Successful In Promoting the Flourishing Development of Asian Higher Education
HONG KONG, April 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual Asian Universities Alliance (AUA) Summit took place on 13 and 14 April 2019, in Hong Hum, Hong Kong and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. This year, 60 presidents, professors and representatives from 15 member universities of AUA attended the Summit.
During the Board Meeting, AUA announced that Tsinghua University will assume a second term of AUA Presidency from 2020 to 2023. The Asian Higher Education Outlook (AHEO) 2019: Education Innovation research findings, released at the Board Meeting, responds to an urgent need to better understand education, teaching and learning at leading Asian research universities. Educating highly talented people is a core mission and a major global contribution shared by AUA universities. AHEO 2019 explores six frontier issues in education innovation including teaching innovation, doctoral education, online and mobile learning, social engagement, universities for sustainability and university futures. The leadership potential of AUA universities can be demonstrated through their efforts in promoting sustainable development and shaping the future of higher education.
The AUA Presidents Forum, held on 14 April at HKUST, was honored by the presence of specially invited VIP guest the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Mrs. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. Keynote speakers included Rector of Universitas Indonesia Muhammad Anis, Director of the Institute for Public Policy of HKUST Professor Qi Ye, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Devang Khakhar, and Professor Li Zexiang of the Department of Engineering and Public Policy of HKUST. Centered around the key themes of the Forum, their speeches reflected on 'The Roles of Universities in the Sustainability Agenda' and 'Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems: Asian Perspectives on Technological Stewardship and Higher Education.' Following the speeches, a panel discussion was held between presidents of a number of AUA universities, resulting in meaningful in-depth dialogues and exchanges.
Mrs. Carrie Lam said, "Innovation and technology is a policy priority for my Government and an area of progressive growth and boundless promise for our universities. To expand on these and other areas of excellence, we have in recent years put in place numerous policies and programmes to promote R&D at our universities. Our Innovation and Technology Fund assists universities in their technology transfer. R&D results among our universities are encouraging. We are also building unprecedented connections and opportunity through the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. We are strengthening our collaboration with the Mainland on the innovation and technology front under the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle."
QIU Yong, AUA President and President of Tsinghua University said, "As globalization has made openness the trend of future higher education, we believe universities will play an increasingly important role in addressing the most pressing global challenges of human kind."
The 15 founding member institutions of AUA include: Tsinghua University, Peking University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Seoul National University, The University of Tokyo, Chulalongkorn University, University of Yangon, University of Malaya, National University of Singapore, Universitas Indonesia, University of Colombo, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, United Arab Emirates University, King Saud University, and Nazarbayev University. AUA strives to support each member to better achieve its institutional goals, and become more competitive in Asia and across the globe. In order to realise the mission, AUA actively promotes the mobility of students, scholars and staff among all member institutions such as the annual Youth Forum and Asia Deep Dive Program, the AUA Scholars Award and AUA Staff Exchange Programme. In order to strengthen research collaboration and joint innovation, AUA establishes high-level dialogues and forums, in addition to compiling and publishing annual reports on Asian higher education.
About the Asian Universities Alliance (AUA)
Founded in Beijing in April 2017, the Asian Universities Alliance was initiated by Tsinghua University and jointly established with 15 representative universities. The mission of AUA is to address regional and global challenges, specifically related to higher education as well as economic, scientific and technological development by strengthening collaboration among member institutions. AUA acknowledges and promotes a shared identity and places a high value on working towards the success of its mission.
