APRU Global Health
Pre-conference Workshop 2025

This article was featured on EdTech Innovation Hub (ETIH) on May 25, 2026 and written by Emma Thompson. The Association of Pacific Rim Universities was recognized for a regional hackathon model combining policy briefs, expert mentorship, student engagement, and real-world technology challenges. The APRU Tech Policy Hackathon 2025 has won Best Use of EdTech in Higher Education at the inaugural ETIH Innovation Awards 2026, with judges recognizing a student learning model that moved beyond a traditional technology competition. Led by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, the inaugural hackathon brought together 299 students from universities across the Asia-Pacific region to work on public-domain challenges at the intersection of technology and policy. Fifty-six finalists competed in Bangkok, where teams developed prototypes connected to issues including financial inclusion, digital trust, responsible AI, and workforce development. The program was developed by APRU with partners including data.org, Google, and the NUS Fintech Lab. Google hosted the finale at its Bangkok office, while data.org helped shape the program’s thematic focus on data, AI, and social impact. Christina Schönleber, Chief Strategy Officer at APRU, led the development of the program. For Schönleber, the decision to move away from a traditional “tech-only” hackathon reflected APRU’s role as a regional university network working across different economies, cultures, and higher education systems. “Many of the challenges facing Southeast Asia — such as unequal access to finance, digital capability gaps, workforce transition, or trust in AI — affect communities differently across the region,” Schönleber says. That meant students needed to work beyond technical build alone. The hackathon required teams to submit a policy brief before developing a prototype, forcing them to define the problem, consider the institutional context, and identify the stakeholders any solution would need to engage. ETIH Innovation Awards judge Richard Govada Joshua described the hackathon as “a transformational use of EdTech in higher education,” noting that it moved beyond content delivery into immersive, real-world, skills-based learning. He also highlighted its combination of “structured curriculum delivery, formative assessment, and real-time expert mentorship into one coherent experience.” Building a policy-led hackathon model The design of the APRU Tech Policy Hackathon was built around the idea that many societal challenges cannot be solved from one discipline alone. Students worked across technology, law, public policy, economics, and social sciences, with diverse disciplinary and gender composition encouraged in the application criteria. Schönleber says the interdisciplinary structure was central to the learning experience: “Students brought very different perspectives shaped by their academic backgrounds, cultures and lived experiences. That helped move conversations away from purely technical problem-solving towards more responsible, human-centred and policy-aware innovation.” That approach also shaped the assessment model. Students were not judged only on technical outputs, but on feasibility, scalability, policy relevance, and real-world applicability. The policy brief requirement meant teams had to think about implementation before building. Govada Joshua, pointed to that structure as a key strength. He said APRU delivered “a multi-stage, hands-on” learning experience guided by expert mentors, with assessment and feedback embedded through continuous evaluation. The scale of participation was also part of the judging discussion. 299 students from 36 universities across 12 Asia-Pacific economies, with 56 finalists from 14 universities competed in Bangkok. Emma Thompson, Judge and Director of Content and Editor at ETIH, says: “APRU’s hackathon showed how EdTech in higher education can go beyond digital delivery and become a structured learning experience around real-world problems. The policy brief requirement, mentor feedback, and cross-disciplinary team design gave students a framework for thinking about implementation, not just invention.” Mentorship, access, and student engagement The hackathon’s mentorship model was one of the most important elements of the entry. Schönleber explains that this helped teams test whether their ideas could work beyond the immediate competition environment: “Mentors from organisations including Google, Microsoft, data.org, She Loves Data and NECTEC Thailand got students to think beyond technical challenges and consider also if an idea was implementable, ethical, scalable and relevant within different regional contexts.” That feedback loop helped move the hackathon away from a short-form build event and toward a longer learning process. Teams moved through application, policy brief development, mentor feedback, prototype creation, and live pitching. Neil Almond, ETIH Innovation Awards judge, described the program as taking “a novel approach to the development of hackathons that made them more inclusive to a wider audience.” Accessibility was built into the model through funding support for finalists. APRU covered travel and accommodation costs for selected student teams attending the Bangkok finale, reducing the risk that participation would be limited by geography or financial means. Schönleber adds this was one of the most important practical decisions behind the program: “A major practical step was to ensure we had sufficient funds to cover travel and accommodation costs for all student teams that were selected for the final in person hackathon event in Bangkok at the Google offices.” The challenge focus also reinforced that access agenda. The 2025 hackathon centered on AI and data for social impact, with a particular focus on financial inclusion in Southeast Asia. That pushed teams to consider underserved communities, uneven access to digital systems, and the policy conditions needed for technology to work in practice. For Schönleber, the program’s longer-term value was partly in changing how students saw their own role: “I hope the hackathon will have helped students to see themselves as enables and problem solvers to address regional challenges rather than simply students completing an academic exercise.” Scott Thompson, Judge and Director at Paxton Media, which includes ETIH and RTIH, says: “This was a strong example of higher education using technology to connect students with policy, social impact, and regional collaboration. The entry showed clear learning value because students were being asked to understand the system around a problem before proposing a solution.” From competition to regional learning model The APRU Tech Policy Hackathon was also shortlisted in Best Student Engagement and Assessment Tool, Best Global Impact, and Best Digital Learning Platform for Higher Education, reflecting how the program crossed several areas of EdTech practice. Schönleber comments the program helped students develop a more systems-focused way of thinking: “Rather than seeing innovation simply as building new tools, students had to consider questions around ethics, governance, inclusion, public trust and implementation i.e. shifting towards more responsible and human-centred innovation.” The second edition is now in development. APRU has launched the call for applications for the 2026 hackathon, which will focus on the financial health of underserved communities. Cognizant has joined as a new funding partner, with APRU continuing work with partners from the inaugural program, including data.org and academic experts involved in the 2025 edition. For APRU, the ETIH Innovation Awards win comes as the program moves from first-year delivery into a more established regional model. “Receiving the Best Use of EdTech in Higher Education award was really unexpected,” Schönleber says. “It really validates the incredible efforts and deep thinking of the cross stakeholder team we brough together for developing and implementing this hackathon.” “The award recognised the quality of the hackathon itself, and the broader model of collaborative, socially focused and regionally connected innovation that we at APRU have been building.” If you want to find out more about the APRU Tech Policy Hackathon and the 2026 application process, more information is available via the APRU website.

The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) is pleased to announce that the APRU Tech Policy Hackathon 2025 has been awarded Best Use of EdTech in Higher Education at the EdTech Innovation Hub (ETIH) Innovation Awards 2026, recognizing APRU’s leadership in advancing digitally enabled, applied learning across the Asia‑Pacific region.   International recognition for digital learning innovation The ETIH Innovation Awards recognize organizations and initiatives delivering measurable impact in education, skills development, and workforce transformation through the effective use of technology. The 2026 awards program attracted more than 140 entries from around the world, reflecting growing global demand for innovative digital learning models in higher education. The Best Use of EdTech in Higher Education category celebrates universities and higher education organizations that have embedded educational technology in ways that meaningfully transform the student or faculty experience. APRU’s selection underscores the strength of the Tech Policy Hackathon as a structured, digitally enabled experiential learning initiative that integrates mentorship, collaboration tools, and applied assessment into a cohesive educational journey.   A regional platform connecting universities, policy, and industry The APRU Tech Policy Hackathon 2025 was designed to provide students with hands‑on experience at the intersection of technology, public policy, and societal impact. The initiative brings together student teams from with industry, policymakers, civil society organizations, and strategic partners. Co‑created and supported by Google and data.org, the APRU Tech Policy Hackathon fostered a digitally enabled learning environment anchored in real‑world challenges and regional priorities. Additionally, leaders from academia, government agencies, industry, and international organizations, mentored students through the process of developing policy briefs and prototyping solutions that demonstrated the practical application of AI and data science to complex societal issues. This multi‑stakeholder approach reflects APRU’s commitment to preparing future generations of leaders to address policy challenges through responsible, technology‑informed solutions. The 2025 Hackathon saw strong participation from across the Pacific Rim, with 299 students from 40 universities across 15 economies submitting 70 project proposals addressing policy challenges shaped by artificial intelligence and data driven technologies. From this pool, 12 finalist teams comprising 56 students from 14 universities across nine economies were selected to advance to the final round held in Bangkok, Thailand.   Advancing inclusive innovation in the Asia Pacific Across the Asia Pacific, digital transformation offers powerful opportunities to expand access to education, strengthen public services, and improve economic participation. Yet uneven access to digital infrastructure, skills, and enabling policy frameworks continues to deepen disparities within and between societies. APRU’s partnership with data.org is central to the Tech Policy Hackathon, emerging from a broader collaboration focused on capacity building and the application of AI and data science for social impact. At its core, the partnership aims to strengthen data literacy and empower students to develop policy solutions that respond to urgent regional challenges with evidence, responsibility, and scale. The APRU Tech Policy Hackathon was designed to respond to these challenges by empowering students to develop technology‑enabled policy solutions that address real needs, particularly in underserved communities across Southeast Asia and the wider region. Through sustained collaboration with partners such as Google and data.org, APRU supports the development of solutions that are informed by data, grounded in local context, and capable of scaling across diverse economies.   Preparing future leaders for a digital society As artificial intelligence and data‑driven technologies continue to shape economic and social development, universities play a critical role in preparing graduates who can understand both technical innovation and its broader societal implications. Through initiatives such as the Tech Policy Hackathon, APRU supports the development of globally minded leaders who can balance innovation with responsibility and public value.  Winning the Best Use of EdTech in Higher Education award affirms APRU’s commitment to advancing innovative digitally enabled education models that student learning and strengthen student engagement, foster cross‑sector collaboration, and deliver real‑world impact across the Pacific Rim. APRU remains committed to working with its member universities and partners to drive inclusive innovation that benefits societies throughout the Asia Pacific and beyond.   The next edition of the hackathon is currently calling for participation from student teams. The 2026 Data, AI & Policy APAC Hackathon: Financial Health Frontiers is a regional competition for university students and recent graduates who want to build practical, responsible, and user-centered solutions for financial health in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The hackathon explores how data, AI, and policy can help financial service providers (FSPs) better support underserved communities and strengthen inclusive, resilient financial systems.  Find more information about how to participate here.

APRU’s whitepaper, Generative AI in Higher Education is referenced in Elsevier’s Developing AI Leadership in Higher Education guidebook, a resource designed to support senior leaders as institutions respond to the rapid integration of AI. The citation reflects how findings from APRU’s cross‑regional, multi‑institutional work contribute to broader discussions on leadership, governance, and capacity‑building in higher education. Readers of the Elsevier guidebook will find that the APRU whitepaper provides complementary context and practical frameworks that help inform decision‑making across diverse institutional settings, particularly as universities seek balanced and responsible approaches to generative AI adoption. 👉 Read the Elsevier guidebook and explore how APRU’s insights are shaping global conversations on AI leadership.

The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) has been shortlisted as a finalist in four categories at the EdTech Innovation Hub (ETIH) Innovation Awards 2026, recognising APRU’s commitment in empowering students with the knowledge, practical experience, and leadership skills needed to tackle some of society’s most pressing challenges. The recognition also underscores APRU’s wider contribution to advancing inclusive innovation and strengthening digital capability across diverse societies in the Asia-Pacific region. The recognition highlights the impact of the APRU Tech Policy Hackathon 2025, an interdisciplinary initiative that gives students the opportunity to apply technology, policy, and research skills to real-world issues through applied learning and cross-border. By bringing together universities, industry leaders, policymakers, civil society, and supporting partners including data.org and Google, the hackathon creates a platform where students can build experience, test ideas, and develop solutions with relevance beyond the classroom. The ETIH Innovation Awards recognise organisations and initiatives delivering meaningful impact across education, skills development, and workforce transformation. This year’s programme attracted more than 140 entries from around the world, reflecting the growing role of technology in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital learning, student engagement, career readiness, and lifelong learning. Shortlisted entries were assessed based on innovation, adoption, and evidence of real-world impact. APRU is shortlisted in the following categories: Best Student Engagement and Assessment Tool Best Digital Learning Platform for Higher Education Best Use of EdTech in Higher Education Best Global Impact Winners will be announced on May 11, 2026. Advancing Inclusive Innovation Across the Asia-Pacific Digital transformation presents significant opportunities to improve economic participation, strengthen public services, and expand access to education and employment. However, uneven adoption of digital technologies and disparities in access to infrastructure, skills, and policy frameworks continue to create gaps between and within societies. The APRU Tech Policy Hackathon 2025, held in Bangkok, Thailand, was designed to address these challenges by empowering students to develop technology-enabled policy solutions that respond to real societal needs, particularly in underserved communities across Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. The initiative encourages students to design solutions that are not only innovative, but also practical, scalable, and aligned with public policy priorities. By focusing on issues such as financial inclusion, digital trust, workforce adaptation, and equitable access to emerging technologies, the hackathon supports APRU’s broader mission to strengthen cooperation across academia, industry, and government in addressing shared regional challenges. Through this approach, APRU contributes to building capacity across multiple societies, supporting the development of solutions that can improve digital participation and enable more inclusive growth. A Regional Platform Connecting Talent, Policy, and Innovation The 2025 hackathon drew strong global participation, with 299 students from 40 universities across 15 economies submitting 70 project proposals that address real-world policy challenges shaped by artificial intelligence and data-driven technologies. From this pool, 12 finalist teams comprised of 56 students from 14 universities across nine economies were selected to participate in the final round in Bangkok. Students worked in interdisciplinary teams spanning fields such as computer science, economics, public policy, law, and data science, reflecting the increasingly interconnected nature of technological and regulatory challenges. Project themes addressed regional priorities including digital poverty, online safety, support for micro, small, and medium enterprises, financial inclusion, workforce readiness, and the development of trusted digital ecosystems. Supported by mentors from academia, government agencies, industry, and international organisations, students developed policy briefs and prototype solutions demonstrating practical applications of AI and data science in addressing complex societal issues. This multi-stakeholder approach reflects APRU’s role as a “super connector”, linking institutions and communities to foster innovation that is grounded in real societal needs and informed by diverse regional perspectives. Recognition by the ETIH Innovation Awards The ETIH Innovation Awards recognise initiatives that demonstrate measurable progress in transforming education through technology, particularly those that improve access to learning, strengthen engagement, and support future workforce readiness. The Best Global Impact Award recognises initiatives that transform education in underserved or global communities, with emphasis on improving equitable access to learning and delivering measurable outcomes at scale. The Best Digital Learning Platform for Higher Education category recognises structured and effective digital learning environments that provide a clear end-to-end learning journey supported by relevant knowledge resources and measurable learning outcomes. The Best Student Engagement and Assessment Tool category recognises initiatives that demonstrate strong participation and evaluation frameworks, including mechanisms that support interaction, mentorship, feedback loops, and measurable performance indicators. The Best Use of EdTech in Higher Education catagory celebrates a university or higher education institution that has embedded edtech in a way that transforms the student or faculty experience. Being shortlisted for the ETIH Innovation Awards reflects the strength of the APRU Tech Policy Hackathon as a digital learning initiative that integrates mentorship, collaboration tools, and structured evaluation into a cohesive learning experience. It demonstrates the growing importance of interdisciplinary, applied approaches that connect academic knowledge with real-world impact. Students benefit from milestone-based development and iterative feedback, enabling them to refine ideas through evidence-based analysis while strengthening critical thinking, communication, and interdisciplinary collaboration skills. Preparing Future Leaders for an Evolving Digital Society As artificial intelligence and data-driven technologies continue to shape economic and social development, there is increasing demand for graduates who can understand both technical innovation and its broader societal implications. Through initiatives such as the Tech Policy Hackathon, APRU supports the development of globally minded talent equipped to design solutions that balance innovation with responsibility. By fostering collaboration across universities, industry partners, and policymakers, APRU continues to contribute to education models that strengthen workforce readiness while supporting inclusive and resilient digital ecosystems across the Asia-Pacific region. Through sustained partnership and knowledge exchange, APRU remains committed to advancing innovation that benefits multiple societies and contributes to more equitable participation in the digital economy. For more information about the APRU Tech Policy Hackathon 2025, please visit https://www.apru.org/event/apru-tech-policy-hackathon-2025/ For more information about the ETIH Innovation Awards 2026, please visit: https://www.edtechinnovationhub.com/etih-innovation-awards-2026/about-the-edtech-innovation-hub-awards-2026

The APRU Global Health Program successfully launched its inaugural Mini Certificate in Global Aging, a free virtual training delivered over three sessions from late February to mid-March 2026. Open for students across APRU member universities, the program attracted 683 registrants, with some 159 participants earning certificates upon successful completion. Participants are from 21 economies and across at least 65 academic disciplines. Co-developed by the Global Health Program Director Professor Mellissa Withers (Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California) and Professor Jonathan Guillemot (School of Medicine, Universidad San Francisco de Quito), the course builds on the successful model of the APRU Mini Certificate in Health Research Ethics, also established by Professor Withers since 2021. Designed for undergraduate and graduate students with limited prior exposure to the subject, the new Mini Certificate introduces foundational knowledge and global perspectives on demographic aging. The world is undergoing a profound demographic transformation as populations age at an unprecedented rate. Advances in healthcare, nutrition, and living standards have extended life expectancy, while declining birth rates are reshaping the age structure of societies. Against this backdrop, the Mini Certificate in Global Aging offers three two-hour online sessions combining expert lectures with interactive breakout discussions. Participants also complete online homework via a shared course website and, upon successful completion of all components, receive a certificate of participation. The program features six speakers: Angelique Chan (National University of Singapore), Laurence Lloyd Parial (University of the Philippines Manila), Hiroki Nakatani (Keio University), Andrew Sixsmith (Simon Fraser University), Zhaoli Joy Dai-Keller (The University of Sydney), and Po-Ju Chang (National Taiwan University). Together, they introduce key topics including global and regional demographic trends; the impacts of aging on health systems, labor markets and social policy; the foundations and consequences of ageism; and pathways to healthy and active aging, including age-friendly urban design and innovation. Dr. Hiroki Nakatani from Keio University is presenting the lecture “Implication of demographic aging: a world-changing transition”   Emphasizing both Global North and Global South perspectives, the course enables students to connect global frameworks with local contexts. Through case studies and small-group discussions facilitated by 40 experts from across the APRU network, participants learn to analyze local examples of demographic aging, describe the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing’s key action areas, and identify principles for building more age-inclusive communities. “This course has changed my view of global aging, helping me see it not only as a challenge for health systems and economies, but also as an opportunity to rethink how societies support active, meaningful aging,” said Charlotte Gai, a student from The University of Auckland. “My key takeaway is that aging should be approached from a multidisciplinary perspective, combining health, social policy, and community support.”

Photos Credit: Universiti Malaya   From October 28 to 31 in Kuala Lumpur, Universiti Malaya hosted the 18th APRU Global Health Conference, welcoming more than 400 participants from 20 economies under the theme “Towards Planetary Health Equity: A Global Call for Shared Solutions.” The conference also featured the launch of the APRU Orchestra, a new initiative to promote cross-culture understanding. With 219 participants from Malaysia and 238 from other countries and regions, the conference served as a vibrant platform for interdisciplinary exchange, bringing together academics, policymakers, students, and practitioners to address the urgent health challenges facing the planet.   Planetary Health To advance the theme, the conference began with the “Plant a Tree” campaign led by Universiti Malaya to help offset the carbon footprint associated with the travel. A total of 120 native trees selected by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) will be planted. “Plant a Tree” Campaign   “As the world navigates complex intersections of climate change, health inequities, and social transformation, we are reminded that our collective well-being depends on a deeper understanding of the unity between human, environmental, and planetary health,” said Professor Dato’ Seri Ir Dr Noor Azuan Abu Osaman, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaya. The opening ceremony was also attended by the Malaysia’s Minister of Health, YB Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad; Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaya, Professor Dr. Hasniza Zaman Nuri; Head of Department of Social & Preventive Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Victor Hoe; and APRU Programs Senior Director, Adriana Rojas M., who said, “as the leading network of Asia-Pacific research universities, APRU recognizes the unique opportunity this conference presents to foster meaningful dialogue and cross-sector collaboration and that at APRU, more intersectional and interdisciplinary collaborations are in the pipeline.” Sitting in the front row, from left to right：APRU Programs Senior Director Adriana Rojas M., Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaya Professor Dato’ Seri Ir Dr Noor Azuan Abu Osaman, Malaysia’s Minister of Health YB Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Hasniza Zaman Nuri, Head of Department of Social & Preventive Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine Victor Hoe   APRU Orchestra Beyond academic discourse, the conference celebrated cultural exchange through the inaugural performance of the APRU Orchestra on the evening of October 29. This newly formed ensemble symbolizes the harmony and collaboration that define the APRU network. The pilot performance by Universiti Malay was titled “A Symphony of Cultures – East Meets West.”   Academic Highlights The academic program featured 174 accepted abstracts—including 108 oral presentations and 66 posters—covering topics such as climate change and health, migration, mental health, artificial intelligence, and health systems resilience. Two full-day workshops preceded the official opening: “Preparing Health Systems for the Future of AI for Health: Ethical Challenges and Lessons Learned,” organized in partnership with data.org, and “Implementation Science for All: Advancing Equity and Access in Health.” During the 3-day conference, distinguished speakers enriched the dialogue with diverse perspectives. Professor Christian Gonzalez-Billault of Universidad de Chile delivered a keynote on neurobiology and aging, emphasizing regional collaboration in advancing brain health research. Aymen Abdullah, a humanitarian leader from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors without Borders), shared insights from over 15 years of field experience in conflict zones, highlighting the complexities of health access during crises. Professor Ajay Mahal from the University of Melbourne offered a plenary on economic policy and health system resilience, critically examining strategies to enhance equity and performance in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to these highlights, the APRU Global Health Program’s signature activities including the Working Groups, convened during the conference, and students competitions were held alongside the main program (please see another article here). “Beyond the formal sessions, you have numerous opportunities to interact in our working group sessions, explore student contributions in the form of case competition videos and student posters from around the region, and engage with current and future leading thinkers working towards transformative solutions,” said Professor Mellissa Withers, Director of the APRU Global Health Program. The conference was recognized as part of the UM International Week 2025, organized in conjunction with Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2025, and coincided with the 47th ASEAN Summit . The APRU Global Health Conference 2025 was organized by a team from the Department of Social & Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya.   2026 Host The conference concluded with the announcement by Professor Martin Wong from The Chinese University of Hong Kong that it will host the next Global Health Conference in early December 2026, marking a symbolic handover and reinforcing the network’s commitment to advancing global health through collaboration.

