The Asian Universities Alliance Summit 2026 was held at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan on June 2. Tsinghua University President Li Luming and Vice Chancellor of the University Council Yang Bin attended the summit.
The annual summit comprised a board meeting, a presidents forum, working group meetings, and bilateral events. More than 40 representatives from member and observer universities gathered at Nazarbayev University for in-depth discussions on the Alliance’s long-term development, collaboration in Asian higher education, and the future of university governance.
The board meeting gets underway
On the morning of June 2, the Asian Universities Alliance 2026 Board Meeting was held. At the meeting, Li Luming reviewed Tsinghua University’s efforts over the past year to advance the development of the Alliance and promote youth exchange and research collaboration among member universities, along with the outcomes achieved.
He noted that through a wide range of activities, the Alliance has effectively connected outstanding young talent across Asian universities, demonstrating on the international stage its commitment to harnessing youth energy and jointly addressing global sustainable development challenges.
Li hopes that the Alliance will continue to serve as a bridge, actively promoting short-term study programs, scholar exchanges, and student mobility among member universities, and further strengthening dialogue and mutual learning among young people and academics in Asia. He also called for the regular release of an annual report, systematic expansion of external partnerships with industry and international organizations, and the development of a sustainable ecosystem to further enhance the Alliance’s global influence.
In 2027, the Alliance will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Tsinghua looks forward to working with the incoming AUA presidency holder and all member universities to jointly chart a new blueprint for the Alliance’s development and contribute further to the high-quality development of higher education in Asia and worldwide.
Yang Bin presided over the election segment of the Board Meeting. Chulalongkorn University was elected as the Alliance’s presidency holder for 2026–2029, with its president, Wilert Puriwat, serving as the AUA President for the same period. Nazarbayev University was elected as the executive presidency holder for 2026–2027, with its president, Waqar Ahmad, serving as the AUA Executive President during that term.
The Board reviewed the Alliance’s achievements over the 2023–2026 term, and heard reports from the Secretariat on the AUA Framework 2026–2029, the previous year’s financial statement, the work plan and budget for the coming year, as well as updates from two special policy working groups. Decisions were made on key agenda items.
Group photo of representatives at the 2026 Asian Universities Alliance Summit
On the afternoon of June 2, the Asian Universities Alliance Presidents Forum 2026 was held under the theme “Shaping Future Universities: Industry Engagement and Governance Innovation.”
At the sub-forum on “Role of Industry in University Education - Practices and Challenges,” Yang Bin highlighted Tsinghua University’s innovative engineering doctoral training model as an example to illustrate practical approaches to university–industry collaborative education. He also examined the future direction of higher education amid industrial transformation, with a focus on curriculum innovation and the optimization of talent development.
Rehan Sadiq, provost of Nazarbayev University; Jimmy Fung, associate provost (teaching and learning), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; and Booyuel Kim, deputy vice president of global affairs, Seoul National University, also joined the discussion.
Presidents Forum at the 2026 Asian Universities Alliance Summit
The Asian Universities Alliance was initiated by Tsinghua University and established in Beijing in 2017. Tsinghua served as the presiding institution for the inaugural two terms of the Alliance (2017–2023) and hosts its Secretariat permanently.
Editors: Li Han, John Paul Grima
