on English learning, monastic education, and Buddhist teachings. Students traveled from towns across Shan State, including Laikha, Panglong, Mongnai, Taunggyi, Hsihseng, Kunheing, Loilem, Namkham, Nam Sang, and Mong Hsu, to take part.
Opening Ceremony
Ven. Aon Leng Gandhasāra served as master of ceremonies for the opening. Registration began at 7:00 am. At 7:15, the Pro-rector, the Most Ven. Sayādaw Vicittābhipāla, led the lighting of candles and the recitation of “Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammāsambuddhassa” in homage to the Triple Gems. Sayādaw then delivered the opening speech. Each presenter across the day received 10 minutes to speak and 5 minutes for questions, a total of 15 minutes per paper. An alarm at nine minutes warned speakers that one minute remained.
Morning Session: Shan and Burmese Papers
Nun Javanañāṇī of Panglong moderated the first session, with Novice Tejinda of Haw Kham, Laikha, as MC. The session opened in Shan language, with a paper titled သေၽႃးသၽႃႇဝၸၢတ်ႈပၢၼ်ၵူၼ်း လႄႈ ၵၢၼ်ပၢႆးပၺ်ႇၺႃႇ presented by Ven. Juen Murng Chandādhika of Langkhur.
Nun Campakamālā of Laikha followed with a Shan-language paper titled တေႁဵတ်းၸိူင်ႉႁိုဝ်ၵႄႈၶႆ လွင်ႈမႆႈၸႂ် လႄႈ လွင်ႈထၢတ်ႈ ၸႂ်တူၵ်းၼႂ်းၵႄႈၵၢင်လုၵ်ႈႁဵၼ်းၶဝ်။
Ven. Jotipāla of Kunheing then moderated three English-language papers. Novice Vaṇṇasāmi of Laikha spoke on improving teaching methods in monastic schools through a student-centered approach. Novice Mettānanda of Laikha traced the historical development of Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism and its spread across Asia. Novice Paññājota (Mine Han) of Mongnai closed the segment with a paper on teaching methods in monastic education. A refreshment break followed at 9:00 am.
Morning Session: English Papers
Novice Kavithaja of Nam Sang moderated the second morning session, with Novice Vayama of Namkham as MC. Novice Pandava and Novice Therinda, both of Laikha, opened with reflections on learning English and its importance for their studies.
Nun Javanañāṇī of Panglong followed with her own account of studying English. Novice Vicitta of Taunggyi and Novice Janaka of Panglong then presented on ānāpāna and muditā, describing their experience of these practices and the benefits each brings.
Ying Noon Ku (Hom Num) of Laikha spoke next on her experience of learning English. Novice Suvaṇṇa of Panglong addressed how students can manage stress and depression. Nun Dhammesī of Laikha closed the morning with a further reflection on studying English.
Afternoon Session: English Papers, Part One
Novice Viriya of Laikha moderated the first afternoon session, with Novice Sumana of Haw Kham, Laikha, as MC. Novice Hseng Lao Siharāja of Laikha opened with a paper asking why people forget to be happy. Novice Suvara of Laikha returned to the theme of stress and depression among students.
Ven. Puen Zorm Pāmokkha of Mong Hsu discussed the qualities of a good teacher and effective teaching methods in monastic education.
Ven. Juen Morng Candādhika of Langkhur then moderated three further papers. Novice Viriya of Laikha spoke again, this time on improving teaching methods in monastic education more broadly.
Novice Pan Jin Paññābala of Hsihseng presented on the four brahmavihāras and their near and far enemies.
Ven. Sam Law Obhāsa of Langkhur closed the session with a paper on mindfulness in ordinary life.
Afternoon Session: English Papers, Part Two
Novice Suvaṇṇa of Panglong moderated the final presentation session, with Ying Sheng Inn of Laikha as MC. Novice Sumana of Panglong opened with a paper comparing Greek philosophy and Buddhism.
Ven. Jotipāla of Kunheing followed with a paper on cultivating positive psychology.
Novice Kavithaja of Nam Sang returned once more to the subject of stress and depression among students.
Three papers in Burmese closed the session. Novice Nandasāmi of Loilem presented ပညာရေးကွာခြားပုံနှင့် စိတ်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာပြောင်းလဲမှု။
Novice Vannida of Namkham followed with a paper titled Psychology (စိတ်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ).
Nun Sucandī of Panglong closed the session with a paper titled ကျောင်းသားများအကြောင်းစိတ်ဖိစီးမှု နှင့် စိတ်ကျရောဂါများကို ဘယ်လိုစီမံခန့်ခွဲမလဲ။
Closing Ceremony
Novice Koliya of Laikha served as MC for the closing ceremony. From 4:30 pm, certificates were presented to all presenters, moderators, and MCs, followed by a group photograph.
At 5:00 pm, the Most Ven. Prof. Dr. Khammai Dhammasāmi, Founder and Rector of Shan State Buddhist University, delivered the closing remarks.
The ceremony ended at 5:15 pm with the sharing of merits and the recitation of "Buddha sāsanaṃ ciraṃ tiṭṭhatu," followed by a final group photo.
The organizers also announced an informal gathering at 7:00 pm that evening. It gave students a chance to share their experiences from the three months of the Intensive English Proficiency Course.