  Photos Credit: Universiti Malaya The 10th Annual APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition and 11th Student Poster Contest concluded at the APRU Global Health Conference 2025, held October 28–31 at Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Case Competition APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition marks its 10th cohort in 2025. Beginning on January 31, the program drew 110 teams from 26 universities across 13 economies—Australia, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States—with each team comprising 3–6 students. Teams tackled the challenge, “Advancing Inclusive Growth in Southeast Asia by Leveraging Data and AI for Food Security,” developing solutions that balance innovation with real-world feasibility. The competition was supported by data.org and organized in partnership with Universiti Malaya, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Each team submitted a 10-minute video proposal, which was judged by an international panel from the APRU Global Health Program and invited global experts, who selected 10 finalists. From these, three videos advanced to the final round at the APRU Global Health Conference 2025 on October 29 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the winner received a US$1,000 prize determined by conference participants’ votes. Team Sustainabite from Universitas Indonesia won first place with “SEHATI,” an AI-enabled mobile application designed to reduce childhood stunting by helping low-income households track daily nutrition and build healthier eating habits through a rewards-based system.  Team members were Afirsta Violla, Fatima Nadine, Jessie Afaratu, and Najiba Nurisma. Here are the top 10 teams: Winner University of Indonesia, Sustainabite Runners-up (in no particular order) The Chinese University of Hong Kong, SEED Universitas Indonesia, Healink Other Top 10 teams (in no particular order) The University of Sydney, Byte to Bite Universitas Indonesia, Nutri-Z UC Irvine, PeterCare Tech Universiti Malaya, Plantelligence Nanyang Technological University/National University of Singapore/University of Indonesia, CULTIV8 National University of Singapore, FEASTN Nanyang Technological University, SustAInable Bites Poster Contest The 11th APRU Global Health Student Poster Contest, held alongside the APRU Global Health Conference 2025, invited full-time undergraduate and graduate students to submit academic posters and abstracts, with all eligible posters displayed virtually during the conference and category winners receiving US$500. This year’s submissions came from 24 universities in 10 economies: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, the US, and Vietnam. The graduate category winner is Eleanor J. Ong (National University of Singapore) for “Substance use behaviours among sexual and gender minorities (SGM) with a history of adverse childhood experiences: a systematic review and meta-synthesis.” The undergraduate category winner is Chan Ning Long (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) for “Association between sociodemographic factors and HIV knowledge among Hong Kong citizens: a cross-sectional study.”   Here is the complete list of the winners and runners-up: Graduate Category: [Winner]  Eleanor J. Ong from the National University of Singapore for the poster titled “Substance use behaviours among sexual and gender minorities (SGM) with a history of adverse childhood experiences: a systematic review and meta-synthesis” view poster [Runners-up] Ryan Chow from The Chinese University of Hong Kong for the poster titled “Comparative Effectiveness of Anti-Obesity Medications on Body Weight and Glycemic Control in Overweight/Obese Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials” view poster Ashis Talukder from Australia National University for the poster titled “Urbanization and Double Burden of Malnutrition at the Household Level in South and Southeast Asia: Insights from Night-Time Lights Data” view poster Undergraduate Category: [Winner]  Chan Ning Long from The Chinese University of Hong Kong for the poster titled “Association between sociodemographic factors and HIV knowledge among Hong Kong citizens: a cross-sectional study” view poster [Runners-up] Maritza Andreanne Rafa Ayusha from the Universitas Indonesia for the poster titled “Value or Luxury? Cost-Effectiveness of Lipid-Lowering Therapies in Indonesia: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis” view poster Joseph Mary L. Manalili from Angeles University Foundation for the poster titled “Lugud Matwa (Filial Love): Exploring Resilience in Caregiver Roles among Kapampangan Families” view poster

With five hubs across Latin America, India, Africa, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the United States, the Capacity Accelerator Network (CAN) is a global community that continues to grow, developing data and AI skills with interdisciplinary expertise while expanding a library of case studies and success stories that can be shared with social impact leaders around the world.  The accelerators live at the intersection of research and practice, academia and industry, community and government. In each hub academics, government partners, social impact organizations (SIOs), and industry come together with a shared goal of growing the workforce of purpose-driven data and AI practitioners to tackle locally-relevant sectoral challenges.  In Asia Pacific, these cross-sector partners are tackling financial inclusion. As part of APAC CAN, with support from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, data.org and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) are building a next-generation workforce in the classroom and beyond, pushing students and practitioners to expand their respective areas of expertise and create AI solutions tailored to the APAC context. The same is true for the academics, government and industry partners we engage. We want each stakeholder group—again, at the intersection of research and practice—to broaden their perspectives and collaborate in service of the greater good. By developing rigorous curricula through real-world case studies and pairing it with experiential education, we are not only deepening students’ skills, awareness, and interest through critical thinking and collaboration, but also building a pathway of purpose-driven professionals for tomorrow while helping SIOs and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) meet the needs of their communities today.  So, how does this hands-on learning and practical work experience come to life for learners? Here are three programs data.org and APRU are leading to improve workforce outcomes and accelerate our impact in Asia Pacific: Social Impact Data Science Accelerator (SIDSA) MSMEs in the APAC region generate valuable operational data every day through their work, yet many lack the technical expertise to synthesize, analyze, and translate it into better decisions and outcomes. SIDSA bridges this gap by pairing social impact driven MSMEs with multidisciplinary academic teams, with support from innovation partner Tandemic, to co-design and implement solutions for their specific data challenge to advance the MSME on its digital transformation journey. Examples of projects these teams tackle include: Philippines-based Ark Solves improves the livelihoods of 19,000+ rural families by helping them grow vegetables in their backyard and run a community exchange marketplace to ensure food security and local economic resilience. With limited internet connectivity, they struggle to capture accurate data from these micro-entrepreneurs remotely. A team from University of the Philippines is helping them build a mobile data collection solution to capture food production data in low-tech environments, as well as an interactive dashboard to track harvest volumes and variety to improve connections between farmers and local markets. International Development Enterprises (iDE)’s bookkeeping app, Kotra Riel, enables Cambodia’s microentrepreneurs to maintain financial records with the goal of scaling their business through increased financial acumen and improved access to funding. Currently, they support 8,000+ users, including over 3,000 women entrepreneurs. Today, insufficient information about user activity and engagement limits their ability to conduct targeted outreach with products, training, and support. A team from Asian Institute of Management is developing tools to provide these missing usage by segment and revenue, and creating visualizations to support business development. The Malaysia-headquartered Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has 5,600+ members from 94 countries and is focused on including smallholder farmers in certified supply chains to enable better market connections. RSPO’s members self-report data about their operations and environmental sustainability. The self-reported data varies significantly in quality and structure across members. Without standardized data, RSPO is unable to use all the member data to inform its strategy and provide targeted support by uplifting smallholder farmer contributions. A team from City University of Hong Kong is building visualization tools that make the data easier to compare and understand, helping RSPO members share knowledge, spot trends, and learn from successful efforts to include smallholder farmers across regions. APRU Tech Policy Hackathon Given the uneven adoption of AI and data literacy across ASEAN, we, along with our partners at Google and NUS FinTech Lab, recently held a tech policy hackathon in Thailand to leverage youth leadership in driving digital policy innovation. More than 70 interdisciplinary teams participated across the region, with students coming from traditional majors like computer science and IT, as well as interdisciplinary fields like economics, political science, and law. Teams were charged with developing context-appropriate solutions—including policy briefs and functional prototypes—that anticipate and respond to the next wave of inclusion challenges in the digital economy. These challenges could include rural digital finance for the unbanked; making micro-loans accessible to MSMEs;  avoiding bias in hiring; and ensuring online safety and fraud prevention. Students were mentored by experts from government, UN agencies, private sector, tech companies, nonprofits and civil society organizations, emphasizing the need for multi-stakeholder collaborations to drive policy action. The three-day finale saw teams demonstrating a nuanced understanding of some of the key local challenges with innovative approaches to: Finding ways for street vendors and other MSMEs in Indonesia to gain access to funding without a formal credit history  Applying satellite-derived data and the use of machine learning to increase the credit worthiness of smallholder farmers across Asia  Winning teams received both funding and access to continued mentorship to help transform their solutions into scalable, real-world initiatives. Global Health Virtual Case Competition While data and AI promise to transform food systems and health equity, governments still face challenges including fragmented indicators, uncertain evidence base, and limited clarity on how technology can be applied equitably. To explore the complexities of this governance gap in Asia Pacific, APRU launched their 2025 Global Health Case Competition in partnership with data.org, the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Universiti Malaya. The goal was to leverage an experiential learning approach to help university students exercise critical thinking using a real-world problem statement to understand how the region’s food systems can be enhanced, and to propose AI-enabled solutions to strengthen food security. Each team was to select a national government across ASEAN to inform the development of a five-year strategic plan to address food insecurity through a food systems approach. More than 110 teams entered proposals which focused on several critical themes: Data Gaps and Inclusion: Many teams underscored how national surveys and global dashboards often blur or exclude the very groups most at risk—rural smallholders, informal vendors, women caregivers, and indigenous communities. Some recommended citizen-led photo logs of meals, community price tracking in local markets, or farmer-reported crop health data linked with satellite and drone monitoring, all designed to capture realities invisible in official statistics.  Climate and Food Availability: Several proposals highlighted how droughts and floods destabilize food production. One team suggested linking satellite imagery with IoT sensors and community reporting to anticipate shocks, enabling governments to reallocate stocks before crises deepened. Another extended this approach to AI-guided biofortification strategies, recommending which nutrients to prioritize in fortified foods depending on regional deficiencies. Food Access and Affordability: One team proposed combining satellite imagery with household data to identify overlooked poor communities and better target aid. Others focused on logistics, suggesting AI-optimized distribution routes and blockchain-enabled supply chain monitoring to cut transport costs and build trust in food aid delivery.  Collectively, the ideas move beyond single-point fixes to envision AI as an enabler of smarter, more inclusive governance in food and health systems. The Global Health Virtual Case Competition allows a large, interdisciplinary cohort of students to serve as youth policy advisors to governments. Finalists will present their findings at the APRU Global Health Conference 2025. Together, these programs make up an ecosystem of initiatives. The SIDSA Accelerator addresses organizational-level data challenges. The Hackathon spotlights enabling digital policy. And the Case Competition surfaces bottom-up AI use cases in governance for food and health. Each process and outcome varies, but all contribute to more inclusive growth in the region and highlight the diverse facets of financial health across climate, health, food, AI literacy and economic resilience. As we look ahead, the need for purpose-driven, AI-literate talent is only growing, not just in Asia Pacific, but globally. The Capacity Accelerator Network in collaboration with partners like APRU is able to conceive and offer programs—like SIDSA, like the Hackathon, and like the Case Competition—producing practitioners who are equipped to tackle the most pressing challenges of our time. Through immersive, cross-sector partnerships and experiential learning opportunities, we are not only filling today’s talent gaps, we are cultivating a global ecosystem that drives inclusive growth and innovation from the ground up. This is how we prepare and empower the workforce of tomorrow. And through continued collaboration, this is how we scale our collective impact.

The “Bangkok Declarations on Cancer Control in Asia”, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific (Vol. 63, October 2025), present a strategic framework for addressing cancer across the Asia-Pacific region. The landmark article is a direct outcome of the collaborative efforts led by the Working Group on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) under the APRU Global Health Program. Developed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers and public health professionals, the declarations consolidate the expert discussions initiated during a working group session at the APRU Global Health Conference 2024 held at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. The WG is co-chaired by academics including Jason Huang Junjie and Claire Chenwen Zhong from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The Global Health Program Director Prof. Mellissa Withers and advisory group member Prof. Martin Wong has been supporting the NCD working group and contributed to the paper. Dr. Jason Huang Junjie (left) and Dr. Claire Zhong Chenwen from The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at The Chinese University of Hong Kong   Prof. Mellissa Withers from University of Southern California and Prof. Martin Wong from The Chinese University of Hong Kong   The article outlines 12 priority areas for action, including lifestyle and environmental risk reduction, improved access to screening and early detection, financial protection, digital health innovation, and culturally sensitive care. The publication emphasizes the importance of multisectoral collaboration and region-specific interventions to improve cancer outcomes. It serves peer-reviewed roadmap to guide future research and policy development, demonstrating how APRU’s academic platforms contribute to evidence-based public health strategies in the region.

[Bangkok, Thailand, October 8, 2025]   The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), in partnership with Google, data.org, and National University of Singapore Fintech Lab have launched an innovative Tech Policy Hackathon. The hackathon drew remarkable interest from students across the globe, with 299 participants from 40 universities spanning 15 economies—including the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Korea—submitting a total of 70 innovative entries. From this impressive pool, 12 standout teams comprising 56 students from 14 universities across nine economies were selected to compete in the final round held in Bangkok. This vibrant mix of participants highlights the global enthusiasm for collaborative problem-solving and the rich diversity of talent driving innovation forward. The hackathon engaged students in interdisciplinary teams to address real-world issues including: Digital poverty and minority inclusion Online security and scam prevention Support for SMEs in the digital economy Workforce development and education access Financial inclusion for the underserved communities Disaster resilience through technology Participating institutions include Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), Universiti Malaya (Malaysia), Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), Universitas Indonesia, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Far East Federal University (Russia), University of the Philippines, VinUniversity (Vietnam), CamTech (Cambodia), and others. “This initiative is about building bridges,” said Christina Schönleber, Chief Strategy Officer at APRU. “At APRU, we see our role as a super connector—linking academia, underserved communities, civil society organizations, and the technology sector to advance digital literacy and address policy challenges. In a region where AI and data strategies are still fragmented, empowering students with the tools, mentorship, and cross-sector collaboration they need is essential to shaping a more inclusive and resilient digital future.” The urgency of this initiative is underscored by the uneven adoption of AI and data literacy across ASEAN. Singapore, for example, leads with advanced infrastructure and national AI strategies, others are still grappling with limited access, disjointed policies, and low digital literacy—especially in rural and underserved communities. For example: Indonesia and Vietnam have AI adoption rates around 42%, driven by necessity and grassroots innovation. Thailand and Malaysia are investing heavily in infrastructure but face gaps in workforce readiness. The Philippines, despite strong academic talent, struggles with practical AI deployment due to infrastructure and investment gaps. This fragmented landscape risks deepening inequality. As AI and data-driven technologies reshape economies, communities without access to digital skills and infrastructure risk being left behind, while others surge ahead. According to the Asia Foundation, micro and small enterprises across ASEAN often lack the digital skills to benefit from the digital economy, and underserved groups, such as women and rural entrepreneurs, face the steepest barriers. Supported by Google in partnership with data.org and NUS Fintech Lab, the hackathon provided access to global mentors, policy frameworks, and data resources. Winning proposals will be shared with university experts and leaders and civil society organizations in the region to inform solutions development to policy challenges across the region. “At Google, we believe technology must be a force for inclusion. That’s why we’re committed to ensuring that underserved communities across Southeast Asia have access to vital digital tools and skills. In partnership with organizations in the region, we aim to close the gap in AI and data literacy needed to thrive in today’s society,” said Yinghui Tng, Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Southeast Asia, Platforms & Devices, Google. As a global platform for partnerships committed to building a workforce of one million purpose-driven data and AI practitioners by 2032, data.org connects people with tools and training to drive action. Through globally informed, locally led capacity building, data.org empowers communities to use data and AI to solve real-world social impact challenges. “Data and AI can unlock new ways to tackle urgent challenges, but only if people closest to the issues shape the solutions,” said Shivam Shukla, Coordinator, Programs and Capacity Building at data.org. “Through mentorship and cross-sector guidance, the Hackathon equips emerging data and AI innovators in Southeast Asia to craft evidence-driven ideas for inclusive growth — from financial access to digital trust — and bring them into policy dialogues.” As a regional leader in financial technology education, the NUS FinTech Lab played a pivotal role in the hackathon by equipping students with the skills and insights needed to explore data-driven solutions for financial inclusion and digital resilience. Their involvement helped ensure that the next generation of innovators is not only tech-savvy, but also aware of the policy challenges and ready to lead in shaping Southeast Asia’s digital economy. “This initiative reflects the growing need for international education to prepare students not just for jobs, but for leadership in shaping digital futures,” said Nicholas Garcia, Deputy Director, National University of Singapore FinTech Lab. “By engaging students in real-world policy design, we’re building a generation of thinkers who can navigate and influence the global tech landscape.” “The most powerful part of this hackathon is seeing students connect innovation with responsibility — Principled Innovation. By tackling issues like digital safety for vulnerable groups, financial access for underserved communities, and equitable support for women-led enterprises, they’re modeling what it means to design AI and data systems that balance technical strength with social impact,” said Michelle Banawan, Assistant Director of Intelligent Systems, Learning Engineering Institute, Office of the Provost, Arizona State University. The Tech Policy Hackathon reflects APRU’s commitment to fostering inclusive cross-border collaboration and equipping students with the skills to lead in an increasingly complex digital world.   Congratulations to the winning teams:   1st Place: SIGAP UMKM Universitas Indonesia (UI), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU), and Singapore Management University (SMU)     Peter Gospel Ho, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, NTU Kyara Hafiza Saliha, Finance and Sustainability, SMU Samuel Yudhistira Susanto, Computer Science, SMU Phoebe Ivana, Computer Engineering, UI Faiz Assabil Firdaus, Computer Science, UI “Don’t focus too much on whether we’re winning or not, but think about the impact of our application — is it really making a difference? And if it is, then I think whether we’re winning or not doesn’t really matter. As long as we’re making impact, that’s enough,” said Phoebe Ivana, Computer Engineering. “Throughout the process, our top priority was ensuring that our solution truly works and is feasible. That commitment drove us to go the extra mile. We even reached out to experts outside of the competition in this short amount of time, to refine and validate our approach,” said Kyara Hafiza Saliha, Finance and Sustainability.   2nd Place: 40by40 Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Mohammad Fahmy Bin Fadzil, School of Social Sciences, Public Policy & Global Affairs Tang Yan Lin, School of Social Sciences, Public Policy & Global Affairs Aaron Ng Kaicheng, School of Biological Sciences Alison Yeo, School of Biological Sciences “One thing that we have learned is the interdisciplinary approach in all the solutions presented here at this hackathon. As you know, it is not a one-size-fits-all or uni-dimensional approach that we are proposing, we are examining very complex issues that we are facing globally, so we need the people with the technical experience, social experience, and everybody working together to improve social well-being in our communities.”   3rd Place: AgriAccess The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Chung Ho Man, Computer Science and Economics YAU Ho Lun, Global China Studies YIN Xinshu, Quantitative Social Analysis Chau Long Hei, Mathematics Chin Chi Lon, Computer Engineering “This milestone is less about a single achievement and more about the shared conviction that fueled it: that by bridging technology and finance, we can make the invisible, investable. We are acutely aware that we could not have even begun to approach this challenge without a constellation of support.” Owen Chung, Student, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Honorable Mentions: Credit Pass University of the Philippines (UP), Asian Institute of Management (AIM), University of San Carlos (USC) Darmae M Tan, Master of Information Systems, UP Francis Tallo, MS in Data Science, AIM Wince B Dela Fuente, Law, USC Atasha Nicole G. Bahande, BS Management Minor in Finance, UP Cebu James Gabriel Elijah P. Ty, BS Computer Science, UP Cebu Project AiGRI University of the Philippines, Tacloban Angela Denise Z. Almazan, Computer Science Desirre Bless I. Barbosa, Computer Science Honey Joy B. Mora, Political Science Norman Enrico C. Eulin, Computer Science Rolf Genree L. Garces, Computer Science “We are honored to have placed among the top teams, but we know that this is only the beginning. We’re determined to push AiGRI beyond the walls of the hackathon, to keep improving it with the goal to seeing it make a real-world impact for the farmers who feed our nation,” said Rolf Genree, student at the University of the Philippines, Tacloban. Bangkok Baddies Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Loo Yi Cong, Business Sanjeyan Chrysharnthan, Computer Engineering Ong Xin Chun, Computer Engineering Isaac Lee Jiajun, Information Engineering and Media Kumaravel Yashpreethu, Computer Engineering     APRU Tech Policy Hackathon Website https://www.apru.org/event/apru-tech-policy-hackathon-2025/ Photos Photos are available for download: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCsLJk Video

