"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."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Ever Joint Meeting Between AAU and APRU

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left to right: AAU Chair Mark Wrighton,

AAU President Nils Hasselmo, Singapore Minister for Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, APRU Chairman Shih Choon Fong and Mrs Shih, and APRU Secretary General Lawrence Loh at Welcome Dinner at Istana, Singapore.

 

Focusing on the theme of globalization and its impact on developments in higher education, 53 presidents and key officers from AAU, APRU and AIU attended the Roundtable hosted by National University of Singapore.

 

Highlights of the Roundtable included a dialog with Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding Prime Minister and current Minister Mentor. 

The Association of American Universities (AAU)-Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Presidents Roundtable took place from June 30 to July 1, 2005.  It marks the first ever joint meeting between AAU and APRU presidents.  Universities from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) were also invited to the meeting.

 

 Left to right: AIU Secretary General Dayanand Dongaonkar,

and AIU President Vachaspati 

Upadhyaya at the AAU-APRU Presidents Roundtable.

 

(Right picture): Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (right), with moderator Professor Shih (left), taking questions at Closing Dinner of the Presidents Roundtable.

 

Singapore Minister Mentor

Lee Kuan Yew at Dialogue Session

with presidents and delegates.

 

 

 


Singapore President S R Nathan hosted the welcome dinner for AAU and APRU presidents at the Istana while Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was invited as the Guest-of-Honor for the Roundtable's closing dinner.

 

Please click here to find out more about the AAU-APRU Presidents Roundtable.

 

 

 

Mr S R Nathan (left), President  of Singapore and Chancellor of

National University of Singapore at the Welcome Dinner.

 

 Singapore Ambassador-At- 

 Large, Professor Tommy Koh

 delivering Breakfast Talk at

 Shangri-la Hotel.

 

 

Presidents and delegates of AAU, AIU

and APRU at Plenary Session I of the Presidents Roundtable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vice Chairman Elected at 9th Annual Presidents Meeting;

Concept of a World Institute under APRU Mooted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


APRU presidents at National University of Singapore

The APRU 9th Annual Presidents Meeting was held back-to-back with the AAU-APRU Presidents Roundtable at National University of Singapore, Singapore on July 2, 2005.  The meeting comprised mainly of a business meeting, a discussion on APRU projects and future directions, as well as a "New Initiatives and Open Forum" session.

 

 

 

At the meeting, University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Gavin Brown was elected as Vice Chairman of APRU.  University of Tokyo President Hiroshi Komiyama was also elected to the Steering Committee.

 

An APRU World Institute (AWI) was proposed to provide opportunities for research and scholarly collaboration by individual institutions and scholars from APRU and other universities.  A Pro-Tem Governing Board led by APRU Chairman Professor Shih Choon Fong will be set up to advance this initiative.

 

Please click here for more information and presentations made at the APRU 9th Annual Presidents Meeting.

   

   Left to right: APRU Secretary General

   Dr Lawrence Loh, APRU Chairman Shih

   Choon Fong, APRU Chairman Emeritus

   Steven Sample, and APRU Secretary

   General Emeritus Dr Richard Drobnick 

   addressing APRU presidents and

   delegates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APRU Undergraduate Summer Program to be Piloted Following 2nd Senior Staff Meeting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hosted by the University of Auckland from March 21 to 23, 2005, the 2nd Senior Staff Meeting was attended by 41 participants from 27 APRU member universities.  Besides discussing and reviewing a range of APRU activities, the Student Mobility Working Group and Thematic Conference Working Group also presented their findings and recommendations at the meeting.

 

 

 Senior staff in discussion

 

 

As an effort to further promote student mobility among APRU universities, Fudan University will pilot an APRU undergraduate summer program in the summer of 2006.  The pilot program would be made available to students from APRU member universities.  Keio University will also open its existing summer program in 2005 to students from other APRU member universities.

 

Please click here to find out more about the 2nd Senior Staff Meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


A Student-Driven Conference to be hosted by the University of Oregon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 6th Doctoral Students Conference (DSC) will be hosted by the University of Oregon in Eugene, from August 7 to 12, 2005.  Spearheaded by the Doctoral Students Network, this year’s conference theme, "Moving Toward a Sustainable Future: Multidisciplinary Perspectives from the Pacific Rim" aims to encourage international conversations regarding sustainable solutions to current issues of concern in the 21st-Century.

