Student exchange activities are done through reciprocity principle wherein a country sends out and receives the same number of students to another member country. The program targets 25 exchange students from the seven member countries in the following seven disciplines: Hospitality and Tourism, Agriculture, Language and Culture, International Business, Food and Technology, Economics, and Engineering.
Twelve member Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from the Philippines have been selected by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) formed Technical Working Group based on the following criteria: Centre of Excellence/Centre of Development, autonomous/deregulated, accreditation, and membership in international organizations. These are the Ateneo de Manila University, Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, Central Luzon State University, Central Mindanao University, De La Salle University, Lyceum of the Philippines University- Batangas, Saint Louis University, St. Paul University of the Philippines, University of Mindanao, University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, and University of St. La Salle.
The main objectives of AIMS are to create a vibrant program for the citizens of all SEAMEO member countries and to promote the mobility of students thereby establishing a common higher education area and cultivate globalized human resources for the region. This program was initially launched in 2010 as the Malaysia- Indonesia-Thailand (MIT) student mobility pilot project, wherein 441 exchange students where accommodated by the program from 2010-2013. It was changed in 2013 to the AIMS program with the inclusion of other four member states: Brunei, Japan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