Held on June 24, 2025, in Bangkok, this official side event of the 3rd UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI brought together over 65 participants from across continents to explore inclusive, ethical, and scalable approaches to AI workforce development. Co-hosted by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and Data.org, the session built on years of collaborative efforts to strengthen regional capabilities and promote responsible AI integration. It marked a significant milestone in ongoing initiatives to foster regional collaboration around AI for Good and Data Science for Social Impact (DS4SI). A Format Designed for Engagement and Impact Structured to foster deep engagement and cross-sectoral dialogue, the event opened with a panel featuring representatives from government, academia, and industry. These experts shared insights and case studies on inclusive AI workforce strategies, laying a rich foundation for the second—and most interactive—segment: six facilitated roundtable discussions. These roundtables were the heart of the session, offering a dynamic and inclusive space where all participants could engage meaningfully. Organized around six priority themes—including bridging AI skills gaps, responsible AI literacy for all, enabling policy frameworks, supporting traditional sectors, and strengthening multi-stakeholder collaboration—the discussions enabled participants to share local challenges, co-create solutions, and identify partnership opportunities. The format was widely praised for its depth, inclusivity, and practical orientation, transforming the event into a collaborative space for experimentation, trust-building, and innovation. Reflecting on the event, Christina Schönleber, Chief Strategy Officer at APRU remarked: “This session exemplified what’s possible when diverse stakeholders come together in a spirit of collaboration. By creating safe spaces for dialogue and experimentation, we can ensure AI solutions are not only innovative, but also equitable, context-aware, and scalable across diverse communities in Asia and the Pacific.” Key Insights from the Panel and Roundtable Discussions The session surfaced a comprehensive set of insights that will guide future efforts toward building an AI-ready workforce: 1. Workforce Resilience Requires Broad-Based AI Literacy and Targeted Support  AI is accelerating job disruption through both automation and role transformation. Existing roles have already experienced a 40% shift in required skills, with projections reaching 70% by 2030. Continuous upskilling and adaptive, sector-specific policies are therefore essential to strengthen workforce resilience. Targeted support is particularly critical for SMEs, which face persistent barriers such as limited budgets, low digital readiness, and a lack of localized tools. Solutions must include affordable platforms, tailored training, and incentives to enable responsible AI adoption. Women and youth, who are disproportionately represented in roles at risk of disruption, also require focused interventions, including retraining incentives and dedicated support mechanisms. 2. Inclusive, Locally Relevant AI Education Is Key to Addressing Systemic Disparities The digital divide spans infrastructure and human capital, especially between urban and rural areas. This reflects broader development gaps, not just AI literacy. Programs must embed demographic, linguistic, and cultural diversity, empower local champions, and involve communities in co-creating solutions. Local ownership is key to sustainable adoption. 3. Trust Is the Essential Foundation for Responsible AI Adoption Trust in AI systems is essential, as people are more likely to adopt technologies they understand and consider safe. This requires transparent and ethical model design, strong data privacy protection, and the use of high-quality, representative datasets. Policy frameworks must reinforce trust by combining enforceable regulations with adaptable ethical guidelines that reflect both global standards and local realities. 4. AI Learning Pathways Must Foster Lifelong Adaptability and Ethical Adoption AI education must be inclusive, interdisciplinary, and attuned to local contexts. It should prioritize real-world, impact-driven learning that cultivates adaptability, creativity, ethical awareness, and the capacity for lifelong learning. A layered approach is essential—combining foundational literacy and ethics for all with targeted skills development. Training should reflect local languages, cultures, and sectoral needs, incorporating ethics, critical thinking, domain-specific knowledge, and sector-specific definitions of AI literacy. A shift toward applied, impact-driven learning is critical to prepare learners for real-world challenges. 5. Strategic Partnerships Are Critical to Incubate and Scale Inclusive Innovation Effective AI workforce development requires innovation enabled by coordinated collaboration between governments (policy and funding), academia (research and training), and industry (expertise and tools) to co-create and scale solutions. These partnerships must be grounded in shared accountability and long-term commitment. Governments must foster enabling environments for innovation, invest in research ecosystems—particularly in the Global South—and promote open data to support the development of open-source tools and bold, equity-driven solutions. Sustainable AI adoption depends on local ownership, with communities leading the design and implementation of solutions. Voices from the Forum Professor Ekapol Chuangsuwanich, Deputy Director of the Artificial Intelligence Centre at Chulalongkorn University, emphasized the importance of sector-specific AI literacy and empowering educators as local champions. Ying Hui Tng, Head of Government Affairs & Public Policy for Southeast Asia at Google, highlighted the AI Opportunity Fund as a model for supporting marginalized communities and fostering inclusive innovation. A Commitment to Inclusive AI Futures As AI continues to reshape the future of work, events like this play a vital role in aligning global efforts with local realities. The insights and partnerships formed here will feed into broader regional initiatives and help build a future-ready, inclusive AI workforce across Asia and the Pacific. About APRU’s work on Artificial Intelligence Over the years, APRU, UNESCAP and Google have collaborated to advance responsible AI integration and regional capacity building through policy dialogues, research, and multi-stakeholder engagement. In parallel, APRU’s partnership with Data.org—supported by Mastercard—has focused on strengthening regional capabilities through inclusive education, open-source training, and the development of a purpose-driven data science workforce. Their joint initiative, the Social Impact Data Science Accelerator (SIDSA), exemplifies this commitment by offering practice-based learning opportunities to students, educators, and social impact organizations across Southeast Asia. For more details about the event see the official event summary report: Enabling and AI-ready Workforce: Exchanging Policy Perspectives and Solutions  The University World News Article: AI Education Needs Multidimensional Approach to be Equitable The official web pages: Enabling and AI-Ready Workforce Global Forum on Ethics of AI unescap.org

  This article was featured on University World News on June 26, 2025 and written by Kalinga Seneviratne. For more details about the event, download the official event summary report here. A multidimensional approach is needed to equitably address education, training and cultural issues when it comes to implementing artificial intelligence (AI) in educational and workplace settings, experts, academics and policy-makers heard this week at a side event of the Third UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI held in Bangkok. “[When] talking about an AI-ready workforce of the future, we must keep in mind that it’s not something abstract, but it’s really [about] the students in our schools, the employees in our offices, the factories, and even the entrepreneurs in our markets”, said Rafael Torquato Cruz, project coordinator and community manager at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Bangkok. “Education for the area of AI is not just about training top AI engineers; we need to think about upskilling an entire workforce,” he added. That workforce “includes factory workers, farmers, teachers, doctors [and] people in all professions who can acquire digital tools for AI and know how relevant they are for work.” This article is part of a series on Pacific Rim higher education and research issues published by University World News and supported by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. University World News is solely responsible for the editorial content. Cruz, who manages a community of practice on AI, was speaking at a UNESCO forum side event, “Enabling an AI-ready Workforce”, organised by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) and UNESCAP in partnership with AVPN (Asian Venture Philanthropy Network) and non-profit Data.org, to address, among other things, the most pressing capacity and policy gaps related to AI skills. A panel of academics and AI specialists and policy experts from major technology companies in Asia stressed the importance of ensuring the world does not become even more fractured, divided into nations that have the computing power for cutting-edge AI systems and those that do not. “AI education must be ethical, inclusive, interdisciplinary and locally grounded – bridging technical fluency with critical thinking and cultural relevance,” Christina Schönleber, APRU’s chief strategy officer, told University World News. “Universities play an important role as conveners of knowledge and catalysts for innovation, ensuring that AI readiness is rolled out equitably and contextually, so no community is left behind,” she said. But collaboration needs “to go beyond academia”, and bringing together the main groups involved in AI application along with policymakers and civil society was an important task that would contribute to a multidimensional approach to AI,” she said. The pace of trust Trisha Suresh, LinkedIn’s head of public policy for Southeast Asia, based in Singapore, said: “Skills for jobs are changing very rapidly. So even if you’re not changing jobs, we know that our jobs are changing.” Citing analysis of LinkedIn data of members’ skills from 2016 to 2023, she said: “Even if you had not changed jobs, the skills needed for that job have changed by about 40% [over that period]. So our jobs have already been changing quite rapidly.” Suresh said jobs such as customer service representatives and legal assistants – where women are disproportionately represented – are most vulnerable to disruption from AI applications. “Those individuals would switch into jobs that would still have quite a high risk of AI disruption,” she noted. “That’s what the data is telling us”. Moderating the panel, Bangalore-based Priyank Hirani, director of capacity building at Data.org, said training students, upskilling working professionals, and supporting government leaders by creating open-source resources and learning content was imperative for local leaders seeking to support talent creation, working together with global experts. He emphasised the need to go beyond broad guidelines on AI to reimagine sector-specific AI training and human-first AI transformation to ensure inclusive growth in the Asia-Pacific. “We have to break down barriers, move from duplicative efforts, and adopt a long-term ecosystems approach to make inclusive AI workforce development possible at scale, keeping ethics and responsible use principles at the forefront,” he said in a post-conference blog. “We need to move fast to leverage data and AI for good – but we must move at the speed of trust [and] scale of human interactions and not the speed or scale of technology. “For solutions and capacity building to be sustainable and scalable, we need to build that trust through authentic partnerships with mission-aligned organisations and really ground our thinking in local cultural contexts,” he added. Associate Professor Wongkot Wongsapai, vice-president of Thailand’s office of the National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council, said AI was being introduced in three phases in Thailand: first to “internalise” AI in universities’ curricula; secondly, to introduce lifelong learning of AI skills in the workplace; and thirdly, to use AI to drive innovation, focusing on AI research and development. “We are rapidly embracing and adopting the technology and innovation,” said Wongsapai, noting that Thailand’s 154 universities and higher education institutions and 65 training centres have already trained about 31,000 people in the use of digital AI in the workplace. Emerging risks Yinghui Tng, head of government affairs and public policy at Google Southeast Asia, said YouTube, owned by Google, was a great “supplementary educational tool” that trains and educates people around the world. With AI added to the mix, it becomes a “bold” educational tool. “We do believe that innovation needs to push the boundaries to create cutting-edge research that will address the most challenging problems. But in order to do that, we need to do it responsibly … with an eye towards the new risks emerging as a result of the deployment of AI.” Tng pointed to financial fraud as a by-product of AI applications, with criminal syndicates operating in cyberspace across borders. “We didn’t look at it as a law enforcement problem. We thought of it as a technology problem,” she explained. “Criminal organisations … don’t just operate within the confines of a single platform or within a country or borders or within a single tactic. And [as a result] it requires a whole-of-society kind of approach to solve financial fraud. This is definitely one of the emerging risks that we see as a result of technology,” she noted. The AI divide The session also pointed to the computer access divide, in addition to the digital divide, especially with the need to spread AI technology to rural areas in Southeast Asia. Another crucial barrier highlighted by participants was language and the need for AI technology to be able to adapt to different languages. Given the hundreds of languages and dialects that exist across the region, Ekapol Chuangsuwanich, deputy director of the AI Centre at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, referred to “different levels of readiness for AI”. Saiman Pokhrel, AI trainer at Bagmati UNESCO Club in Bagmati, Nepal, told University World News the club has been teaching AI skills to over 60,000 students per year in 3,300 schools in rural areas of Nepal. But, with some 128 native languages, AI use is limited unless it can be adopted into indigenous languages. “Big tech houses like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon need to make tools so that indigenous languages can be much more effectively used in AI,” he said. “It’s important to have customised learning based on AI technologies, allowing people to be able to learn in a localised culture, context-specific way,” Hirani told University World News. Some professors in India may be resistant to using AI in teaching because of “concerns about technology taking over jobs, but AI could be a companion to make you more effective at delivering what you do,” he added. “We are basically developing the dialogue going forward and also getting academics to engage with these stakeholders to provide insights and knowledge on some of those challenges, to help address them and provide solutions,” Schönleber said in conclusion.  

Photos: GSI, APRU   On May 5–6, 2025, Christina Schönleber, Chief Strategy Officer of APRU, and Program Manager Benjamin Zhou represented the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) at the Global Solutions Summit 2025 in Berlin, Germany. Hosted by the Global Solutions Initiative (GSI) at the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT), the summit convened over 1,000 participants both in person and online under the theme “Bridging Divides: New Pathways for Global Prosperity.” APRU Chief Strategy Officer Christina Schönleber (r) and Program Manager Benjamin Zhou (l) at the Global Solutions Summit The summit featured more than 150 speakers, including representatives from the EU, OECD, UNESCO, G20, and G7. A powerful keynote by Alaa Murabit, former UN High Commissioner, set the tone by emphasizing the importance of institutional trust and the risks posed by its erosion. Key discussions revolved around artificial intelligence, multilateralism, and climate action, with dynamic exchanges highlighting the urgency of global cooperation.  Christina Schönleber participated in a closed-door workshop on next-generation AI, organized by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). The session explored inclusive data agency, AI capacity building, and digital infrastructure development, offering valuable insights for APRU’s strategic initiatives. APRU’s collaboration with GSI began in 2024. In May this year, GSI’s Global Solutions Journal published an article by APRU’s Forest Ecosystems Living Lab Initiative (FELLI), showcasing its innovative approach to forest research and community engagement across six Pacific Rim economies. Benjamin Zhou’s participation was supported by Blaues Haus Stiftung, a Hannover-based foundation promoting cultural exchange. Following the summit, from May 7 to 14, Zhou engaged with German U15 and TU9 university alliances to exchange best practices in academic collaboration. He also attended the University: Future Festival, Germany’s largest event on the digital future of education, and met with the Centre for Higher Education (CHE), a leading think tank in the sector.

Transforming Higher Education with Generative AI: APRU Releases Strategic Whitepaper and Project Insights   In response to the growing interest in generative AI and its transformative impact on higher education, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) recently published a comprehensive whitepaper along with a project report, detailing the outcomes of an 18-month project Generative AI in Higher Education, supported by Microsoft. Whitepaper Framework The whitepaper, titled “Generative AI in Higher Education: Current Practices and Ways Forward,”  was released in January 2025. It was authored by Professor Danny Liu from The University of Sydney and Professor Simon Bates, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning, The University of British Columbia, who also served as the academic lead for the project. The work aims to serve as a roadmap for institutions to develop comprehensive AI strategies that align with their core educational values. The authors developed the ‘CRAFT’ framework, outlining five interdependent elements essential for successful AI integration:  Culture represents both the greatest challenge and opportunity, requiring institutions to rethink their role in an AI-enabled world. Rules must evolve from restrictive policies to enabling frameworks that encourage innovation while ensuring ethical governance. Access remains a critical equity issue, as AI risks exacerbating existing digital divides without deliberate interventions to ensure equitable access to tools, infrastructure, and support. Familiarity emphasizes the need for systematic development of AI literacy among all stakeholders. Trust is identified as the foundation for progress, requiring transparency, collaboration, and demonstrated value across all levels of engagement. The whitepaper calls for immediate, sector-wide action, proposing two key priorities: Formation of collaborative clusters to foster cooperation among universities in areas such as AI application development, assessment redesign, and faculty training. Elevation of students as partners through peer networks, ambassador programs, and co-design initiatives. The authors stress that success will require fundamental transformation rather than incremental adaptation. APRU Generative AI Project The whitepaper is a main output of the Generative AI in Higher Education project  launched in 2023 under APRU’s Future of University Working Group. The project aimed to explore the ways that generative AI can shape the future of higher education. The final report of the project, titled “Future Universities in a Generative AI World: Navigating Disruption to Direction” was published in February 2025, providing a narrative of the activities and workshop methodologies. Over 18 months until December 2024, the project brought together over 70 participants, including academic experts, educators, students, and industry representatives, who contributed case studies, attended workshops, and provided strategic advice. It was delivered in two phases, with Phase I (September-December 2023) collecting 33 case studies from APRU member universities and partner institutions to map the current use of generative AI in education and institutional operations. Phase II was implemented throughout 2024 including three workshops: Sensemaking Workshop (virtual) in March, Foresight Workshop in June hosted at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and Creative Sandbox session (virtual) in August. These workshops provided a platform for participants to share practices, envision long-term futures, and identify critical considerations for institutions preparing for an AI-enabled world. The whitepaper and final project report compile the outcomes of these workshops and summarize the case studies. “We trust the whitepaper will influence policies and support decision-making, thereby promoting a broader reimagination of universities as we enter the second quarter of the 21st century,” APRU Chief Executive Thomas Schneider said.   Related Article: White Paper Offers HE a Balanced Plan for AI Engagement

