"The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) is a consortium of 36 leading universities from 16 economies in the Pacific Rim. It aims to foster cooperation in education, research and enterprise thereby contributing to the economic, scientific and cultural advancement in the Pacific Rim." 

  APRU Chairman Addresses AAU Presidents
 



Flanking APRU Chairman Professor Shih Choon Fong are APRU Secretary General Dr Lawrence Loh (left) and AAU President Dr Nils Hasselmo (right).

   APRU Chairman Professor Shih Choon Fong was invited by the renowned Association of American Universities (AAU) to address its presidents at its annual Spring meeting held in Washington D.C from April 18-20, 2004. 

Speaking on “Relations between Pacific Rim Universities and AAU Universities: Notes from a Very Small Island”, Chairman Shih gave a prognosis of the world in 2050 and discussed the implications of the imminent shift in the world’s focal points of higher education from North America to Asia. Attended by 56 presidents of AAU universities, this meeting provided a unique opportunity for APRU to explore collaboration with AAU.
 
  APRU’s Inaugural Senior Staff Meeting
 APRU held its inaugural Senior Staff Meeting at Stanford University from April 13-15, 2004. Coming together for the first time, 36 university vice presidents or their equivalent in global relations strategized ways to strengthen collaboration in higher education. 

Chaired by APRU Secretary General Dr Lawrence Loh, the meeting provided an impetus for participants to review existing activities and discuss issues ranging from student mobility to benchmarking of internationalization initiatives. 

Research Workshop on Internationalization of APRU Universities
 A research workshop on "Internationalization of APRU Universities" was held at Peking University from February 25-27, 2004. The workshop provided a platform for members to share best practices in internationalization of teaching, research and outreach. Some 44 participants from 25 APRU universities participated in this event.

The workshop discussed the results of a research survey on “best practices” in internationalization activities. The research project was sponsored by University of Southern California and Peking University. An overview of research study as well as presentations is available here.
 
APRU Secretary General in Korea for APEC Meeting
 

APRU Secretary General Dr Lawrence Loh (left) with APEC Director (Program) Joseph Doraisamy and HRDWG Lead Shepherd Dr. Mohd Nasir.		   APRU Secretary General, Dr Lawrence Loh participated in the 26th APEC Human Resources Development Working Group Meeting from May 11-14, 2004 in Jeju Island, Korea.

APRU was an official guest at the meeting which provided networking opportunity for APRU to sustain relations with APEC. In his statement at the meeting, Dr Loh welcomed the opportunity for collaboration with APEC to expand educational, economical and technological cooperation in the region. Click here to view statement.


 

8th Annual Presidents' Meeting
Hosted by University of Chile, APRU presidents will meet in Santiago, Chile from June 23-25, 2004 for the 8th Annual Presidents' Meeting. A highlight of this meeting is a half-day forum on "Higher Education in the Pacific Rim: Regional Context and Challenges". APRU presidents will address strategic issues relating to the trends and developments of higher education in Pacific Rim region including university regulation, governance and management as well as funding pressure and student accessibility.

Conference on "Infectious Diseases and the Society"
Fudan University will be hosting a conference on "Infectious Diseases and the Society" from July 7-9, 2004. Bringing together public health experts and others involved in community health, the conference theme will coalesce around issues regarding social awareness as well as provide scientific, economic and ethical perspectives of infectious diseases. Click here for more details.

 5th Fellows Program
Co-hosted by University of California, Santa Barbara and Osaka University, this year's 5th Fellows Program theme is "Globalization and the Environment: Multidisciplinary Perspectives". Participants will have an opportunity at winning a collaborative research paper award given to the best paper submitted on the theme of the program. The program will be held from August 15-28, 2004. Click here for more information.

 5th Doctoral Students Conference
The 5th Doctoral Students Conference will be hosted by University of Sydney from August 9-13, 2004.  The conference theme will center around “Research at Pacific Rim Universities: Economic, Scientific and Cultural Perspectives – The Way Forward”. The call for extended abstracts is now open. Deadline for submission is June 25, 2004. Click here for more details.

 5th Distance Learning and the Internet Conference
The 5th Distance Learning and the Internet Conference will be held at Tsinghua University, Beijing from October 11-13, 2004. Based on the theme of “Distance Learning - Benefiting All”, the conference will bring together leading distance learning experts from academia, business and government from around the world. Participants will exchange views relating to quality control and accreditation, technology trends and challenges as well as globalization and development. Click here for more details.

  "Live" Webcast of Lecture by World Bank President
Mr. James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, gave a public lecture on "Why Development is Important to the United States" at University of Southern California (USC) on March 4, 2004. Mr Wolfensohn’s talk prompted spirited exchanges among the audience.

This lecture was sponsored by USC and the World Bank. The webcast is sponsored by APRUNet and USC's Center for Scholarly Technology.

  New President at Chulalongkorn University
 Professor Suchada Kiranandana was inaugurated as president of Chulalongkorn University in April, 2004.  She was previously Dean of the Graduate School of Chulalongkorn University.  Professor Kiranandana succeeded Professor Tatchai Sumitra who recently completed his position as President on March 31, 2004.

  Click here to see full list of APRU calendar of events for 2004.

 

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