"The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) is a consortium of 36 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." 

Zhejiang University Joins APRU
 APRU universities voted favorably in a recent ballot on Zhejiang University's membership to the association. One of the top ranked universities in China, Zhejiang U meets APRU's membership criteria in academic excellence, research intensity, global outlook and innovative dimension. Zhejiang U's admission brings the total APRU membership to 36.

APRU Presidents Meet in Historic Videoconference
 A milestone event was held on June 19, 2003 (Singapore time) when 28 APRU presidents were connected in real time via videoconferencing for the Special Presidents' Meetng. This is the first time in APRU's seven-year history to have such a large scale trans-Pacific videoconference conducted via Internet2. The presidents had a two-hour interactive discussion on APRU business issues and new initiatives.

The 2004 Annual Presidents' Meeting will be hosted by University of Chile at Santiago, Chile.

Some important developments from the meeting include:
  • Election of New Steering Committee Members
    Professor Gu, Binglin, president of Tsinghua University and Professor Takeshi Sasaki, president of University of Tokyo were elected by the APRU presidents to the steering committee. They took over from Professor Wang Dazhong of Tsinghua University and Professor Tadamitsu Kishimoto of Osaka University who both finished their terms as presidents at their respective universities. The APRU steering committee comprises a group of elected APRU presidents and provides leadership and guidance to the association.
     
  • Registration of APRU
    In a move to provide continuity as APRU expands its role and activities, APRU presidents unanimously voted for APRU to be registered as a legal entity in Singapore. The registration process is expected to be completed by 2004 at the next annual president's meeting in Chile.
 

4th Doctoral Students Conference at Mexico City
Some 50 doctoral students from 17 APRU universities attended the 4th Doctoral Students Conference hosted by National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) from August 24-29, 2003. Included in this year's conference were speakers from UNAM, University of Southern California and APRU Secretariat who presented on the conference theme of "Tools for Building the Future of the Pacific Rim."


 

APRU Enterprise Conference
An APRU Enterprise conference will be held on October 30, 2003. The conference will be attended by senior staff in charge of innovation and entrepreneurship at APRU universities. Besides planning future activities of APRU Enterprise, they will present and discuss issues such as technology licensing and commercialization, intellectual property management and entrepreneurship education. This conference is held in conjunction with Global Entrepolis@Singapore (see next story).

APRU Showcase at Global Entrepolis@Singapore
 Organized by the Singapore Economic Development Board and IDG World Expo, Global Entrepolis@Singapore is an exposition showcasing leading edge technologies, innovations and product launches. Held from October 27 to November 1, 2003, the event is expected to attract up to 10,000 international participants who are industry players including entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, inventors and chief executives. An APRU Pavilion will be put up at the exhibition to showcase APRU universities' technologies, innovations and research expertise to an international audience.

4th Distance Learning and Internet Conference in Singapore
The 4th Distance Learning and Internet Conference will take place from November 30 to December 2, 2003. Hosted by National University of Singapore, the theme for this year's conference is "Global Knowledge Enterprise - Learning Without Walls". In conjunction with the conference, an Internet2 Videoconferencing Coordinators workshop will be held on December 3. This is the first such workshop in the Asia Pacific and is jointly organized by APRUNet and Internet2. More information can be found at the conference website.

APRU Conference on SARS and Infectious Diseases in 2004
Reflecting the current concerns and impact of SARS in the Pacific Rim, an international conference on SARS and infectious diseases will be hosted by Fudan University in 2004. More information will be available in due course.

 

New President at Osaka University
Professor Hideo Miyahara was inaugurated as the new president of Osaka University on August 26, 2003. He was previously dean of the graduate school of information science and technology at Osaka University. Professor Miyahara succeeded Professor Tadamitsu Kishimoto who finished his term as president of Osaka University.

 

Click here to see full list of APRU calendar of events.

 

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