Amid explosive interest in generative AI and rising concern about its impact on higher education, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) this week published a white paper on the future of generative AI in higher education as part of APRU’s “University of the Future” initiative. The 18-month project, backed by Microsoft, set up a network within APRU’s 60 member universities in Asia, the Pacific, North and South America, to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges generative AI (genAI) poses for higher education and identify ways to address knowledge gaps. GenAI tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL.E2, swiftly produce content, including text and images, that can be difficult to distinguish from human-produced content. “Universities are currently grappling with these implications, and medium- and longer-term strategies will require a better shared understanding of these tools: how they work and how to balance risks and benefits,” said APRU Chief Executive Thomas Schneider. This article is part of a series on Pacific Rim higher education and research issues published by University World News and supported by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. University World News is solely responsible for the editorial content. “Higher education is now at a stage where it needs to transition to a holistic, supported, and scaffolded approach to generative AI adoption,” the white paper notes, pointing to a “cautious and somewhat piecemeal approach to generative AI” so far. The project’s academic lead, Simon Bates, vice-provost and associate vice-president, teaching and learning at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, told University World News the aim was to “take a pulse check in a point in time” of how APRU universities are coming to terms with the implications of these tools, the impact on higher education, and to get universities thinking about the future. Going beyond statements of principle Initially, when OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other generative AI (genAI) tools were released in late 2022, many universities made statements on genAI use, but few went further than that. “There’s a big gap between those principles and practical actions, whether in teaching and learning or university business processes or research,” Bates said. “This white paper aims to support this next stage” – with a balanced plan of action for institutions. “At the same time as embracing the tools, we have to be deliberate about protecting elements of the teaching and learning experience, the same for graduate students with the research experience, that should not be short-circuited,” said Bates. “Getting that balance right will be the big challenge for universities in the next few years.” Larry Nelson, Microsoft’s Asia regional business leader for education, said that because “AI has been around and integrated into a lot of things that we already do, combined with the introduction of ChatGPT, the importance of generative AI and AI in education is uniquely profound”. He pointed to a need to work with universities. “We often overestimate the short-term impact of some of these innovations and changes and underestimate the long-term impact,” he told University World News. “So much of the innovation has taken place in universities; it makes a lot of sense to get involved, get engaged, and partner [with universities] around that.” he added. CRAFT Framework Danny Liu, professor of educational technologies, University of Sydney, Australia, authored the white paper, titled “Generative AI in Higher Education: Current practices and ways forward”. “Universities were stuck in inaction. They didn’t quite know where to start,” Liu told University World News. The white paper devised the CRAFT framework based on literature reviews and feedback from several APRU-organised workshops. It covers five key elements: culture, rules, access, familiarity, and trust to help universities assess their current state and identify next steps in each of these areas. For responsible integration of genAI into education, research, and operations, universities need a balance of rules, access, and familiarity (with genAI tools). A lack of one or more of these may lead to ethical, privacy, security, or other challenges, according to the white paper. These are underpinned by ensuring trust between students, educators, leadership, and partners such as industry, government, the community, and AI itself. All these aspects must be part of the local and regional culture of the institutions. “We think all five elements (of CRAFT) are essential,” said Liu. “There are universities that are progressing better in terms of the rules, or access, or familiarity. But no university is up there for all five,” he noted. Trust can be built via rules on responsible use of AI. But, for example, rules barring staff from using AI to mark student work would not work, Liu explained, “because it would break the trust between the faculty and students”. Students should be central to any discussions around rules, according to the white paper. “They are engaged, eager for guidance, and fully aware of how important proficiency with these tools is going to be as they move through and beyond their time at university.” A culture of genAI acceptance and use Developing trust, as opposed to eroding it with AI use, “helps, over time, to build culture and change culture” around technology acceptance and use, Liu pointed out. Or as the white paper puts it: “Do we have a culture that looks far enough into the future so that we are preparing ourselves and our students for a radically transformed environment?” Liu noted: “The future is generally positive, as long as we can shift the culture of higher education. It depends on whether we can help people to change their mindsets from locking down, restricting, banning, and being scared of genAI, to thinking: it’s here, our students are using it, it’s available for us to use.” The report suggests that those from emerging economies may have a stronger cultural acceptance of technology as it may be perceived as a route towards economic progress and advancement. Experimentation in a safe environment Michelle Banawan, professor at the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines, attended the workshops that fed into the white paper, which she also peer reviewed. The paper “establishes a framework based on varying perspectives of developed countries and developing countries, so it’s really inclusive”, she told University World News. It is not just a guide but includes benchmarks for policymaking, formulating pedagogies in higher education, or doing research, she added. “It encourages us to explore, to encourage co-creation and experimentation, even when we do not have established use cases yet,” she said. “But the approach by which the university is trying to learn and to experiment is a ‘best practice’ in itself.” UBC adopted a “creative sandbox” approach that encourages faculty and others to experiment with genAI, a practice the White Paper says other universities should consider adopting. Bates explained: “At UBC, we recognised that faculty need time and space to be able to experiment with these tools, to understand in a safe environment where they don’t need to worry about data security or intellectual property [IP], to see how, where, and if they [the tools] would fit within their courses and curriculum.” It allowed “access to multiple LLMs [large language models] in a secure way, so the IP that faculty might put in their lecture notes or readings doesn’t go back into the model. We also diverted innovation funding to support experimentation in generative AI projects”, he said. Need for balance But the workshops also found that for all the good genAI tools can bring, “there are also things we might inadvertently lose in universities by going too far and too fast down this road”, Bates pointed out, noting unintended consequences were also observed with other technology-driven shifts such as the spread of social media or the shift online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Universities need to recognise “the capabilities of these tools for supporting and personalising learning at scale that even the best teachers cannot do, but equally have to balance that with the very strong desire for human interaction and connection to support learning. Defining that balance is the task for universities”. Nelson pointed to “driving a personalised learning experience in a way that doesn’t eliminate the teacher, the faculty, but helps streamline and create more time and space for them to add value where they add it most, which is working with students and delivering content and resources. A curriculum that extends scholarship is something that an AI platform has some potential to deliver”. Nelson added: “These are tools that companies are looking for their employees to know how to use. So, being thoughtful about figuring out the right ways in which they can be integrated into our curriculum and integrated into the way students learn and teach around that, and build critical thinking skills in terms of how we use them, is important.” Cognitive offloading GenAI can make learning seem frictionless, but real understanding and mastery of any discipline requires effort and practice, which is something universities of the future must address. In September 2024 OpenAI introduced the latest genAI model, the o1-Strawberry model. “It’s a cognition model that corrects itself and thinks about its thought processes,” said Banawan. “Universities are now trying to address ‘cognitive offloading’, where students put all the thinking into this technology. We wanted students to be aware of how they think. “Students need to develop a nuanced view of not only how to use these tools to support learning but when not to rely on them: using them productively whilst avoiding unhelpful cognitive offloading and potential over-reliance,” the white paper states. An area to explore further with universities, according to Nelson, was “the science of learning itself, and how AI can inform, improve, or advance that, addressing some of the concerns around ‘cognitive offloading’ that may come through the overuse of AI in some cases”. Importance of collaboration The white paper notes that “collaboration within and between institutions will be a key to future success for the sector. This could be regional in scope or focused on particular issues of generative AI adoption and application”. Liu noted that collaboration with AI-aligned industry and those at the forefront, like Microsoft, was important. “They have the connectivity, the clouds, and the foresight to see where technology is headed, and they can only succeed if they work with us, and we can only succeed if we work with them,” he said. Christina Schönleber, APRU’s chief strategy officer, said: “Amid the transformative impact of generative AI on higher education, fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration in this safe space is more crucial than ever. By continuing to engage university leaders, educators, and students in the region with technology providers and industry partners, we can develop equitable AI solutions that cater to diverse institutional needs. “These collaborative efforts not only support effective AI adoption but also aim to ensure that our educational systems remain resilient, innovative, and beneficial for the entire academic community.”

This was a press release published by The Chinese University of Hong Kong on January 9, 2025, with the original title “CU Medicine’s study reveals a higher risk of tracheal cancer due to urban development and lifestyle—Strengthening health education is recommended.”    Tracheal cancer is a relatively rare malignancy with a high mortality rate. Though smoking has been confirmed as one of the factors, the exact cause of the cancer is not yet fully understood. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine) conducted a study with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) to reveal the 10-year global epidemiology of this rarely seen cancer. The findings showed association with factors such as Human Development Index (HDI), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, genetics and lifestyle. The global incidence of tracheal cancer had been in decline but the incidence rates of females and the younger population in certain regions edged up. Researchers recommend continued focus on high-risk groups and strengthening health education. Details of the study have been published in the prestigious international medical journal Molecular Cancer. Research and treatment of tracheal cancer are limited compared to bronchial and lung cancers The trachea, connecting the larynx with the bronchi, is part of the respiratory system. The bronchi then carry inhaled air to the lungs. Common symptoms of tracheal cancer include chronic coughs, blood in mucus during coughing, difficulty in swallowing and breathing, hoarseness, gasping and wheezing. As tracheal cancer is often grouped with bronchial and lung cancers, given that it represents less than 1% of all malignant diseases, there is a lack of up-to-date research data in the medical field. Patients often present advanced stage at primary diagnosis and treatments available are also limited, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 30%.    Incidence rates are higher in the European and Mediterranean regions       The CU Medicine research team calculated and analysed the incidence of the cancer and the prevalence of each risk factor by collecting 10 years of data from databases such as the Global Cancer Observatory, Cancer Incidence in Five Continents and Global Burden of Disease. As estimated by the researchers, there were 3,474 tracheal cancer cases globally, with an age-standardised rate (ASR) of 2.9 per 10 million people in 2022. By age and gender, higher incidence of trachea cancer was found among older people aged from 50 to 74 years old and among males when compared with females. Central and Eastern Europe were the subregions with the highest ASR (see Table 1 for details). On a country level, the ASR of Hungary was notably higher than other countries (see Table 2 for details).   Research team members: (from left) Professor Martin Wong Chi-sang, the senior corresponding author of the study and Professor of The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at CU Medicine; Dr Jason Huang Junjie, the first author of the study and Assistant Professor from The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at CU Medicine; and Dr Claire Zhong Chenwen, the co-corresponding author of the study and Research Assistant Professor from The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at CU Medicine.   Dr Jason Huang Junjie, the first author of the study and Assistant Professor from The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at CU Medicine, stated: ‘‘Globally, for unknown reasons, the incidence of tracheal cancer was higher in the European and Mediterranean regions, probably due to genetics and geographical environment. This finding reminds public health policymakers to focus on these locations, strengthen preventive measures for tracheal cancer and further explore the ties between genetic and environmental factors.” Urban development affects the incidence of tracheal cancer    The tracheal cancer incidence ratio is highly associated with multiple factors, notably HDI and GDP per capita. This trend probably reflected more complex lifestyle and environmental factors, with the prevalence of smoking and alcoholism being critical risk factors that are not only detrimental to the respiratory system but also harmful to overall health. In addition, unhealthy eating habits and an inactive lifestyle could also be associated with a higher risk of tracheal cancer, particularly obesity, which would probably increase the susceptibility to cancers by affecting the immune system and endocrine functions. Other health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and lipid abnormalities were also associated with a higher risk of tracheal cancer. Dr Claire Zhong Chenwen, the co-corresponding author of the study and Research Assistant Professor from The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at CU Medicine, commented: ‘‘The study revealed the relationship between tracheal cancer and factors such as high HDI, smoking, alcoholism, unhealthy diet and lack of exercise, suggesting the need for early intervention to address these controllable risk factors. Public health policies should focus on strengthening health education, facilitating the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and providing the necessary support and resources to high-risk groups to reduce the incidence of tracheal cancer.’’ Incidence ratios of females and younger population increase in certain regions despite the decline in overall incidence of tracheal cancer     Over the past decade, with stronger health awareness, there has been a decreasing trend in the global incidence of tracheal cancer, particularly among the male population and the elderly while the decline was less evident for the female population and younger individuals (aged 15-49 years old). However, higher incidence was identified in some countries. Among younger individuals, there was significantly higher tracheal cancer incidence in Ireland and Colombia (Average Annual Percentage Change [AAPC][1]): 30), followed by India and Malta (AAPC: 15). In the female population, Colombia (AAPC: 19), Norway (AAPC: 16) and Kuwait (AAPC: 15) were found to see higher incidence ratios of tracheal cancer. Researchers see the need of further research of the cancer in countries such as China. The average global incidence rate was 2.9 while China had an incidence up to 4.7, which was higher than countries in East Asia such as Korea, Japan and Mongolia. While there has been a relatively stable incidence rate among females and a potential uptick among the elderly in China, more in-depth research is required to better understand the underlying reasons.   Professor Martin Wong Chi-sang, the senior corresponding author of the study and Professor of The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at CU Medicine, added: ‘‘Despite the declining incidence of tracheal cancer as a whole, the rising incidence among younger individuals and females in certain locations has sounded an alarm to us that the health conditions of these groups should remain a focus for us. The rising tracheal cancer incidence may be related to changes in lifestyle. Hence, health education and intervention measures targeting these groups should be reinforced to prevent the incidence from escalating further in the future.’’ This paper is a collaboration with Professor Mellissa Withers, Director of the APRU Global Health Program; Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. The APRU was established in Los Angeles in 1997 by the presidents of UCLA, Berkeley, Caltech and the University of Southern California. It now has a membership of more than 60 leading research universities from around the Pacific Rim. CUHK is an important member of the APRU, with Professor Martin Wong Chi-sang currently serving as its expert adviser, and Dr. Jason Huang Junjie and Dr. Claire Zhong Chenwen being the co-chairs of a Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Global Health Working Group in this network. [1] AAPC is a measure of the overall changes in the cancer incidence for a specific period. For example, if the cancer incidence AAPC of a country is 5 for the past 10 years, it means the cancer incidence in that country increased 5% on average each year over the 10-year period. 

  Photos Credit: Chulalongkorn University   The APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition 2024 with USD1,000 in prize money was won by “Sparkling!”, a team of six students from Universitas Indonesia. A representative of the winning team “Sparkling!” from Universitas Indonesia received the award  at APRU Global Health Conference 2024 in Bangkok The winner was elected at the 17th APRU Global Health Conference 2024 at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand on November 6 by the votes of hundreds of participants. The competition since January had attracted a record high of 108 teams to register, each team comprising 3 to 6 students. The participating teams had been given 12 weeks to prepare a video of up to 10 minutes proposing a realistic, well-designed, innovative solution to the challenge themed “Improving Diabetes Care Management through Technological Innovation.” 63 teams submitted their videos. The team “Sparkling!” won with a video proposing an innovative app making diabetes management simple by automatically storing and analyzing patients’ blood sugar readings, providing timely alerts, and ensuring proactive care. The other two finalists of the case competition were from Nanyang Technological University Singapore and Chulalongkorn University. Also announced at the APRU Global Health Conference were the two winners of the 10th Annual Student Poster Contest: Kaung Htet Wai (undergraduate category) from Thailand’s Maeh Fah Luang University with a poster on “Trends and Determinants of Tuberculosis Incidence in Myanmar from 2010 to 2022” and Raania Amaani (postgraduate category) from The University of Melbourne, Australia, with a poster themed “Caregiving Together Framework: Optimizing the Involvement of Fathers in Caregiving of Children with Disability.” Undergraduate category winner of the Student Poster Contest Kaung Htet Wai from Thailand’s Maeh Fah Luang University Postgraduate category winner of the Student Poster Contest Raania Amaani from The University of Melbourne Standing out among 49 entries from 20 universities in 12 economies, Kaung Htet Wai and Raania Amaani received a prize of USD500 each.   Complete lists:   The 9th Annual APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition 2024 Winner Universitas Indonesia, Sparkling! Other two Finalists (in no particular order): Chulalongkorn University/Mahidol University, Betabusters Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Diabacron Other Top 10 Teams (in no particular order): Chulalongkorn University, iCU National University of Singapore, Cure Crafters Mahidol University/Thammasat University, Teebo & Co The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Cubeta Sun Yat-Sen University, AIP Dream Chasers Simon Fraser University, GlucoWise Solutions Tohoku University/Mahidol University, OverSea   The 10th Annual APRU Global Health Student Poster Contest 2024 Undergraduate Category: [Winner] Kaung Htet Wai, Maeh Fah Luang University, “Trends and determinants of tuberculosis incidence in Myanmar from 2010 to 2022” Meng Chen, Fudan University, “Planetary health diet score and temporal trends in Chinese adults” Matthew Andrei E Basilio, Angeles University, “Disaster awareness, preparedness, and belief of residents of selected barangays in Angeles city” Graduate Category: [Winner] Raania Amaani, The University of Melbourne, “Caregiving together framework: optimizing the involvement of fathers in caregiving of children with disability” Ganyalak Chaimaha, Mahidol University, “Genetic underpinnings of COVID-19 induced Diabetes Mellitus: a focus on IL33” Safira Khairinisa, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, “Behind the school walls: the unseen battle with loneliness and suicide ideation among Southeast Asian adolescent”

Photos Credit: Chulalongkorn University The 17th APRU Global Health Conference 2024 attracted a record high of 413 participants from 25 economies, constituting a strong display of interdisciplinary collaboration between healthcare professionals, scholars, government officials and technologists. Hosted on November 4 – 6 by the School of Global Health of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, the annual gathering had artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and planetary health at the center of discussions. Planetary health is a new transdisciplinary field of research and social movement that addresses the impacts of natural systems on human health and all life on Earth. “Human health is inextricably tied to resources such as food, energy, and biodiversity, and failure to recognize this interdependence can lead to global crises that threaten our very existence,” said Mellissa Withers, Director of the APRU Global Health Program and Professor at the University of Southern California. “This conference challenges and inspires us to consider new approaches to advance social justice and identify comprehensive solutions to health challenges facing populations around the world.” Mellissa Withers, Director of the APRU Global Health Program and Professor at the University of Southern California Participants explored the intersection of humanities and healthcare to enhance people-centered and culturally sensitive practices. They also assessed the impact of economic crises and climate change on global health and discussed ethical considerations and guidelines in the age of AI and digital transformation. “The timeliness of this topic is apparent from the role that health will play in the discussion of COP29, the United Nations’ Climate Change conference,” said Thomas Schneider, APRU’s Chief Executive. He cited Director of Environment, Climate Change and Health Maria Neira from the World Health Organization to stress the need for responses to climate change’s adverse health effects and the importance of ensuring that mitigation efforts yield health benefits. Thomas Schneider, Chief Executive of APRU In addition to panels and plenary sessions, APRU Global Health Conferences feature working group meetings that gather participants’ wisdoms to form policy insights and recommendations. Themes of the working group discussions include non-communicable diseases, mental health, global health education and technology, bioethics, humanitarian assistance and health. “This conference constitutes far more than the typical academic gathering by proposing resilient strategies for planetary well-being, while integrating knowledge from diverse disciplines and practices,” said Wilert Puriwat, President of Chulalongkorn University. “In essence, it is about confronting the growing complexity and interconnectedness of the challenges before us.” Wilert Puriwat, President of Chulalongkorn University The results of the APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition and annual Global Health Student Poster Contest were announced during the conference.  The APRU Global Health 2025 will be held in November at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Planetary Health will continue to be a hot topic.