 

The conference will include plenary sessions, workshops, cultural events, and panels that cover a wide range of topics such as medicine in the Pacific Rim and the surrounding environmental, globalization and indigenous issues.  A total of 181 abstracts were submitted, of which about 70 doctoral students will be selected to present their papers at the conference.  More information on the conference is available here.

 

 

 

A Learning Experience for Fellows at the 6th APRU Fellows Program

 

 

 

 

 

The 6th APRU Fellows Program co-hosted by the University of British Columbia and University of Malaya will take place from August 14 to 27, 2005.  This joint effort by the host universities to organize a program based on the theme "New Directions in Asian Studies: Ethnicity and Nationalism Before and After the Digital Age" aims to introduce and expose exemplary junior faculty members to the different perspectives in approaching a common theme in two different economies.

 

The program will include seminars, dialogues and field trips.  A Collaborative Research Paper Award will be made available to encourage research collaboration among Fellows.  More information on the program is available here.

 

 

 

Keio University Summer School at University of Washington

 

 

 

 

 

Following the 2nd Senior Staff Meeting, Keio University is opening its existing summer program at University of Washington to students from other APRU member universities.


The theme of the Keio University Summer School at University of Washington would focus on "The Human Systems in the Pacific Northwest Bioregion Program".  Taking place from August 20 to September 10, 2005, the three-week course on environmentology would introduce students to issues and challenges encountered in an urbanizing area with plentiful natural resources.  More information on the program is available here.

 

 

 

APRU Research Symposium on Prediction and Prevention of Earthquake and Tsunami Disasters

 

 

 

 

 

An APRU research symposium on "Earthquake Hazards around the Pacific Rim - Prediction and Disaster Prevention" will be held at Kyoto University from August 31 to September 2, 2005.  Researchers in the fields of earthquake seismology, strong-ground motion studies, and earthquake engineering would present recent findings and discuss topics for future research at the research symposium.

 

Both faculty and students are welcome to participate in the symposium, and a number of awards will be offered for student posters.  Registration for the research symposium will be open till August 10, 2005.  More information on the research symposium and registration details are available here.

 

 

 

6th APRU Distance Learning and the Internet (DLI) Conference at Far Eastern National University

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Distance Learning and the Internet Conference (DLI) 2005 will take place at Vladivostok, Russia from October 4 to 7, 2005.  On the theme, "Linking People Through Information Technology Education", the conference will bring together leading, international distance learning experts from academia, business and public sectors to discuss various issues on distance learning.

 

Highlights of the program include speakers from Japan, Russia and United States who will touch on topics such as educational and research e-systems, blended learning course developments and modern pedagogy.  The call for student participation is now open.  Registration for DLI 2005 will be open till August 15, 2005.  More information on the conference and registration details are available here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Lee Si-Chen is New President of National Taiwan University 

 

 

 

Dr Lee Si-Chen succeeds Dr Chen Wei-Jao as the new President of National Taiwan University (NTU).  Dr Chen completed his term of Presidency at NTU on June 22, 2005.  

 

Prior to assuming the presidency, President Lee was a Professor with NTU's Department of Electrical Engineering and has served as the Dean of Academic Affairs.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Michael Drake takes over as Chancellor of University of California, Irvine

 

 

 

Dr Michael V. Drake assumed the position of Chancellor of University of California (UC), Irvine on July 1, 2005.  He took the helm from Dr Ralph J. Cicerone.

 

Prior to assuming the leadership position, Chancellor Drake was UC's Vice President for Health Affairs.  As system-wide Vice President, Dr Drake oversaw education and research activities at UC's 15 health sciences schools, which are distributed among seven campuses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please click here to see APRU calendar of events for 2005/2006.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies (GJAPS)

 

 

 

Developed by University of Auckland's Faculty of Arts, GJAPS is a peer-reviewed electronic journal which aims to foster an international graduate community and support network for interdisciplinary students of Asia and the Pacific.  Published twice a year, examples of themes which GJAPS have focused on are: "Theorizing Japanese History", "Culture and Identity in the Asia-Pacific" and "Imagining the Asia-Pacific". Please click here to refer to GJAPS' website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments, suggestions and contributions to APRU's e-newsletter are welcome. Please send them to the APRU Secretariat: apru@apru.org.