The Asian Universities Alliance (AUA) Presidents Forum 2020, jointly organized by the AUA Executive Presidency 2020-2021, Nazarbayev University (NU), and the AUA Secretariat, was held online on November 26.
The forum brought leaders of 15 AUA member universities together to share their knowledge from the experience of coping with the COVID-19 crisis for sustainable survival and progressive development, and to co-create and develop, through hindsight and foresight, knowledge for more robust and resilient university systems capable of withstanding and responding to continuous, and probably more severe, uncertainties and challenges in the future.
Tsinghua President Qiu Yong, who is also the President of AUA, delivered opening remarks at the opening ceremony of the forum.
Congratulating NU on its 10th anniversary, President Qiu thanked NU President and the current AUA Executive President Shigeo Katsu and his team for hosting AUA’s two important events amid a global pandemic, and thereby strengthening the synergy of AUA.
He said he felt grateful and encouraged that the AUA members came together again, to have an important conversation on the theme of “Knowledge is Power: the Resilience of Asian Universities in a VUCA World,” in a resolve to navigate Asian higher education through the global pandemic of COVID-19. By a “VUCA” world is meant a world with “volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.”
“The universities represented at this forum each possess a unique heritage of traditional wisdom and a remarkable spirit of innovation,” President Qiu said. “It is my fervent hope that together we can build more resilient models of higher education capable of withstanding and responding to any and all uncertainties and challenges which may lay ahead.”
President Qiu stressed that universities must be resilient to thrive in the most challenging times, holding steadfast to their traditions, and that the commitment to innovation has emboldened universities’ resilience to persevere through this “VUCA” world.
“At Tsinghua University, we have embraced our enduring traditions to gain strength that enables us to briskly recover from the disruption, and to advance with greater confidence. In a year that seems as if everything we know has changed, our unwavering commitment to education, research, and community service remains resolute,” he added.
Meanwhile, President Qiu also invited leaders of all the AUA members to join Tsinghua’s 110th-anniversary celebration to be held next year in April.
NU President Shigeo Katsu delivered the welcoming remarks at the forum.
He pointed out that the AUA had enabled its member universities to collectively respond to the challenges of the VUCA world, lead intellectual scholarship and research endeavors, and develop future leaders in the region.
“In these difficult times marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, working together and building on our strengths, we will continue to accomplish great things and we will emerge stronger and more resilient,” Kastu added.
Kastu said that, during its tenure as the Executive President of the AUA, NU would like to strengthen cooperation among young researchers and scholars within the AUA network. He urged leaders of the AUA members to reflect on the pressing issues they have been facing, and share their experience of addressing the challenges of the VUCA world.
The forum featured two panel discussions following the opening ceremony.
The first panel, entitled “Timeless Knowledge: Traditions of Asian Universities in Persisting through a VUCA World” was moderated by NU President Katsu, while Tan Eng Chye, President of the National University of Singapore; Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay; Agustin Kusumayati, University Secretary of Universitas Indonesia; Chandrika Wijeyaratne, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Colombo; and Sawako Shirahase, Executive Vice President of the University of Tokyo, attended as the speakers.
The speakers shared their experiences in running their academic institutions in the face of the pandemic, and discussed possible avenues of cooperation among AUA members.
The second panel was on the topic “Timely Knowledge: Innovation of Asian Universities in Turning Risks into Opportunities”, moderated by Ilesanmi Adesida, Provost of Nazarbayev University.
Bundhit Eua-arporn, President of Chulalongkorn University; OH Se-Jung, President of Seoul National University; Ghaleb Alhadrami Albreiki, Provost and Acting Vice-Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University; Mohd. Hamdi Abd. Shukor, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaya; Nilar Aung, Pro-Rector of the University of Yangon; and Wei Shyy, President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, exchanged their ideas as panelists. The speakers deliberated on aspects Asian universities can focus on while reforming their higher education systems to become resilient, creative, and innovative, and turn risks into opportunities.
The forum concluded with the closing remarks from NU President Katsu. He summarized the insightful views shared by the speakers during the two panel discussions, and concluded the forum as successful, fruitful and informative. He also expressed the hope that AUA members would make the best use of the annual presidents forum to bring out more collaboration for a robust growth of Asian universities in the future.
Writer: Sangeet Sangroula
Editors: John Olbrich, Liu Shutian