This article was featured on University World News webpage on November 27, 2024. Southeast Asia’s first data capacity accelerator, which will be used to train students and data professionals to use data for social impact, was inaugurated in Singapore this month by data.org, a non-governmental organisation, in partnership with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS). The initiative will produce a cohort of socially responsible data professionals and a social impact training model for universities that can be scaled up in about two years across other Southeast Asian countries, APRU, stated. “Digital transformation, AI and data all have a role to play in shaping society and driving economies towards financial health and resilience,” said Shamina Singh, founder and president of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, which is funding the initiative. She underlined the need to “reach the next generation of data practitioners, so they can harness the power of data and AI to support inclusive economic growth in the region”. Jon Huntsman, a former US ambassador to China and Singapore and vice-chairman (strategic growth) at Mastercard, which oversees the centre, said that the accelerator launch was “a remarkable step in the region’s journey as a leader in using data and AI for social good. This initiative will prepare a new generation of data and AI practitioners in the civil service, among others, to address social challenges that benefit local communities”. This article is part of a series on Pacific Rim higher education and research issues published by University World News and supported by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. University World News is solely responsible for the editorial content. Professor Huang Ke-Wei, executive director of NUS’ Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF), at the 22 November launch described the accelerator as “a programme designed to uplift under-represented communities across Asia by equipping them with the skills and tools needed to thrive in an increasingly data-driven world. This mission has never been more important … as AI continues to evolve at a very rapid pace”. Tapping into the power of higher education APRU chief executive Thomas Schneider said: “This partnership is about tapping into the power of higher education to ensure that our workforce and our communities are not left behind.” With its membership of over 60 universities in Asia and the Pacific, North America and Latin America, APRU “would like to create open-source resources in data science, where people can be trained at a massive scale. And we would also want to tie in many of our [APRU’s] huge programme hubs in global health, in sustainability and in food security, so students can learn practice-based solutions”, he noted. “Data science for social impact has the potential for significant societal benefits in areas such as economic mobility, gender equity, and even public health and climate, so we are eager to see how the data practitioners and social impact organisations involved will address this challenge in a way that serves the public good in the Asia Pacific and beyond,” Schneider added. Data for impact Data.org, a platform for partnerships between philanthropy, technology, academia, and social impact organisations, specifically focuses on data science for social impact. It has already established hubs at universities in Africa, India, Latin America, and the United States. Executive director of data.org Danil Mikhailov said that the aim is to apply research and academic expertise to enable social impact organisations “to unlock the power of data to meet their missions”. He told University World News: “Our focus is to democratise access to these skills but also make sure that data science is taught in a new way – with a focus on responsible data and responsible AI. And for it to be responsible, the skills you need are not just technical skills like coding. You need to understand how to work with vulnerable communities.” He noted that it required skills from the humanities and social sciences. For example: “If you want to work in health, you need to understand the basics of how health data is different from climate data or financial inclusion data,” he said. “We want people to be interdisciplinary scholars who approach data in what we call a socio-technical way – society and technology, not just technology,” he explained. Data.org has a goal to train 1 million data scientists, data analysts, data engineers around the world by 2032, particularly focusing on areas that are currently excluded. But Mikhailov said this could not be achieved with partnerships with individual universities if it is to have a global impact, hence the need for a ‘data capacity accelerator’ scheme. A different type of university course AIDF in Singapore, which involves collaboration between industry, academia and government policymakers, has devised a course on inclusive finance and will develop many more under the new initiative. The ‘data capacity accelerator’ is intended to address financial inequality in society and create meaningful social impact, AIDF’s Huang said. As part of the partnership, AIDF will co-create open-source certification courses in AI and data analytics, and through the initiative reach learners in other countries “to ensure that data and AI are harnessed equitably to empower lives and strengthen underprivileged communities”, he noted. He said at the launch: “We try to empower communities to reduce inequalities and also drive sustainable growth through digital finance and AI innovations.” Mikhailov stated that the students “have been taught a more responsible approach to data science with a social impact lens, and that embeds a new culture, a little seed of culture that will germinate in those institutions”. He noted: “Then we pair institutions with social impact organisations. So when those students come out, they get an experience of what it’s like on the other side, where the resources are much tighter, where the problems are much bigger. And that, again, informs them and shapes them into the well-rounded, interdisciplinary data scientists of the future that we all need.” Course design Referring to the need for exercises, case studies and data sets used by students to be derived from “real world problems”, Mikhailov said that it was important to ensure that course materials co-designed with universities had a strong applied element. All too often, data scientists being trained on AI models for the first time are given inappropriate data sets, Mikhailov noted. These might include data sets from retail – something that’s easily accessible, “but you’re actually trying to solve a problem in health or climate, so the data is very different and therefore you’re not learning the right skills and approaches”, he explained. Many students at data capacity accelerator initiatives elsewhere in the world work with local social impact organisations near the university. “We provide fellowship opportunities for students, fully paid by us, to go in and work in those organisations, let’s say, for a year, applying their skills,” Mikhailov said. “That’s good for students because they get a practical test of what they’ve learnt, and they learn so much more by doing, rather than by rote, and it’s very good for the organisations because often they’re priced out in the marketplace, unable to afford data scientists,” he added. Some of the 20 universities linked to data.org around the world created a new undergraduate degree; others, such as NUS, embed specific modules into existing courses, while others co-design modules with data.org. “The materials they [universities] produce, case studies and various teaching assets, are then used within our network and accessed by many more players who use them in their own courses.” Spreading in the region Christina Schönleber, APRU’s chief strategy officer, said that APRU would build more co-designed courses and learning materials to roll out to the region. “Our member universities can leverage their deep understanding of ocal contexts, communities and challenges to ensure the training programmes and resources are culturally and contextually relevant,” Schönleber told University World News. “Then, over the course of next year, develop and also run open-source courses and related materials. We need to develop these and make them available for students, academics and organisations who do not yet understand it [the application of data with impact]. “We also need to make sure the courses can be taken up by another university and they can integrate these, or elements of these, within their curricula,” she noted. APRU also intends to use some of the courses already developed under data.org, including some on the basics of data science. APRU’s plan is to launch a social impact data accelerator innovation platform, a practice-based learning platform “to get computer and data science students to work with social impact organisations across the Asia Pacific region, to help students understand how the use and application of data can make a real difference”, she explained. Many academics from the APRU network and beyond already work together on APRU programmes. “We bring academics together that work within the communities and work on the ground,” she said, and some will be brought in to work with computer and data scientists for the new initiative. “That’s the biggest challenge: to build that interdisciplinary community across the region to start with,” she said. “They will hopefully continue to collaborate beyond this initiative. Part of the legacy will be open-source course materials and assets, and we will work with data.org, and our other partners to share them widely.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 22, 2024 CONTACT Emma Donelan [email protected]   Today, with the generous support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, data.org launched the Asia Pacific (APAC) Data Capacity Accelerator, the fifth in a growing network of global partners that are building a workforce of purpose-driven data practitioners. The APAC Data Capacity Accelerator will catalyze the application of data to address systemic financial inclusion challenges – including the critical need to build the data for social impact workforce. In partnership with the Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF) – a university-level institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS) – and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, this accelerator will produce a cohort of data practitioners and a training model to scale across the region. “Digital transformation, AI and data all have a role to play in shaping society and driving economies towards financial health and resilience,” said Shamina Singh, founder and president, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. “At Mastercard, we are committed to driving financial inclusion for small businesses, workers, and communities all around the world. We are proud to work with partners such as data.org, the Asian Institute of Digital Finance at the National University of Singapore, and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities to reach the next generation of data practitioners, so they can harness the power of data and AI to support inclusive economic growth in the APAC region.” The latest Capacity Accelerator Network (CAN) launch announcement came at an event held at NUS. Domain leaders across academia, industry, government, and NGOs came together to discuss shared goals and coordination around developing and upskilling purpose-driven data capacity for inclusive growth. “data.org works at the intersection of what is possible and what is practical, as increasingly illustrated by the impact of our CAN network partners,” said Danil Mikhailov, executive director of data.org. “We will only reach our goal of training one million purpose-driven data practitioners by 2032 through interdisciplinary, locally-led programs. Our growing and diverse network of partners—including now five Capacity Accelerator Network hubs worldwide—is making connections across sectors and across borders, inspiring a new generation of problem solvers.” The APAC Data Capacity Accelerator builds on the work being done at hubs in Africa, India, Latin America, and the United States. To date, data.org programs have engaged more than 20 academic partners around the world, applying the power of research and academic expertise to enable social impact organizations to unlock the power of data to meet their missions. For the APAC Accelerator, AIDF and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities are the primary higher education partners. “AIDF is proud to host today’s event together with data.org and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. It’s very exciting to be a part of a movement to empower young people and underprivileged communities, such as small business owners, around the world with the skills they need to be competitive in an increasingly tech-driven workforce,” said Professor Huang Ke-Wei, Executive Director of AIDF. “Our students, regardless of their disciplines, can benefit from exposure to and understanding of data and AI. We hope to create more opportunities for them to apply such critical skills in ways that would be beneficial to the community, society, and the world.” “This partnership is about tapping into the power of higher education to ensure that our workforce and our communities are not left behind,” said Thomas Schneider, chief executive of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. “Data science for social impact has the potential of significant societal benefits in areas such as economic mobility, gender equity, and even public health and climate, so we are eager to see how the data practitioners and social impact organizations involved will address this challenge in a way that serves the public good in the Asia Pacific and beyond.” Today’s event included keynotes on topics such as data and AI driving inclusive growth, the power of collaboration among government and social impact leaders, and the unique challenges and opportunities of AI in social impact. Subject matter experts shared their perspectives through panel discussions on bridging the data talent demand-supply gap, data-driven decision-making in multistakeholder partnerships, and scaling innovation and resources.   -30-   About data.org data.org is accelerating the power of data and AI to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. By hosting innovation challenges to surface and scale groundbreaking ideas, and elevating use cases of the most effective tools and strategies, we are building the field of data for social impact. By 2032, we will train one million purpose-driven data practitioners, ensuring there is capacity to drive meaningful, equitable impact.   About the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. The Center leverages the company’s core assets and competencies, including data insights, expertise, and technology, while administering the philanthropic Mastercard Impact Fund, to produce independent research, scale global programs, and empower a community of thinkers, leaders, and doers on the front lines of inclusive growth. For more information and to receive its latest insights, follow the Center on LinkedIn, Instagram and subscribe to its newsletter.     About the Asian Institute of Digital Finance The Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF) is a university-level institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS), jointly founded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the National Research Foundation (NRF), and NUS. AIDF aims to be a thought leader, a FinTech knowledge hub, and an experimental site for developing digital financial technologies, as well as for nurturing current and future FinTech researchers and practitioners in Asia. For more information, please visit: https://www.aidf.nus.edu.sg/.   About the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) As a network of leading universities linking the Americas, Asia and Australasia, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) is the Voice of Knowledge and Innovation for the Asia-Pacific region. APRU brings together thought leaders, researchers, and policy-makers to exchange ideas and collaborate on practical solutions to the challenges of the 21st century. For more information, please visit: https://www.apru.org/.    

The 2024 APEC Industry-Academia Collaboration Workshop, Best Practices for Inclusive Innovation, Digital Sustainability and cross-regional Talent Development held in late-August by Chinese Taipei’s Working Group to Internationalize Technological/ Vocational Education served as a perfect platform for APRU to present its case studies from the APRU-Microsoft’s collaborative project Generative AI in Higher Education. The 2024 APEC TVET Workshop gathered 112 education policymakers, industry representatives, and academia from 13 APEC member economies for training aligned with newly emerged industries. The workshop showcases best practices for the industry-academia cooperative model that expands the scope of inclusive and innovative talent training. The workshop topics aligned with newly emerging industries and addressed ongoing economic challenges. In his opening remarks via video, Deputy Minister of Education, Chinese Taipei, Ping-Cheng Yeh emphasized that in the face of the complex challenges of the digital age, it is crucial for APEC member economies to collaborate, promote cross-regional talent development, and jointly create a more inclusive, sustainable, and innovative future. Dr. Sean McMinn, Director, Center for Education Innovation, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, explored the current challenge of cultivating digital transformation and innovation talents in a presentation that provided first-hand insights into the project’s findings. The presentation contributed key insights into the 2024 APEC TVET workshop and met the goal of showcasing best practices for industry-academia cooperative models that expand the scope of inclusive and innovative talent training. “The APRU-Microsoft project aims to map a baseline snapshot of the adoption of Generative AI tools across APRU member institutions, identifying specific needs and knowledge gaps that can be addressed in future phases of the work,” said Dr. McMinn. “It is a particularly urgent endeavor for Hong Kong-based APRU, given that Hong Kong leads globally in predictions by Goldman Sachs and McKinsey for exposure of full-time jobs to automation by AI.” Dr. McMinn presented two case studies, both touching on AI readiness (literacy) of students and teachers who utilize generative AI tools to solve problems. ​ Case 1 involved the exploration of using Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), specifically ChatGPT, as a ‘design assistant’ in educational course design. A step-by-step approach was adopted in exploring how GenAI can be used to complete tasks like defining and mapping course intended learning outcomes (ILOs) across course activities and assessments. ​ Case 2 involved an executive undergraduate course where students are encouraged to use GenAI tools to complete assessed tasks and reflect on the experience. “The case studies provided us with a deeper understanding of how human-in-the-loop is interregnal to successful use of AI while adding supporting evidence that students learning metacognitive skills is increasingly becoming important in the context if using AI​,” Dr. McMinn explained. This workshop was a key outcome of the HRDWG-EDNET Project of APEC. APRU is a guest member of the APEC Human Resources and Development Working Group Education Network. The Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG) was established in 1990 and conducts work programs on developing human resources, focusing on issues ranging from education, capacity building to labor and social protection. In addition, the HRDWG has responsibilities to help build cultural awareness and promote gender equality as well as be responsible for including disability issues in its workplan. The mission of HRDWG is “Sharing knowledge, experience, and skills to strengthen human resource development and promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth.”

This article was featured on Journal of Public Health and Emergency on July 24, 2024. Mellissa Withers1, Jin Ye Yeo2 1University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 2JPHE Editorial Office, AME Publishing Company Correspondence to: Jin Ye Yeo. JPHE Editorial Office, AME Publishing Company. Email: [email protected] Expert introduction Prof. Mellissa Withers (Figure 1) is Associate Professor at the Keck School of Medicine in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences. She is also Director of the Global Health Program of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, a non-profit network of 60+ universities in the region. She received a PhD from the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health with a minor in cultural anthropology. She also earned a Master’s in Health Sciences from the Department of International Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a BA in international development from UC Berkeley. Her research interests include community-based participatory research methods, mental health, gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive health. Dr Withers is the editor of two books: Global Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse, and Global Health Leadership: Case Studies from the Asia-Pacific. She has published more than 80 scientific articles and serves on the editorial boards of six international global health journals. She also writes a blog on human trafficking titled Modern-Day Slavery for Psychology Today. Figure 1 Prof. Mellissa Withers Interview JPHE: What drove you to pursue public and global health? Dr. Withers: I was fortunate to be able to travel to low-income developing countries as a child with my family. I often saw women with their children begging in the streets. These travels really left an impression on me. I was saddened to see so much suffering in the world. I questioned why so many of the people living in poverty around the world are women. Is it because women have more children than they can afford because they lack access to birth control? Or, is it because few opportunities for education and a decent job are available to women? I spent a couple of summers during high school in Guatemala volunteering at an orphanage. Pretty much every day at least one of the babies there died. They were mostly coming from indigenous communities in the highlands during the war and were often very malnourished. After spending time in Guatemala, I became more interested in learning about the long-term US’ involvement in Central America, and how my own country has contributed to the conflicts that have resulted in so much suffering. It inspired me to study global development in my undergraduate program at UC Berkeley, which provided me with more context on why women are disproportionately impacted by poverty. These experiences to witness first-hand what was happening to women around the world really had an impact on me and shaped my interest in a career in global health. Specifically, I knew that I wanted to work on issues relating to women’s empowerment. JPHE: Having served a decade long as the Director of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Global Health Program and developed various initiatives in global health, could you share some of your proudest achievements or most memorable moments? Dr. Withers: Leading the APRU Global Health Program over the past ten years has been one of the most rewarding parts about my job. I am truly inspired by the amazing work that is taking place in global health. I have been able to form so many strong connections with colleagues and communities all over the world. Whether it is Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Ecuador, or other places, I feel like when I go there, I have a family, which is a really amazing feeling. When I started, about 60 or 70 really committed global health faculty would get together once a year for an APRU Global Health conference and talk about all of the possibilities for collaboration within the network. But then nothing much else happened. I have been so happy to see the growth of the Program to what is now a very large and active network of thousands of people. Participation in our program continues to grow each year and we have developed so many exciting annual initiatives, especially for students. Some examples are our annual Student Global Climate Change Simulation, which brings together about 200 students from 20+ universities each year in a three-day event, and the APRU Mini Certificate in Health Research Ethics, which is a 12-hour training that includes live interactive sessions with students and about 40 volunteer facilitators to discuss real-life case studies in health research in small groups. Each year we have close to 2,000 students who participate in these initiatives — all for free! I am humbled and grateful to the large cohort of faculty in our network who continues to volunteer countless hours year after year to support our work. JPHE: In this year’s APRU Global Health Conference, with a theme “Harmonizing Human and Planetary Health Through Innovation, AI, and Digital Transformation”, what are some topics of global health challenges and their solutions that we can expect to hear about? Dr. Withers: I am really looking forward to this year’s conference. This is the first time in 17 years that we are holding this conference in Thailand, so that is exciting. I know that everyone always has a great time visiting Bangkok. The new School of Global Health in the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University is hosting this year’s conference and they have put a lot of thought and effort into the conference. Of course, we will be talking a lot about digital innovation, which is not really my area of expertise. But I am sure that I will learn a lot during those sessions. Through the planetary health angle, we will be hearing about One Health and climate change from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. We have lined up a lot of fantastic speakers from various academic institutions, as well as the Ministry of Health of Thailand, FHI360, UNESCO, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), the World Bank, and the ASEAN International Commission of Human Rights. Other key themes for the concurrent panel sessions are health systems, mental health, communicable, and non-communicable diseases. I think we expect 300-400 participants this year. JPHE: Since you also oversee the Annual APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition, can you share how this case competition helps address global health problems? Have there been instances where solutions proposed by students helped to alleviate global health problems? Dr. Withers: Our annual case competition is something that I look forward to every year. I think we do a good job in crafting the challenges around complex challenges facing our world today, whether it is emergency preparedness, tobacco use, care for older adults, or physical inactivity, which have all been topics of past competitions. Students form teams and spend about 10-12 weeks delving into the complexities of the issue in order to develop comprehensive solutions, taking into consideration the barriers, the context, and the resources available. This year’s challenge relates to the use of technological innovations to improve adherence to treatment for type 2 diabetes. We partnered with the UNDP, Chulalongkorn University, and the Diabetes Association of Thailand to develop the challenge. We had a total of 108 teams participate from 31 universities in 14 economies. Our international panel of 33 judges is in the process of selecting the finalists now. I have heard from many of our judges that the quality of the submissions continues to increase each year. I have watched a lot of the videos and I agree that we have a lot of really excellent submissions. One thing that I love about this competition is the insight that we can gain into young people’s perceptions of global health challenges and their ideas about the most effective ways to solve them. We have actually conducted and published content analyses of the video submissions in several previous competitions because the proposals were creative and well-designed. Our youth bring a lot of interesting perspective and ideas to the table. I think it is really valuable and important for us to include young people in conversations about topics such as mental health, tobacco use, and healthy aging. JPHE: Moving forward, what goals do you hope to achieve with APRU in the next few years? Dr. Withers: I would like to continue to expand our network and to bring together researchers, students, and leaders in the global health space to exchange ideas and develop meaningful long-term relationships and networks. I like that we create a forum for researchers from around the region to share their work each year. I would also like us to continue to focus on building capacity in global health research and education because this is one of our key strengths; we have the power to leverage our network of experts on many topics and from many disciplines and economies. And I know that everyone values the work that we are doing as a network because they continue to volunteer their time to help with these initiatives. JPHE: How has your experience been as the Editor-in-Chief of JPHE? Dr. Withers: I have been really happy to be involved in the JHPE over the past few years. It has been wonderful to see the development of JHPE from a brand-new journal to a larger, and more recognized journal. It is now officially indexed through several indexing organizations, including the Web of Science and Scopus. It is gaining more traction in the global health and emergency spaces, with high-quality manuscripts from around the world on topics relevant to what is happening around the world today. I am proud to be a part of it. I very much appreciate the efficiency of the editorial staff, which allows for such a quick submission turnaround time. This allows the latest research to reach readers much faster, which makes the science more relevant and impactful. As an academic, I also appreciate that the journal does more than most journals to recognize the contributions of our reviewers. I know that reviewers spend hours volunteering their time for this type of work but rarely get any recognition. So, acknowledgement like “reviewer of the month” is something special. JPHE: As the Editor-in-Chief, what are your expectations for JPHE? Dr. Withers: I would like to continue to see special editions with guest editors. I always enjoy reading these series. I think the guest editors contribute a lot, bringing in a different perspective and a different network of authors. In the future, I am looking forward to increased growth, more indexing, and even higher rankings at the global level. Reference Samet J, Withers M. The APRU Global Health Program: Past and Future. J Epidemiol. 2016;26(4):166-170.

University-based academics from across Asia have been working with Bangladesh policymakers to identify gaps and bottlenecks in using artificial intelligence in maternal healthcare, and to prepare the ground for an upgrade in health services that would in future use advanced technologies such as AI. The initiative is part of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) AI for Social Good project, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok. It involved researchers from the National University of Singapore, the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology, Australian National University and universities in Hawaii in providing research to support the Bangladesh government in developing AI policy and building AI capabilities in pregnancy monitoring. They worked closely with the Bangladesh Aspire to Innovate (a2i) programme of the government’s ICT Division and Cabinet Division, as well as Bangladesh policymakers and health professionals during the two-year APRU project funded by Google, which released its final report last month. The report focuses specifically on Bangladesh and Thailand. This article is part of a series on Pacific Rim higher education and research issues published by University World News and supported by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. University World News is solely responsible for the editorial content. In the case of Bangladesh, the report concluded that despite technical barriers, an AI system is viable with the development of IT infrastructure to integrate AI and localised AI models using available data from hospitals and clinics. For example, AI could provide a better understanding of at risk-pregnancies by analysing data collected from different local sources, or through the development of an interactive ‘pregnancy assistant’ or monitoring system. Arifur Rahman, assistant professor in the department of computer science and engineering at Hawai’i Pacific University, told University World News: “The project was about identifying how artificial intelligence can help in pregnancy monitoring in Bangladesh, then to improve the readiness of Bangladesh to use AI for monitoring.” Rahman, who is also affiliated to the University of Hawaii, Manoa, said autonomous AI “will be able to predict something is going to happen, and once you can predict, you can take preventive measures to stop it. So, for pregnancy monitoring, there is a prospect in AI. But how much prospect, that still has to be seen”. While many research groups around the world are working on AI in pregnancy monitoring, he noted that this was very much at the research stage. “It hasn’t been applied yet,” he said. Rahman added that much ongoing research involves intermediate level AI, which involves input of medical data “and then the [AI] output helps doctors to make a decision – but this is not AI making an autonomous decision”. Technological challenges to overcome Rahman’s task within the project was to look at Bangladesh’s current technological challenges and what they have to solve, in order to make some progress in using AI in pregnancy monitoring. This included what computer hardware is present in hospitals and clinics as well as at village level, how robust the connections are, as well as mobile phone penetration and prospects for digital networking. While mobile phone penetration in Bangladesh is, surprisingly, almost 100%, he found, computer penetration is lacking and there are other high barriers apart from digital access, such as literacy, social norms and inability to act on information, particularly among the most at-risk groups. Rahman acknowledged that there was some way to go before autonomous AI systems can be incorporated into maternal care in the country. Nonetheless there were ‘stepping stones’ that can be put in place. “For predictive AI to be robust could take some time. But instead of just waiting, the country should make some improvements so that when these predictive AI models are ready, they can implement it right away,” he noted. Bangladesh and SDGs According to Dr Shabnam Mostari, public health specialist in digital health at a2i, maternal health in Bangladesh has improved greatly in the past two decades. “But the rate of improvement has stalled in recent years and further inputs and efforts are needed to support the health of expecting and new mothers.” She told University World News that 90% of expectant mothers in the country receive antenatal care, but only 15% receive quality antenatal care and only 30% have access to quality postnatal care by qualified health professionals. Often complications in maternal and child health arise from delays in getting to quality health care such as doctors or hospitals. This is exacerbated by low levels of doctors per capita – on average just one doctor for 10,000 people, she explained. “The government’s objective is to reduce maternal mortality and to do that we need to look at a few indicators,” she said. Key among these is to identify pregnant women and reduce the burden on health service providers while also using the findings of the APRU-ESCAP collaboration for a new project for continuous pregnancy monitoring. “From the beginning of pregnancy, to delivery, [the intention is] to capture the everyday patient data – movement, blood pressure, sleep patterns, temperature, to be stored in the cloud.” Then, at some point in future, “AI will assist the service provider to identify high-risk pregnant women to detect pregnancy complications early,” she said. “It will help the service provider to focus on high-risk pregnant women.” Getting ready for AI in healthcare Continuous pregnancy monitoring is essential in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 3 of health at every stage of life, according to Professor Olivia Jensen, deputy director and lead scientist (environment and climate) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). AI will transform treatment and diagnosis as well as the relationship between health professionals and patients. She was the research lead of the NUS team for the project. Digitalising health systems enhances monitoring and improves data quality. Higher quality data is important for the eventual application of machine learning techniques for AI analysis. But other foundations need to be laid in the absence of a universal electronic health record system in Bangladesh. The research team assessed options for developing localised AI models using available data from hospitals and clinics. User-centric design is also important. “Systems and applications should be designed to meet the needs of healthcare providers and expecting mothers, based on a strong foundation of evidence,” she told University World News. Jensen pointed to the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, which “enabled us to incorporate perspectives from academic research on risk perception and communication, which were highly regarded by our government partners”. The project report recommended digitalising standard antenatal care data entry in the public health system, as well implementing a mobile phone-based system for appointment tracking with automated reminders for expecting mothers and community health workers. Jensen also pointed to its use in route planning for health workers in areas of poor transport. “We gave a lot of emphasis in our work to the community health care workers, people who are not qualified health professionals, but nevertheless play a terribly important role in the frontline of the delivery of health care services, including maternal health care,” she explained. According to Jensen, an issue that came up during research was the possible use of digital devices by pregnant women themselves. “This has been developed in other countries, and also in Bangladesh, so there are already some apps or online resources like chatbots that provide information to the woman or her family,” she said. “But we decided that was not going to make a lot of difference to the women and their key outcomes that we were tracking,” she said, pointing to the most vulnerable and marginalised groups. Anir Chowdhury, policy advisor of the Bangladesh government at a2i, and the government lead for the project, said: “Digital inequality matches exactly maternal health and equality. So, the same people who don’t have access to reliable digital services are the same women who are currently not getting the maternal care they need, and find it most difficult to get to a clinic to receive assistance in the case of a complicated delivery.” Importance of academic research Chowdhury explained that the goal for policy-makers was to “collect enough data so that we can identify the high-risk pregnancies and change the visit schedules of health workers to prioritise them. But the question is what is the right data to be collected?” The research input was valuable in providing comprehensive understanding for policy-makers, and identifying the gaps to narrow, he said. “So hopefully this will lead to a solution that is affordable and scalable – if you collect that data for 100 women in a location, it can scale up to 100,000 or a million, that’s the challenge.” The second aim, which he noted would take longer, was to train an AI system to help doctors and health workers in their decisions. But this requires a lot of data to be collected “and perhaps a lot of experimentation and permutations and combinations of what the human person does and what the AI does”, said Chowdhury, adding: “It’s a long process but we wanted to get started and some of that has been achieved, but it will take years to get to the point of scalability and accuracy.” Working with academic researchers was important. “APRU was very careful and deliberate in involving the policy-makers throughout the whole process. In the beginning, the requirements and challenges from the policy-makers went into the design of the research. “Throughout the whole research process, the guidance and debate between the two parties really helped. There was mutual respect and trust and proof,” Chowdhury said. “Of course there was a bit of difficulty in the beginning, because the language, the perspectives are different,” he acknowledged. “But we figured out a common language of communication and common vision and this was a good model for us to follow. “AI is not well understood by policy-makers, there is a great fear about AI, and whether AI is ‘taking over’. And that fear is actually growing. So this collaboration between the academicians who understood much, much better than policy-makers, and could talk about specific examples from other countries that have had successes and failures, really informed the policy-makers,” he said. APRU’s Chief Strategy Officer Christina Schönleber explained that the research team was a large one with multiple universities involved, brought together by APRU from among more than 60 member universities and based on the expertise needed to frame the research questions. “For APRU it was about giving governments information that they may already know they need, or they are not aware they need, about the implementation of AI for some of the services that they would deliver, and it’s about the impact,” Schönleber said. “We want to make sure they don’t just use AI for the sake of using AI and because everybody wants to use it.” Chowdhury also underlined the importance of involving international universities, to learn about successes and failures from other countries “then juxtaposing it to our context”. He added: “That could not have been done by local researchers, they would not have had that exposure from other countries.” He stressed: “This is not just a research project. It is leading to actionable projects, and interventions that we’ll actually try out.”

