"The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) is a consortium of 35 leading universities from 16 economies in the Pacific Rim. Formed in 1997, it aims to foster cooperation in education, research and enterprise thereby contributing to the economic, scientific and cultural advancement in the Pacific Rim."    7th Annual Presidents' Meeting in June 2003 APRU presidents will meet at the 7th Annual Presidents' Meeting from June 19-21, 2003 at the National University of Singapore. The presidents will discuss matters of strategic importance to research universities. Highlights of the program include a half-day forum on Life Sciences. At this forum, leading industry experts, venture capitalists and academics including Nobel laureates will discuss the latest developments in this important field. The overall meeting program also includes a dialog session with a renowned thought leader. APRU Senior Staff to Meet at Stanford in April 2003 The inaugural APRU Senior Staff Meeting will be held at Stanford University from April 14-16, 2003. The senior staff will review the development and implementation of APRU activities. They will also have the opportunity to interact and share experiences with their counterparts in other APRU universities. More information will be available on the APRU website. Workshop on Internationalization of APRU Universities at Peking University in May 2003 Co-sponsored by Peking University and University of Southern California, this research project examines how APRU universities internationalize their activities. APRU universities are surveyed on the best practices in internationalization of teaching, research and outreach activities. The research results will be presented at a workshop in Peking University from May 25-27, 2003.   Submission Deadline Extended for 4th Doctoral Students Conference The deadline for the submission of abstracts for the 4th Doctoral Students Conference has been extended to February 28, 2003. This year's conference is hosted by National Autonomous University of Mexico from May 18-24, 2003. Read more at the conference website. Registration Open for 4th Distance Learning and Internet Conference "Global Knowledge Enterprise - Learning without Walls" is the theme for the 2003 Distance Learning and Internet Conference hosted by the National University of Singapore from April 2-4, 2003. Dr. Vili Brajovic of the World Bank and Dr. Diana Oblinger of Microsoft Corporation are some of the keynote speakers at this event. Read more at the conference website. 5th APRU Fellows Program in August 2003 Co-hosted by the University of California, Santa Barbara and Osaka University, this year's theme is titled "Globalization and the Environment: Multidisciplinary Perspectives". The successful APRU Seed Grant Program implemented last year will be continued. The 2003 fellows can apply for the grant to develop collaborative research projects after the program. The Fellows Program will take place from August 17-30, 2003. More information will be available in due course. Please check the APRU website for any latest update.     APEC Grant for APRU Distance Learning Partnership Project APRUNet won a start-up grant from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization to develop a 3-year $1.5 million program. This program enables APRU universities to work with secondary schools to build distance learning partnerships. Read more. A partnership workshop will be held in Los Angeles in the spring of 2003. At this workshop, key private sector, public sector and non-profit organizations will be invited to contribute to the development and implementation of this project. Please contact Dr. Zita Wenzel, APRUNet coordinator at with suggestions of organizations or with contact information. APRUNet Meeting in Fukuoka, Japan APRUNet had a successful meeting in Fukuoka, Japan in January 2003 attended by representatives from APRU universities, CERNET, the APAN Education Working Group and Internet2. The meeting discussed future APRUNet projects such as the East Asian videoconferencing, Tibet early archaeology and a training project on global infectious disease. 4 APRU Universities Link Up for Video-Conferencing on East Asian Studies A trans-Pacific videoconference on East Asian Studies was held in October 2002 by 4 APRU universities. Hosted by Seoul National University and moderated by Professor Myungkoo Kang, the videoconference combined faculty members and graduate students from Australian National University, Seoul National University, Tokyo University, and University of Southern California. Ideas and input are welcomed for future collaborations of this nature. Please contact Dr. Zita Wenzel, APRUNet coordinator at with your suggestions. For more news on APRUNet, read the APRUNet newsletter.   Leadership Change at University of Washington Former president of University of Washington, Professor Richard L. McCormick stepped down from his post at UW after accepting presidency at Rutgers University. Dr. Lee. L Huntsman has been appointed as interim president of UW from November 2002. Dr. Huntsman was previously UW provost and vice president for academic affairs. New President at Waseda Professor Katsuhiko Shirai was inaugurated as president of Waseda University in November 2002. He takes over from Professor Takayasu Okushima. Professor Shirai obtained his PhD from Waseda in 1973 and was previously vice president and professor for information and computer science in Waseda University.   Future Meetings Click here to see full list of APRU calendar of events.     Now On-Line - APRU Brochure The APRU brochure is now available in a downloadable format on the APRU website. The brochure contains a write-up on APRU's history, membership as well as its activities and programs. To request for copies of the brochure, please contact the APRU Secretariat at apru@apru.org.     Comments, suggestions and contributions to e-newsletter are welcome. Please send them to the APRU Secretariat at apru@apru.org.