We cannot let the pre-modern mindset and the 20th century institutional settings dictate how the 21st century students are learning or not learningThe Project ASEAN Cyber University has presented a challenge to HEIs in the ASEAN regionaffecting the “normal wayof teaching and learningon top of the challenges they are already facingnotably the pressure from university rankinginternationalizationsocio-economic relevanceand quality improvementThese challenges could be summed up in terms of a tension or dilemmaan unresolved problembut can be ended by the strategic choice decided by the university leadership at various levelsIn between academic excellence of the university and the equal access to higher education resourcesthere is a tension between quality and quantityranking and social justiceand global skill sets and individual needsASEAN Cyber University as a cross-border collaborative project could offer one of the solutionsa means to an unresolved end facing each universityif mutual interests are understood and desirable strategies for change are in placeGiven the diversity of contents already deposited in the knowledge owners or the potential knowledge providers across the ASEAN regionperhaps the key is how to manage those talents successfully within the multilateral atmosphere.