By Yojana Sharma As published on University World News  As artificial intelligence-assisted technologies are developing rapidly in areas such as the healthcare sector, university researchers are helping policy-makers to identify the gaps and barriers to rapid implementation. As part of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities’ (APRU) AI for Social Good project, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, university-based academics have been working with Thai policy-makers to assess gaps and bottlenecks in implementing AI in healthcare. The academics then support the Thai government in developing policies to help build AI capabilities. The two-year APRU project funded by Google, which has just ended, “aimed to work with government partners in Asia and the Pacific to grow sound and transparent AI ecosystems that support sustainable development goals”, explained APRU’s chief strategy officer, Christina Schönleber. Research has already shown that AI can make healthcare more efficient, improve patient outcomes and support medical research. Newer AI such as voice-to-text and generative AI tools for summarising patient data have also proven useful for health workers in the field. “For Thailand we were looking at barriers and enablers for data sharing for AI healthcare,” explained Jasper Tromp, assistant professor at the National University of Singapore and APRU’s research lead for the project. “In addition to rigorous research, the Thai partners emphasised the need to be relevant to the Thai people, and they also saw the benefit of researchers coming from different regions, because they could bring knowledge from their own regions,” explained Toni Erskine, professor of international politics at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, who was the research lead for the overall APRU AI for Public Good project. For artificial intelligence to be useful in countries like Thailand, it is crucial that data can be shared. But many governments are unaware of the specific barriers or enablers for joined up data such as patient data or imaging data for healthcare, Tromp noted. Limited data availability and varying data storage standards also pose significant challenges to AI development and deployment, the research found. One of the aims of the APRU project, in collaboration with the Thai Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council, was “specifically to inform development of a guideline or protocol to enable data sharing between government institutions, but also between government institutions and private partners, such as companies or universities or external organisations that would use this type of data”, Tromp explained. AI solutions for Thailand Thailand is developing its AI capabilities to help bridge gaps in skills and healthcare coverage beyond major cities. But implementing AI-assisted healthcare still has significant hurdles to overcome, and many examples that resolve some of these have been developed in the United States or Europe. “Many of these AI algorithms are trained in the US or Europe and most of the training data is derived from either white people or African American people and people that do not share the same ethnic background [as Thais], so they might not work as well in the Thai or Asian local context as they do in the context where they’re developed,” said Tromp. “For both practical as well as economic reasons, Thailand is very eager to develop their own AI industry and apps that can be deployed locally,” he added. In part, this is because some of the AI-driven healthcare systems developed overseas are expensive to acquire and implement. Also, Thailand wants solutions geared to the local context. Some research work on AI for medical applications has been ongoing within Thailand, with some companies expecting to release them on the market in the near future. “AI has shown a lot of promise in healthcare. It’s being used now in terms of chatbots, and it is being implemented for image recognition,” Tromp said. What currently exists is fairly general. “But for health records for public health it has to be very high-level data.” Hurdles identified by research “The first task was to systematically map these barriers and enablers that have been published by others, for example, in academic literature outside of Thailand, that might influence data sharing, meaningful data collection and quality. And then we tested those barriers locally ]in Thailand],” said Tromp. He noted that in common with many other countries in the region, in Thailand “people use different software to collect data”. Apart from that, “if you go to lower tiers in health care, such as primary care or they use paper based [patient] records, it means you’re only getting access to data from centres that have capabilities to collect it”. Fragmented healthcare provision means differences in data architecture, standards and collection, and these hamper interoperability. In Singapore, TRUST, a data-sharing platform run by Singapore’s Ministry of Health and aimed at improving health outcomes, collects all this data together on a single platform. The platform includes research data ranging from genomics to socio-economic data and sourced from public health institutions, research institutions and public agencies that allow their anonymised data to be made accessible via TRUST for research purposes. Tromp acknowledged, however, that the Singapore example is an expensive one. Limited resources are a significant barrier, with uneven human, technical and financial resources across healthcare institutions. High costs of hardware and software acquisition, installation, and maintenance can hamper quality data collection and sharing, particularly for smaller clinics and hospitals, the research found. APRU’s final report on ‘AI for Social Good’ which is about to be released, points to a lack of understanding of “the value of data and the importance of data security and privacy. Health literacy issues and confusion around data-sharing parameters also contribute to the challenges. Additionally, the absence of precise data-sharing regulations and guidelines at the political and policy levels creates uncertainty and hampers progress.” Tromp also noted that there was reluctance to share data, within government but also outside government, such as in hospitals and others that hold healthcare data. In addition, for many people Thailand’s new Personal Data Protection Act, which began to be enforced in 2022, is unclear on how they are able to share data and in what formats. “It was one of our major findings. We are recommending they develop a protocol for this,” Tromp said. The project also proposed a regulatory ‘sandbox’ to promote innovation within a protected experimental environment with fewer regulatory constraints, so that relevant government departments can figure out what future regulation is appropriate. The project noted that “the rise of regulatory sandboxes in the health sector has ensued from the phenomenal increase in digital health adoption in many countries”. It was also a recommendation that was of interest to the Thai government, Tromp said. Working with policy-makers The research input was valuable, and important in the fast-moving AI environment, Tromp said. “AI has specific challenges for data sharing. Because of the granularity that you request from the data to develop AI, there are very few policy frameworks that address this directly, so it is difficult to copy [from others]. You need new knowledge to inform policy developments.” International organisations such as the United Nations have good on the ground knowledge but rarely work in knowledge generation, Tromp pointed out. “Healthcare systems face a lot of challenges, such as manpower, that require innovations like AI to strengthen, so there is a niche for universities to add to knowledge generation.” But working together with Thai officials from the outset was important. “With our Thai partners, we had a number of meetings before we even came up with the final research questions and we had a lot of people in those initial meetings,” ANU’s Erskine explained. The project also had peer reviewers who commented on the drafts the researchers produced. These included Dr Greg Raymond, an assistant professor at ANU who has worked specifically on Thai politics and was able to speak to the Thai government departments and also provide input about the geopolitical and cultural contexts of Thailand that needed to be considered in the research. “I think this project did a really good job in bridging the gap” between research and policy, said Tromp. “Working with government to inform research priorities is very replicable – it’s an unmet need in the region.”   This article is part of a series on Pacific Rim higher education and research issues published by University World News and supported by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. University World News is solely responsible for the editorial content.

The winners of the 8th APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition 2023 and the 9th APRU Global Health Student Poster Contest 2023 were announced at the Global Health Conference between October 25 and 27 at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico City. The 8th Virtual Case Competition 2023 was won by The Chinese University of Hong Kong’s team Hello Hong Kong for a highly inspiring video showing ways to improve refugees’ access to Hong Kong health services. The 9th Student Poster Contest was won by Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Jessica Lopez Espinosa (Undergraduate Category) and Fudan University’s Shaolong Ren (Graduate Category). The winners were chosen by judges and delegates at the 16th APRU Global Health Conference 2023 in Mexico.  For the 8th Virtual Case Competition, teams of 3-6 students received a challenge created in partnership with the UNHCR titled “Bridging Barriers to Care: Reaching Urban Migrant Communities.” The competition involved a total of 49 teams from 19 universities from Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, Senegal, Singapore, Thailand, and the US. The winning team received a US$1,000 prize. For the 9th Student Poster Contest, undergraduate and graduate students were invited to submit a poster related to global health. Submissions came from China, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Mexico, the Philippines, and the US. Each 1st place winner received a US$500 prize. The 16th APRU Global Health Conference 2023 facilitated inter-sectoral exchanges of world-class expertise and dissemination of cutting-edge research on equity in health. Organized by the School of Medicine and Health Sciences of Tecnológico de Monterrey in collaboration with the APRU Global Health Program, the event marked the first time the Global Health annual conference took place in Latin America and first in person APRU Global Health Conference after the Covid-19 pandemic. Finalists – 8th APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition 2023 (in no particular order):  Winner: Hello Hong Kong (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) – view the video here Health Defenders (Sun Yat-Sen University) – view the video here Eblouissant (Simon Fraser University) – view the video here Finalists – 9th APRU Global Health Student Poster Contest 2023 Undergraduate Category (in no particular order) Suet Man Li (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) Winner: Jessica Lopez Espinosa (Tecnológico de Monterrey) Khen Jee Faburada (Manila Central University) Graduate Category(in no particular order) Brooke Edwards (University of Southern California) Junyi Shi (Peking University) Winner: Shaolong Ren (Fudan University)

Photos Credit: Tecnológico de Monterrey   The 16th APRU Global Health Conference 2023 took place from October 25 to 27 in Mexico City as the first in-person annual event of the Global Health Program after the Covid-19 pandemic. Hosted by the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at Tecnológico de Monterrey, the conference attracted 98 public health experts and stakeholders from 26 institutions in 11 economies to exchange their insights into this year topic — Equity in Health — across thought-provoking panel discussions and working group meetings in three days. The event marked the first time that an APRU Global Health Conference was held in Latin America. “The conference took place in a truly global spirit, with many renowned speakers with diverse global and public health expertise providing rich and valuable discussions on how precarious health disparities can be tackled,” said José Páez, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of Tecnológico de Monterrey. José Páez, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of Tecnológico de Monterrey   The World Health Organization has pointed out that health equity won’t be achieved until everyone can attain their full potential for health and well-being. Populations that are disadvantaged by their social-economic status, geographic location, or environment are still exposed to many preventable differences in the burden of disease. “I hope that this conference challenges and inspires us to do more to advance health equity around the world,” said Mellissa Wither, APRU’s Global Health Program Director and Associate Professor of Clinical Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California. “Our collective work in global health research, practice, and education can promote values of mutual respect and cooperation.” Mellissa Wither, APRU’s Global Health Program Director   The 2023 Conference consisted of twelve panels in which participants discussed on issues ranging from delivering accessible and culturally sensitive healthcare, to migrant workers in Singapore, to the prevalence of neural tube defects in Latin America, and the impact of fortification. Although many of the topics were based on local specifics, the presenters’ viewpoints were typically applicable to the whole of the Asia-Pacific. Matire Harwood, Head of Department of General Practice and Primary Healthcare at the University of Auckland , shared insights based on her experience of being a general practitioner and family physician at a Maori-led health clinic in South Auckland. The consequences of health disparities related to migration, and the effects of inequality on the health of indigenous populations. “Understanding ethnic inequities requires a focus on the systems that create and sustain them, because that is the common factor across different countries, not indigenous peoples’ genes or behaviours,” Harwood said. “As health leaders, we have a responsibility to ensure that nations monitor, and not accept, health inequities for indigenous peoples.” Matire Harwood, Head of Department of the University of Auckland School of Population Health   The results of the APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition and Student Poster Contest 2023 were announced during the conference.  Download the Program Book of the 16th APRU Global Health Conference 2023 for more details. The 17th APRU Global Health Conference will be hosted by Chulalongkorn University’s School of Global Health in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2024.

Original Post on News – Department of Population and Public Health Sciences / University of Southern California   This fall marks 10 years since Mellissa Withers, PhD, MHS, began serving as the Director of the Global Health Program of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), a consortium of 60 international universities. This network provides students a chance to deep dive into prevailing global health challenges while learning from their peers living across several countries shaped by different cultures, perspectives, and experiences. “While it’s important for our students to learn the theory and frameworks of global health presented in textbooks and learned in the classroom, being able to actually go out and apply it through experiential learning is a beneficial opportunity that is really important for our students,” explains Withers, who also serves as an associate professor and the director of pedagogical enrichment and training in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at Keck School of Medicine of USC. The APRU was founded in 1997 by the presidents of four Californian universities who wanted to build multidisciplinary collaborations across the pacific. In 2007, USC established a new program in global health which became its largest program, focusing on the students, education and training. “I am fortunate that the USC Office of the Provost has continued to support my position in this role to expand our global health initiatives,” says Withers. During her tenure, Withers has developed several vibrant initiatives including joint courses which have run for the past nine years. Every fall, she leads a course called ‘Global Health Leadership in the Real World’ bringing together five to seven universities. This semester, students from China, Thailand, Singapore, Mexico, and USC, simultaneously logged in from different time zones for two hours every week, over a ten-week period. The first half of the class featured a renowned global health guest speaker, who imparted their varied expertise and experiences in the field. Past speakers included the Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Former Associate Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), and a former Minister of Health from Costa Rica. In the second half of each class, students dissected case studies with instructors working in small groups representative of the five countries in attendance, to exchange ideas and debate global health concepts. “In Global Health we talk a lot about the importance of interdisciplinary solutions and collaborations, but it’s not too often that you see so many disciplines, countries and economies represented in one activity, training program or conference,” she reports.  Another ongoing class following a similar model is a course in ‘Global Health Ethics,’ bringing together students from Ecuador, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mexico, the Philippines and the U.S. The student body is not only diverse in terms of location, but also features various college majors including medicine, pharmacy, law, anthropology, engineering, and art. “The representation of a wide range of disciplines is really critical to prepare the next cohort of global health leaders,” she affirms. “Since these courses were well received, with high demand and limited space, we decided to develop other key initiatives to engage students,” she reveals. This led to the creation of the ‘Global Health Student Poster Contest’ held concurrently at the APRU Annual Conference. A highlight of this contest is that all the student’s posters are accepted and displayed, giving them an opportunity to showcase their work at an international scientific conference. “This helps to break down some equity barriers for students who cannot afford to fly or participate in international trips,” she indicates. This year’s conference will be held in Latin America for the first time. Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to submit their posters which are judged by committee members. This month, eight students from USC’s programs in global medicine, public health, and global health have received funding from the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences and Pearson to attend the conference in Mexico City. There, they will present their work or serve as moderators. A recent graduate from the Master of Public Health program, Brooke Edwards, MPH, has been selected as a finalist for her poster on physical therapy among liver transplant patients. Another initiative Withers oversees is the ‘Annual Virtual Global Health Case Competition,’ where the winning team receives $1,000. In the past, the competition hosted 40-50 teams, but this year it attracted 100 teams from over 20 countries. This year, the APRU partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to create a challenge addressing the needs of migrants and refugees in urban settings and health care. Teams of three to six students were given 12 weeks to create a proposal to address the challenge. Past challenges included topics around tobacco control, mental health, disaster preparedness, using social media to promote exercise, and addressing the infodemic. There are many opportunities for students to develop their skillset in global health at USC. “I hope our students walk away from these experiences with a deeper understanding of cross-cultural competencies, feeling like global citizens, with greater confidence, effective communication, and leadership skills,” she concludes.

The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) is launching an initiative on generative AI to facilitate discussions on how to leverage the new technology to shape the future of higher education amidst booming interests and rising concerns. The project is supported by Microsoft. Themed “Generative AI in Education: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions in Asia and the Pacific”, the new multi-phase project will establish a network of APRU stakeholders to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges that generative AI will have on higher education, and to identify solutions which address the knowledge gaps with a specific focus on equity and inclusion. As the first phase of the project, APRU is gathering case studies illustrating the ways that generative AI tools support education delivery, broader student experience and other institutional functions from all 60 member universities. Subsequently, APRU will carry out thematic workshops and establish a platform for sharing insights and data with stakeholders. The project’s academic lead is Professor Simon Bates, Vice Provost and Associate Vice President, Teaching and Learning at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The launch is timely, given that generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL.E2, are now widely available and capable of rapid production of various types of new content, including text and images that can be difficult to distinguish from human-produced content. While these tools offer ample opportunities to enhance learning, they also raise concerns around academic integrity, privacy, bias, and ethics of use. “Universities are currently grappling with these implications, and medium- and longer-term strategies will require a better shared understanding of these tools: how they work and how to balance risks and benefits,” said APRU Chief Executive Professor Thomas Schneider. “The new APRU project will attempt to reimagine learning assisted by AI and to ideate potential solutions and tools that can support the APRU universities and their key stakeholders as they navigate the era of generative AI,” he added. The project is the first of its kind under APRU’s “University of the Future” initiative, a key focus area under the Association’s new holistic approach to strategic planning. “This project presents a unique opportunity to understand how generative AI is already being deployed in universities and to explore, early on, where challenges lie and ways that educational institutions can respond.” said Mike Yeh, Regional Vice President, Corporate External and Legal Affairs, Microsoft. “Universities are critically important institutions as our societies look to maximize the gains from AI and put guardrails in place to ensure the technology is used responsibly”.     APRU is calling for cases studies from members till November 6, 2023. Please see the requirements and template below: [Call for Contributions] Generative AI in Education: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions in Asia and the Pacific [Template] Generative AI in Education Case Study

Photo source: APEC News APRU congratulates Dr. Jason Junjie Huang, the winner of the 2023 APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Research Prize at the 2023 APEC Women and the Economy Forum in Seattle in August. Dr. Huang is the Deputy Director and Research Assistant Professor at the Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion (CHEHP) of APRU member the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). His study, in collaboration with the APRU Global Health Program’s Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Working Group, investigated the global burden of endometrial cancer, one of the most common cancers affecting women. Finding that many of the risk factors that contribute to endometrial cancer are lifestyle choices, Dr. Huang stressed that education campaigns are a critical tool for raising awareness of the modifiable risk factors to endometrial cancer. APRU’s strong representation in the realm of outstanding research work for women’s health was additionally manifested by Weiyu Zhou, a student in the School of Public Health of APRU member Fudan University, being one of the two runners-up. Zhou’s research underscored the importance of education campaigns to protect against preventable disease that affects working-age women. Her study investigated a new pilot program on HPV immunization involving mothers and girls aged 9-14 in Shanghai. Zhou illustrated that when economies invest in education campaigns to increase parental HPV-related knowledge, the uptake of vaccination among girls increases. Launched in 2018, the Healthy Women Healthy Economies Prize supports outstanding research work that will provide policymakers and business leaders with the tools they need to implement measures that improve women’s health and well-being, so that they can join, rise, and thrive in the workforce. Thanks to Mellissa Withers, Director of the APRU Global Health Program, who served as a judge of the Prize. The winning researcher receives USD 20,000 and the two runners-up receive USD 5,000 each.

Photos by The Australian National University The AI for Social Good Summit convened at The Australian National University in Canberra from July 9 to 11 this year, provided experts from academia and public agencies the opportunity to discuss results and next steps of four policy-oriented research papers on AI capabilities to address social issues with focus on Southeast Asia.  The summit was organized to exchange outcomes from four projects of the “AI for Social Good— Strengthening Capabilities and Governance Frameworks” (AI4SG) collaboration, which was jointly established by the Association for Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and Google.org in 2021. Over the past two years, meetings and workshops have been held with government agencies and local experts in Thailand and Bangladesh. In Thailand, two teams of academics from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and The Australian National University (ANU), worked with the Office of National Higher Education, Science Research and Innovation Policy to support the Thai Government in building AI capabilities regarding medicine and healthcare, and poverty alleviation. Two agencies — the Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) and National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) — have collaborated each team respectively. In collaboration with the Bangladesh Aspire to Innovate (a2i) Programme of the ICT Division and Cabinet Division of Bangladesh, two other teams from NUS, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa conducted research to support the Bangladeshi Government in developing of AI policy frameworks and building AI capabilities in pregnancy monitoring. Government representatives from Thailand and Bangladesh and academics discussed research findings at the AI for Social Good Summit 2023 at ANU, Canberra Professor Toni Erskine, Director of the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at ANU, guided the conception of the research questions in collaboration with the government partners. “The process of working closely with government agencies from the outset to discuss these problems and co-design research questions makes this project unique and genuinely collaborative,” Professor Erskine said. Professor Toni Erskine, Director of the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at The Australian National University During the summit in Canberra, the papers of four teams was presented: 1) Responsible Data Sharing, AI Innovation and Sandbox Development: Recommendations for Digital Health Governance in Thailand, 2) Raising Awareness of the Importance of Data Sharing and Exchange to Advance Poverty Alleviation in Thailand, 3) Mobilizing AI for Maternal Health in Bangladesh, and 4) AI in Pregnancy Monitoring: Technical Challenges for Bangladesh. With insights exchanged, the participants drew consensus to further AI capabilities in governance: local context and needs are key drivers for high impact research collaborations, while trust and common goals are main success factors for multi-stakeholder partnerships. Following the summit, an impact assessment over the four projects will be conducted, while a set of country case studies is under the development. Here is the AI for Social Good project webpage. Here is the detailed AI for Social Good Summit 2023 Program:

This article is adapted from the original post on NXPO. Photos by Australian National University  Dr. Soontharee Namliwal, a policy specialist from the International Policy Partnership Division the Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), took part in the AI for Social Good Summit with the theme “Strengthening Capabilities and Government Frameworks in Asia and the Pacific Summit” July 9-11, 2023 in Canberra, Australia. The summit was co-organized by the Association for Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), and Australian National University (ANU). Ms. Panchapawn Chatsuwan, a representative from Thailand’s National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) also attended the summit.  The summit served as a platform for participating organizations and policy researchers involved in APRU’s AI for Social Good project to share research findings and discuss issues emerging from the studies.   During the summit, the work of four projects was presented, with two each from Thailand and Bangladesh.  The projects included: 1) Responsible Data Sharing, AI Innovation and Sandbox Development: Recommendations for Digital Health Governance in Thailand, 2) Raising Awareness of the Importance of Data Sharing and Exchange to Advance Poverty Alleviation in Thailand, 3) Mobilizing AI for Maternal Health in Bangladesh, and 4) AI in Pregnancy Monitoring: Technical Challenges for Bangladesh. Joining the meeting virtually, the project leaders from Thailand – Dr. Kommate Jitvanichphaibool (NXPO Senior Division Director) and Dr. Suttipong Thajchayapong (NECTEC Senior Researcher) – delivered presentations on “Responsible Data Sharing, AI Innovation and Sandbox Development: Recommendations for Digital Health Governance in Thailand” and “Raising Awareness of the Importance of Data Sharing and Exchange to Advance Poverty Alleviation in Thailand”.  Apart from the research presentations, Dr. Soontharee shared information on Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) and provided a review of procedures and best practices regarding data collection, storage, usage and sharing in public health domain in developed countries. Ms. Panchapawn added information on the implication of standards and practices of PDPA on data collection, storage, usage and sharing of Thai People Map and Analytics Platform (TPMAP) which aims to support evidence-based policy.  The meeting also discussed the application of advanced technologies in sustainable development. Dr. Soontharee presented her viewpoints on this issue: 1) the necessity of root cause analysis on public issues, including poverty and social inequality, 2) the potential of advanced technologies, especially AI and big data, in improving public services including public health services, and 3) the importance of good governance, observing ethics of STI while harnessing their potential.   The representatives from NXPO and NECTEC took this opportunity to meet with the executives of ANU and network with researchers working on Humanising Machine Intelligence (HMI) Research Project and the team of the Global Research Network.  AI for Social Good project was initiated in 2021 to study the impact of AI development and application in the region. The UNESCAP and APRU, with funding from Google.org, established a multi-stakeholder network to provide support in the development of country-specific AI governance frameworks and national capabilities. 

A panel of UN experts was inspired by students of the inaugural class of the APRU SDG Education for Global Citizenship program (SDG4GC). The students proved their capacity in finding innovative approaches in building the wellbeing of their communities. The topics of their projects covered mental health, health equity, health care system, climate injustice, communal support, and healthy aging.   A Program to Foster Global Citizenship Led by Chulalongkorn University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong in collaboration with the United Nations, co-designed with Simon Fraser University, Kyushu University, Universiti Malaya, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the SDG4GC is an intercultural, transdisciplinary, and interactive program that fosters global citizenship among students from the Pacific Rim. The 2022-2023 program selected 60 students representing 27 APRU member universities. A pitching competition marked the completion of a four-month program during which the students engaged in lectures and workshops on design thinking and cross-cultural communication, received mentorship from experts, and worked in teams to develop solutions associated with the theme of this year’s program “Shaping the Future of Health and Wellbeing”   “By leaving your comfort zone, you have shown that you are willing to take risks and rise to challenges, and we trust that through this journey you have developed new skills, boosted your confidence, and cultivated empathy, all of which is preparing you to be a leader,” said Michiko Yoshida, Director of Chulalongkorn University’s Global Networking and Engagement Division. .   Winning Projects The winning team mentored by Dr. Qian Wang of Shanghai Jiao Tong University presented their idea You – Aid, an app that enables the forming of a community for those who are facing mental health issues and need help. The app contains two sections, one delivering information about mental disorders, the other serving as a community platform. The runner-up team mentored by Mr. Savinda Ranathunga, UN Development Program (UNDP) presented its project on Wisdom College which promotes the idea of the elderly exchanging knowledge and skills for social connections with others. The winning and runner-up teams will be invited to a week-long onsite program in Thailand, composed of training at Chula Innovation Hub, field trips to spin-off companies and start-ups, and participation at UN event.  “It’s been great witnessing such enthusiasm from the students and the participating universities. I’m looking forward to supporting more of similar programs in the future,” indicated Shally Fan, Director of Academic Links of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.   Youth Leadership, Youth Solutions Mr. Aale Mohammad, a student from Chulalongkorn University, represented APRU at the United Nations ESCAP 10th Asia Pacific Forum for Sustainable Development. The Forum provided governments, development partners, civil society, academia, the private sector, and other stakeholders opportunities to share subregional perspectives, discuss collaborative measures to address subregional priorities, and exchange good practices to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.   Mr Aale Mohammad, student of Chulalongkorn University and SDG4GC represents APRU at the United Nations ESCAP 10th Asia Pacific Forum for Sustainable Development on March 29, 2023.   During his intervention, Aale emphasized the importance of providing youth with more platforms to be connected to each other, in sharing challenges, developing ideas, so that youth perspectives can be integrated into the debates to identify solutions. In his personal experience, the SDG4GC initiative was an invaluable opportunity, enabling youth to actively promote the SDGs.  Watch Aale’s intervention here: https://lnkd.in/gv8C7QTe To learn more about the SDG4GC visit: https://vse.apru.org/sdg4gc

Original post on NXPO. NXPO in partnership with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), Google.org, Australian National University (ANU) and alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, organized a country workshop for “AI for Social Good: Strengthening Capabilities and Governance Frameworks in Asia and the Pacific” project on 11 May 2023. The workshop brought together academics, researchers and policymakers to share information and opinions as well as to engage in discussion to turn research findings into policies. NXPO Executive Strategist Dr. Kanchana Wanichkorn said in her opening statement that artificial intelligence (AI) has potential to drive multiple issues essential to the national development. At the time leading to Thailand’s 2023 general election, several political parties had declared policies promoting the use of advanced technologies such as AI to solve national problems, including social disparity and environmental degradation. In term of institutional arrangement, the National AI Committee has already been established, and Thailand National AI Strategy and Action Plan has been endorsed. This workshop is intended to explore policy development to maximize AI benefits.   To design evidence-based policies that follow international practice, NXPO has collaborated with private entities and international partners. Two studies have been launched, one concerning AI in medicine and healthcare, and the other on AI application in poverty alleviation. Results of the two projects, along with potential topics for further collaborations with state agencies, were presented by each research team. Following the presentations, breakout sessions were held involving stakeholders and relevant agencies, namely NXPO, the National Science and Technology Development Agency, the Office of the National Economics and Social Development Council, Department of Medical Services, representatives from the industry and alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, to provide suggestions for improvement to the research team and discuss how the findings can be turned into public policies. The research teams will finalize the study reports with inputs from this country workshop. The final reports will be presented at a summit scheduled to take place on 9-11 July 2023 in Canberra, Australia.

Original post on USC Global. While climate change remains a pressing issue across countries and generations, research shows the topic is of particular concern to millennials and Gen Z, according to Pew. That is part of the reason why the Student Global Climate Change Simulation has drawn such immense interest from the USC student body. It’s also a challenging, thought-provoking way to learn more about the worldwide effects of climate change. The event, hosted in partnership with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), saw almost 200 students from 22 universities around the globe participating in an online mock United Nations climate change conference. Students formed delegations that worked together to negotiate policies, sign pledges related to carbon emission caps and other climate change solutions, and more.  Top experts from the UN, World Business Council for Sustainable Development and other esteemed organizations also spoke at the simulation on issues such as climate refugees, reforestation and ocean health. This year, the simulation was led in part by Mellissa Withers, director of the APRU Global Health Program at USC and associate professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and Shannon Gibson, associate professor of environmental studies, political science and international relations at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.  Gibson first became interested in working on the APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation years ago, when she experienced an earlier iteration at a summit. She incorporated it into her own classroom, and later, with the help of Withers, “took the model and really expanded it.” “I think as an educator, one of the things that you become aware of is that students learn by doing. They learn by putting themselves in the shoes of a decision-maker. By taking a student who may only have a perspective of the United States when it comes to climate change, having them function as China, or the Philippines, or South Africa really helps them to learn how the thinking varies,” she told USC Global.  Preparing for Careers in Global Health The mock exercise ran for three days total — April 11, April 18 and April 25 — and drew students from multiple schools and disciplines within USC, including public health, computer science, business, international relations, environmental studies, global studies, occupational therapy and engineering. Giancarlo Ceja, an international relations and environmental studies undergraduate student, hopes the simulation will impact his future career in environmental policy, using his education to help those living in countries most affected by climate change. “In terms of environmental justice, I grew up in a very low-income, marginalized community in Southern California. My parents immigrated from a rural community in Mexico, and both are being affected in different ways by climate change. Marginalized, low-income communities around the world are most vulnerable to the brunt of the effects of climate change, and I want to help fix that,” he explained. Ceja is also optimistic his fellow participants will end the mock conference more aware of how much work is yet to be done, especially by the world’s most powerful countries. While everyone has a role in combating climate change, some nations — specifically developed countries that have produced the most carbon emissions — have a higher responsibility to contribute to the fight against climate change, he said. “Coming together in the international community and holding up to the commitments that you make is really important. Solving this problem is impossible without international cooperation,” explained Ceja, citing the UN’s common but differentiated responsibilities principle. Like Ceja, environmental science and public health undergraduate student Abeerah Siddiqui was inspired to participate in the simulation to gain a new, universal outlook on today’s critical climate change challenges. “We all have this collective interest in combating climate change, so this way, we can get a more global perspective on the issue. I think oftentimes, as students here, we’re a lot more familiar with how the U.S. handles [climate change]. We’re learning how our local communities are addressing the issues, but not so much how other countries and other parts of the world are tackling it,” she explained. With an aspiring career in public health, Siddiqui believes the mock negotiations will allow her to further grasp international health care systems and policies, as well as come up with public health solutions that prioritize regional perspectives. “The skills and knowledge I take away from this will help me [prepare] when it comes time for me to potentially visit other countries,” Siddiqui said. Multi-Discipline Simulation Promoting a cross-industry response to climate change, the simulation also included Master of Business Administration (MBA) student Kayla Friedman-Barb, who is looking to enhance her education in clean and renewable solutions to pivot to the sustainability sector following graduation. “Understanding other people’s perspectives is a huge part of business and [how we operate],” she said. “We need to understand how other countries think about climate change and what they see as the best ways to combat it, working together in order to have a truly collaborative solution.” Friedman-Barb was particularly eager to learn from students who are based outside of the U.S., as the international negotiations would highlight what the U.S. and other countries are “willing to give up” or refuse to mediate in their respective commitments to tackling climate change. “What’s important for each community and each person will become apparent, especially in younger generations who are participating in this program,” Friedman-Barb explained. For Gibson, these students have perfectly articulated what she hopes they will take away from the process: an effective, international approach to protecting our shared planet. Even if climate change is not a topic brimming with optimism, it’s a crucial one that will directly impact each and every participant — and Gibson is hopeful some students will go on to directly influence the fight against climate change. “Sometimes, I wish it were a bit more hopeful, but it does show them climate mitigation is a political process,” Gibson said. “It’s not just a scientific problem. It is very much a political, social and economic issue, as well as a cultural problem. You need that interdisciplinary approach to understand how to solve this massive problem.”  Learn more about APRU and USC’s Department of Population and Public Health Sciences today. Find out more about the Climate Change Simulation here. 

Original post on Around the O. The University of Oregon is co-hosting the Student Global Climate Change Simulation sponsored by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. The APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation is a role-playing exercise in which students will form multicountry, multidisciplinary teams to play the role of delegates to the UN climate change negotiations. Twenty-two universities from around the Pacific Rim are taking part in the exercise, which runs April 11-25. Over three sessions, an online simulation activity will use materials from the World Climate Interactive and the C-ROADS simulation model developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The live sessions will be supplemented with short lectures and other materials developed and curated by the APRU experts, which will be available on a shared Canvas website. To learn more, visit the World Climate Simulation. The APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation is co-organized by the APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Program housed at the UO and the APRU Global Health Program housed at University of Southern California. Partner universities include Fiji National University, Keio University, Korea University, Monash University, Nagoya University, Nanyang Technological University, National Taiwan University, National University of Singapore, Peking University, Tecnológico de Monterrey, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The University of Auckland, The University of Melbourne, The University of Sydney, Tohoku University, Universidad de los Andes, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Universiti Malaya and University of Hawaii. Find out more about the Climate Change Simulation 2023 here. 

Universities of APRU showcased the APRU Virtual Student Exchange Program, the APRU SDG Education for Global Citizenship Program, and the APRU UN Climate Change Simulation at the APAIE (Asia-Pacific Association for International Education) 2023 Conference. Held March 13-17, 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand, and with more than 2,700 delegates from 61 countries/ regions, the APAIE 2023 Conference was an effective platform for supporting member universities and highlighting APRU’s collective impact.   The APAIE 2023’s APRU panel, which was chaired by APRU Director, Network Management, Jackie Wong, explored collaborative ideas and frameworks to develop partnerships that support international programs that are inclusive, integrative, and innovative. The panel drew on the experiences of universities including APRU members in working together to provide unique student experiences in virtual environments. Panelists included Ms Shally Fan, Director of Academic Links, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Dr Ram Piyaket, Director, Office of International Affairs and Global Network, Chulalongkorn University, and Dr Mellissa Withers, Associate Professor, University of Southern California. Chulalongkorn University, a supporting university of APAIE 2023, also hosted the panel titled, “Co-designing SDG programs for Sustainable Futures—Challenges and Opportunities” chaired by Michiko Yoshida, Director of Chulalongkorn University’s Global Networking and Engagement Division and featuring panellists: Ruhimat Soerakoesoemah, UN ESCAP’s Head of the Subregional Office for South-East Asia; Ronnakorn Vaiyavuth, Lecturer at Chulalongkorn University’s School of Integrated Innovation; and Paola Ardiles Gamboa, Senior Lecturer at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences. Joined by experienced multidisciplinary scholars and practitioners, the panel discussed the value of co-designing the APRU SDG Education for Global Citizenship program. Yoshida said, “Shaping sustainable futures requires co-creating knowledge, and as educators, we have an opportunity to ensure borderless and innovative education in the Asia-Pacific through practices that are equitable, inclusive, and reflect the diversity of our region.” The collaborative implementation of the APRU SDG Education for Global Citizenship program is a prime example of how partners can reach our sustainable and educational aspirations. “We are thankful for this exchange on virtual programs that can shape our collective impact as a network,” said Wong. “It was a great opportunity for us to highlight the value of international collaboration and multi-sectoral engagement among universities and with the international community in addressing global challenges,” she added. The Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) is committed to promoting the value of international education within the Asia-Pacific region, enabling greater cooperation between institutions, and enriching and supporting international programs, activities, and exchanges. More than 2,700 delegates from 61 countries/ regions attended the APAIE 2023, translating into ample opportunities to expand their networks. APRU looks forward to the APAIE 2024 in Perth in March next year.

APRU is proud to announce the publication of the final synthesis report of the Regulating AI webinar series brought together by the Hong Kong-chapter of the Germany-based Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (hbs HK) and APRU. “Regulating AI: Debating Approaches and Perspectives from Asia and Europe” addresses key questions that surround the appropriate regulation of AI including: What constitutes an unacceptable risk? How does AI become explainable? How can data rights be protected without throttling AI’s potential? The joint synthesis report comes at a critical time, as AI has been leaving the labs and is rapidly gaining footholds in our everyday lives. Millions of decisions – many of them invisible – are being driven by AI.    “The project facilitated a fruitful exchange of perspectives from Asia and Europe and allows us to better understand a wide range of emerging approaches to the regulation of AI in different parts of the world,” says Christina Schönleber, APRU’s Chief Strategy Officer and member of the Regulating AI webinar series working group. Webinar 1 under the theme “Risk-based Approach of AI Regulation” was moderated by Zora Siebert (hbs Brussels) and featured Toby Walsh (University of New South Wales), Alexandra Geese (Member of European Parliament), and Jiro Kokuryo (Keio University) as speakers. The event highlighted that the EU’s proposed AI Act is taking a significant step in defining the types of AI with unacceptable risks, as well as how these can be clearly defined. Webinar 2 under the theme “Explainable AI” was moderated by Kal Joffres (Tandemic) and brought in perspectives of Liz Sonenberg (University of Melbourne), Matthias Kettemann (Hans-Bredow-Institute / HIIG), and Brian Lim (National University of Singapore). Participants agreed that enabling humans to understand why a system makes a particular decision is key to fostering public trust. Webinar 3 under the theme “Protection of Data Rights for Citizens and Users” was moderated by Axel Harneit-Sievers (hbs HK) with Sarah Chander (European Digital Rights), M Jae Moon (Yonsei University), and Sankha Som (Tata Consultancy Services) looking into various risks deriving from both under-regulation and over-regulation. The synthesis report concludes that while governments are fully capable of banning or restricting entire categories of AI uses, the risks posed by AI are so context-sensitive that regulating them a priori and regardless of context is a blunt instrument. The working group furthermore notes that policy discussions on AI have too often focused on individuals’ fundamental rights; they recommend that discussions should be rebalanced for greater consideration of the broader societal impacts of AI. Finally, the synthesis report warns that policy discussions centred on the risks of AI can sometimes lose sight of the opportunities AI offers for creating a better future. “AI has the potential to help address human biases in decision-making and deliver a level of explainability that many of today’s institutions cannot, from banks to government agencies,” the working group writes. “The opportunities of AI must be monitored and acted upon as rigorously as the risks.” Find out more information about Regulating AI here.  Download the report here.

On 11 January 2023, NXPO in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), Australian National University (ANU) and partner entities organized the 2nd workshop of “AI for Social Good: Strengthening Capabilities and Government Frameworks in Asia and the Pacific” project, or known in short as AI for Social Good project. The virtual workshop served the objective to review research progress and analyze in-depth information on capabilities and governance frameworks that will effectively support the exploitation of artificial intelligence (AI) for social good. This activity is a follow-up on the 1st workshop held on 31 August 2022 in which outlines of four research proposals were reviewed and given feedbacks by experts. The four proposals are 1) Responsible Data Sharing, AI Innovation and Sandbox Development: Recommendations for Digital Health Governance in Thailand, 2) Raising Awareness of the Importance of Data Sharing and Exchange to Advance Poverty Alleviation in Thailand, 3) AI in Pregnancy Monitoring: Technical Challenges for Bangladesh, and 4) Mobilizing AI for Maternal Health in Bangladesh. Since then, remarkable progress has been made on these four studies with the support of government agencies and the network of universities in the Asia-Pacific region. NXPO Vice President Dr. Kanchana Wanichkorn who leads the AI for Social Good project expressed her appreciation to the four research teams and partner organizations for their commitment and dedication to studies. She also underscored the importance of a balance between academic excellence and real-world application in performing policy research.  Expert panel reviewing the progress and provide suggestions to the research projects consisted of Dr. Kommate Jitvanichphaibool, NXPO Senior Director of Technology Foresight Division;  Dr. Suttipong Thajchayapong, Leader of Strategic Analytics Networks with Machine Learning and AI Research Team, the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC); and  Dr. Warasinee Chaisangmongkon, faculty member of Institute of Field Robotics, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (FIBO-KMUTT).  For more information on this project, please visit here. View the article in a Thai version here.

Original post on Bloomberg. The AI for Social Good Project – Strengthening AI Capabilities and Governing Frameworks in Asia and the Pacific has recently passed the milestone of onboarding two key government agencies. The project is the latest collaboration between the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), UN ESCAP, and Google.org, which commenced in mid-2021 and will run until the end of 2023. Over the past year, meetings and workshops have been held with government agencies from Thailand and Bangladesh. The confirmed government partners to join the project are the Office of National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) of Thailand, in close collaboration with the National Electronics and Computer Center (NECTEC) and the National Science and Technology Development Agency and the Institute of Field Robotics (FIBO) under the King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, and the Bangladesh Aspire to Innovate (a2i) Programme. NXPO and a2i are affiliated with Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation and the ICT Division and Cabinet Division of Bangladesh, respectively. The AI for Social Good multi-stakeholder network was initially set up in 2019, among the first milestones being the creation of a platform that convenes leading experts from the region to explore opportunities and challenges for maximizing AI benefits for society. After these activities engaged a wide range of policy experts and practitioners, the three project partners decided that it was the right time to move on to the next stage of working directly with government agencies to apply the insights generated through the collaborative project to date. The aim has been to work with government partners in Asia and the Pacific to grow sound and transparent AI ecosystems that support sustainable development goals. “Recognizing that AI offers transformative solutions for achieving the SDGs, we are pleased to participate in the AI for Social Good Project to share experience and research insights to develop enabling AI policy frameworks,” said Dr. Kanchana Wanichkorn, NXPO’s Vice President. NXPO identified ‘Poverty Alleviation’ and ‘Medicine and Healthcare’ as two areas of need that are now tackled by two academic project teams. To alleviate poverty and inequality, the Thai government has developed data-driven decision-making systems to improve public access to state welfare programs. The project, under the academic leadership of the Australia National University (ANU) team, will focus on enhancing the human-centered design and public accessibility of these technologies to support successful implementation. In addition, research on AI for medical applications has increased exponentially in the past few years in Thailand. However, the progress in developing and applying AI from research to market in these areas is relatively slow. To support and accelerate the use of AI in medicine and healthcare, the expert team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) will focus their research and analysis on identifying crucial bottlenecks and gaps that impede the beneficial use of AI. While the two Bangladesh projects both focus on the need for ‘Continuing and Personalized Pregnancy Monitoring’ (to improve health outcomes during and after birth), they are exploring different aspects of this key focus area for the government of Bangladesh. Under the leadership of the team from NUS & KAIST, the first project investigates challenges in perceptions and reception of incorporating AI into continuous pregnancy monitoring systems. Under the leadership of the University of Hawai‘i Team, the second project circles in on technological issues of Bangladesh’s healthcare sector and their impacts on AI-based data analysis and decision-making processes. The academic integrity of both sets of country projects is overseen by Toni Erskine, Professor of International Politics and Director of the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at ANU. Erskine guides both the conception of the research questions in collaboration with the government partners and the delivery of the project outputs by providing support for the four academic teams in developing their projects. “It has been incredibly rewarding to lead a project that brings together such an impressive, multidisciplinary group of researchers with government agencies that are so passionate about finding solutions to crucial problems – ranging from poverty alleviation to maternal health care,” Erskine said. She added that “the process of working closely with government agencies from the outset to discuss these problems and co-design research questions makes this project unique and genuinely collaborative. I’m very proud to be part of it.” The following steps for the ‘AI for Social Good Project: Strengthening AI Capabilities and Governing Frameworks in Asia and the Pacific’ project will be to review and discuss the first complete drafts of the research papers by the four academic teams at a workshop in January. The partner government agencies from Bangladesh and Thailand will attend the workshop. Workshops with both government teams will also follow the presentation of final papers in the second quarter of 2023. To mark the project’s conclusion, a summit with all participants in the project will be held in mid-2023 at the Australia National University. More APRU AI for Social Good

APRU recently completed its second APRU Climate Change Simulation and is now preparing for next year’s simulation, with a new advisory group soon to be appointed. Co-organized by the APRU Global Health and the APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Programs, the APRU Climate Change Simulation is a role-playing exercise in which students form multi-country, multi-disciplinary teams play the role of delegates to the UN Climate Change Negotiations. The 2022 APRU Climate Change Simulation engaged nearly 170 students from 17 APRU Universities in addition to a student group from Fiji National University. Forty-five experts from APRU universities and external partner organizations supported the delivery of the simulations, which are tasked to show ways to limit global warming to well below 2℃ in line with The Paris Agreement. A post-event survey showed that participating students highly appreciated the amount of diverse information on climate change, interaction with people from different parts of the world and the chance to take a very close look at the problems facing each country. “This simulation exercise has brought me to look at climate change in various perspectives in terms of its causes and the possible mitigation actions that are scientifically proven,” said Pedros Marcol Tabulo, a student from Fiji National University. “I will be so happy to share with my family and friends the importance of managing forests, which involves reducing deforestation and stepping up afforestation efforts,” he added. Students have also been grateful for the input they get from the experts who contribute to the simulations. The 2022 APRU Climate Change Simulation saw Ebru Gencoglu, Head of Sustainable Sourcing of Adidas, sharing insights on Adida’s efforts to lower the carbon footprint with new design and production approaches. Bernhard Barth, Human Settlements Officer of UN-Habitat, described how the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing conflicts both reveal and amplify the escalating impacts of climate change. Important expert contributions were provided by Dr. Rhys Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu), the Public Health Physician and Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, and Dr. Ralph Chami, the Assistant Director, and Chief of Financial Policies at the International Monetary Fund. Their key insights focused on indigenous perspectives and how to fund the climate crisis respectively. On the facilitator side, the post-event survey showed that the participators of the 2022 APRU Climate Change Simulation were impressed by how close it got to actual negotiations. Facilitators also noted that the students were very motivated despite the event being held online. “The value of this type of experience for students is magnificent, as it allows students to appreciate the values of a wide range of intellectual disciplines and a high degree of intercultural sensitivity, tolerance and a global perspective,” said Vivian Lee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who served as a facilitator. The 2023 APRU Climate Change Simulation will tentatively run in April 2023. The advisory group will be made up of simulation founding members Mellissa Withers of the University of Southern California and Elly Vandegrift of the University of Oregon. They will be joined by facilitators Vivian Lee, Zhenyu Zhang of Peking University and Christina Schönleber and Tina Lin of the APRU Secretariat. “We urge any interested APRU members who want to get their students engaged in this important activity to reach out to us,” Zhang said. “It is an excellent opportunity for participants to improve their communication skills, which is important when negotiating, lobbying or influencing leaders to take the actions necessary to implement solutions to climate change,” he added. More Information Find the webpage of the Student Global Climate Change Simulation 2022 here. View the program of the simulation 2022 here. Read the news in The Fiji Times about the simulation here. View a blog from UO’s student reporter here. To find out more about the APRU Climate Change Simulation 2023 and how your students can engage please contact [email protected].

The 7th APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition 2022 recently concluded, giving a total of 48 teams across 22 universities in 12 economies a platform to present solutions for the challenges the health system of Fiji has been facing. The competing teams had up to 10 weeks to prepare a 10-minute video in English to address a complex hypothetical scenario, for which there is no single “right” plan. Fiji has had 64,221 cases and 834 deaths due to COVID as of March 21, 2022. Despite a relatively successful response to COVID-19, the financial cost to Fiji’s economy has been devastating. In 2019, Fiji’s tourism brought in US$1.3 billion, but passenger arrivals plummeted by 84% in 2020, causing tourism to generate only US$236 million. This dramatic drop illustrates that extended quarantine and lockdown measures are not feasible for highly tourism-dependent countries. The APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition 2022’s winning team was Fiji Apple from National University of Singapore. The decision, which came along with a prize of US$1,000, was made by an international panel of 16 judges, experts and participants of the Sustainable Cities and Landscape Conference 2022. Fiji Apple’s three-pronged solution consists of FijiReadi!, which strives to improve Fiji’s future pandemic preparedness and response via the use of a bottom-up approach; FijiUniti!, which improves communication between villages and higher administrative units; and FijiXchange!, which is a material goods exchange system to secure essential supplies. “It important for us to consider Fiji’s culture and practices in suggesting solutions that favor local level governance rather than national level ones,” Fiji Apple says in its winning video. “We thus identified the need to promote a bottom-up approach to pandemic detection and response that empowers people living in both urban and rural areas,” they add. Although this challenge was hypothetical, many economies around the world are currently considering how to address identical issues. For more information about the case competition 2022, visit here.

On 31 August 2022, the Office of National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) of Thailand in close collaboration with the National Electronics and Computer Center (NECTEC) and the National Science and Technology Development Agency and the Institute of Field Robotics (FIBO) under King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi co-hosted a workshop to review research proposals to drive “AI for Social Good: Strengthening Capabilities and Government Frameworks in Asia and the Pacific” project. Co-hosts of this event include the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), Google.org, Australian National University (ANU) and leading universities and research institutes in Thailand and abroad. In this workshop, four AI policy research proposals were presented and reviewed by the experts. The four proposals are: 1) AI in Pregnancy Monitoring: Technical Challenges for Bangladesh, 2) Mobilizing AI for Maternal Health in Bangladesh, 3) Responsible Data Sharing, AI Innovation and Sandbox Development: Recommendations for Digital Health Governance in Thailand, and 4) Raising Awareness of the Importance of Data Sharing and Exchange to Advance Poverty Alleviation in Thailand. Presenting the background and importance of this project in Thailand was NXPO Policy Specialist Dr. Soontharee Namliwal. She proceeded to introduce project members from Thailand which are NXPO, NECTEC of FIBO under King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi. Dr. Kommate Jitvanichphaibool, NXPO Senior Division Director and Dr. Suttipong Thajchayapong, Leader of NECTEC Strategic Analytics Networks with Machine Learning and AI Research Team – provided additional information relating to the research and application of AI in Thailand, namely 1) the poverty alleviation policy, 2) the healthcare system and guidelines for data collection and 3) Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 and policy and guidelines for personal data protection. The experts also offered useful suggestions to the two projects submitted by Thailand to improve the coverage and maximize the benefits to the countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Initiated in 2021, AI for Social Good: Strengthening Capabilities and Government Frameworks in Asia and the Pacific is a collaboration between the UNESCAP, APRU and partners. Under this project, the UNESCAP and APRU, with funding from Google.org, established a multi-stakeholder network to provide support in the development of country-specific AI governance frameworks and national capabilities. For more information on this project, please visit here. View the article in a Thai version here.

Recently, the “Global Health Virtual Case Competition 2022” hosted by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) proceeded to its final stage. Team “Arete” from Tongji University advanced to the top 10 of the competition, receiving the great honor of being the only team from China’s mainland in the final this year. Six Tongji University students, namely WANG Kaitao, MIAO Yongen, YAN Le and LIU Tong from School of Medicine (TUSM), and CHEN Yixian and PAN Kunwei from the School of Foreign Languages, made up the “Arete” team. The internationally and annually APRU-hosted Global Health Virtual Case Competition has provided APRU students with an opportunity to practice critical thinking and problem-solving skills through cases and scenarios to help solve global health challenges. The challenge of the case competition 2022 was to build and strengthen the capacity of the health systems in Fiji to better respond to future public health threats, focusing on vulnerable populations. The participating teams were obliged to propose a realistic, well-designed, and innovative solution. A total of 48 teams from 12 major Pacific Rim economies participated in the case competition 2022. Three Tongji University teams (Arete, Tongji Youth Team, Small Jin), made up of twelve students from TUSM (Clinical Medicine, Nursing and Physical Therapy) and four students from other majors (SFL, CAUP, CEIE), registered for the challenging competition to compete against other teams from top leading research universities around the Pacific Rim. By the time these participating teams started to prepare for their entries, they had been confronted with various difficulties and challenges such as stringent containment measures during the worst period of the COVID outbreak in Shanghai, despite which they still managed to do a literature search, completed interview schedules with Fijian students and local transportation workers, conducted liaison meetings on a regular basis, and worked out a wrap-up of the case solution through video shooting and editing. Through uninterrupted efforts in balancing online learning and a non-stop fight against COVID, they completed their proposal on schedule. During that period, they received intensified concerns and support, including guidance from CHEN haibin, Deputy Party Chief of TUSM, who shared the first-hand experience of pandemic prevention and control on West Campus. The International Students Office of Tongji University assisted in contacting Fijian students whilst the School of Design and Innovation, along with the Sino-Italian Institute, gave support for video-making. The Association of Pacific Rim Universities, or APRU, set up in 1997, is a consortium of top leading research universities from various economies of the Pacific Rim. Currently, it has a membership of 60 top research universities around the world, among which 12 universities are from China’s mainland, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, Nanjing University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, University of Science and Technology of China, Zhejiang University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin Institute of Technology, Sun Yat-sen University and Tongji University. Tongji University has been taking an active part in consortium activities with its commitment to promoting cultural integration and resource sharing, close-knit and deep-rooted partnerships, and further development of an inclusive and efficient platform for international collaboration. View the Chinese version here. Find out more about the Global Health Virtual Case Competition 2022 here.

On June 15, a webinar held jointly by the Hong Kong office of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS) and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), a consortium of leading research universities in 19 economies of the Pacific Rim, highlighted the complexity of data rights for citizens and users, with risks deriving from both under-regulation and over-regulation of AI applications. The webinar held under the theme Protection of Data Rights for Citizens and Users completed a joint hbs-APRU series consisting of three webinars on regulating AI. The series came against the backdrop of ever more AI-based systems leaving the laboratory stage and entering our everyday lives. While AI enables private sector enterprises and governments to collect, store, access, and analyse data that influence crucial aspects of life, the challenge for regulators is to strike a balance between data rights of users and the rights for enterprises and governments to make use of AI to improve their services. The webinar’s three speakers representing an NGO network, academia and the private sector explained that the fair use of personal data should be protected while abusive manipulation and surveillance should be limited. Conversely, regulators should leave reasonable room for robust innovation and effective business strategies and facilitate effective operation of government bureaus to deliver public services. “We not only talk about the use of personal data but also a broader range of fundamental rights, such as rights to social protection, non-discrimination and freedom of expression,” said Sarah Chander, Senior Policy Adviser at European Digital Rights (EDRi), a Brussels-based advocacy group leading the work on AI policy and specifically the EU AI Act. “Besides these rights in an individual sense, we have also been looking into AI systems’ impact on our society, impact on broader forms of marginalization, potential invasiveness, as well as economic and social justice, and the starting point of our talks with the different stakeholders is the question of how we can empower the people in this context,” she added. M. Jae Moon, Underwood Distinguished Professor and Director of the Institute for Future Government at Yonsei University, whose research focuses on digital government, explained that governments are increasingly driven to implement AI systems by their desire to improve evidence-based policy decision-making. “The availability of personal data is very important to make good decisions for public interest, and, of course, privacy protection and data security should always be ensured,” Moon said. “The citizens, for their part, are increasingly demanding customized and targeted public services, and the balancing of these two sides’ demands requires good social consensus,” he added. Moon went on to emphasize that citizens after consenting to the use of their private data by the government should be able to track the data usage while also being able to withdraw their consent. Sankha Som, Chief Innovation Evangelist of Tata Consultancy Services, explained that the terms Big Data and AI are often intertwined despite describing very different things. According to Som, Big Data is the ability to manage the input side of AI and drawing insights from the data whereas AI is about predictions and decision-making. “If you look at how AI systems are built today, there are several different Big Data approaches used on the input side, but there are also processing steps such as data labelling which are AI specific; and many issues related to AI actually come from the these processing steps,” Som said. “Biases can, intentionally or unintentionally, cause long-term harm to individuals and groups, and they can creep into these processes, so it will not only take regulation on use of input data but also on end use, while at the same time complying with enterprise specific policies,” he added. The webinar was moderated by Dr. Axel Harneit-Sievers, Director, Heinrich Böll Stiftung Hong Kong Office. The series’ previous two webinars were held in May under the themes Risk-based Approach of AI Regulation and Explainable AI. More information Listen to the recording here. Find out more about the webinar series here. Contact Us Lucia Siu Programme Manager, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Hong Kong, Asia | Global Dialogue Email: Lucia.Siu [at] hk.boell.org Christina Schönleber Senior Director, Policy and Research Programs, APRU Email: policyprograms [at] apru.org

Original The Fiji Times Twelve students from the Fiji National University’s (FNU) College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS) were part of the Climate Change Simulation Conference in collaboration with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU). APRU is a non-profit network of about 60 universities in the Asia-Pacific, with the Secretariat based in Hong Kong. This activity is organized by the APRU Global Health Programme at University of Southern California (US) and the APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Program at University of Oregon (US). The APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation is a role-playing exercise in which students will form multi-country, multidisciplinary teams to play the role of delegates to the UN Climate Change Negotiations. CMNHS Acting Dean, Dr Donald Wilson, said the conference allowed the students to participate and learn with the students from different countries on Climate Change. “The global engagement of our students links well with the strategic goal of the university for student experience and also creates an awareness for our students and staff of the international instruments that are critical to demonstrating the importance of staying connected to the global changes in climate,” Dr Wilson said. “We look forward to more conferences where our students can be part of and contribute towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.” The aim of the conference was to describe what contributes to climate change, explain global climate change efforts, such as the Paris Agreement, the UNCCC and the COP, identify adaptation and mitigation strategies and which will have the most impact on global temperatures, explain how/why climate change affects the most vulnerable populations and why it is an issue of social justice. The conference also discussed the practice of global teamwork and cross-cultural collaboration and communication skills, the complexity involved in countries’ decisions, including consideration of factors such as economic impact, negotiating power and the challenges of negotiations among countries on issues such as climate change and the importance of global collaboration. The CMNHS Head of the School of Public Health and Primary Care (SPHPC), Dr Timaima Tuiketei said the University was grateful to be part of the conference. “We are happy to be part of a global initiative to build the capacities of our students and future leaders in addressing Climate Change. At the same time, the SPHPC is committed to strengthening its Climate Change and Health Programme to the overall university contribution to the national and regional Climate Change Agenda,” she said. Third year Public Health student, Margaret Biliki said she became more knowledgeable after attending the conference. “I am privileged to be joining my fellow colleagues for the APRU Simulation on Climate Change this year as an FNU rep, as Climate change is a global issue affecting our environment and our health,” she said. “I am enthusiastic to be learning from a group of diverse disciplines and experts from across the globe in interactive and informative zoom sessions and discussions on causes, effects, and solutions to address climate change issues. “The event will also help me to learn negotiation skills and to enhance my knowledge on climate change issues, a critically important issue for us, as Pacific Islanders. I am looking forward to learning and interacting with students from other universities as well.” The conference had Guest Speakers who spoke on coastal habitats, deforestation, clean energy, trading and offsets, and diplomacy and negotiation skills.   Find out more about the Student Climate Change Simulation here.

On May 25, a webinar held jointly by the Hong Kong office of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung (hbs) and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) highlighted that many of the algorithms that run artificial intelligence (AI) are shrouded by opaqueness, with expert speakers identifying approaches in making AI much more explainable than it is today. The webinar held under the theme Explainable AI was the second in a joint hbs-APRU series of three webinars on regulating AI. The series comes against the backdrop of ever more AI-based systems leaving the laboratory stage and entering our everyday lives. While AI algorithmic designs can enhance robust power and predictive accuracy of the applications, they may involve assumptions, priorities and principles that have not been openly explained to users and operation managers. The proposals of “explainable AI” and “trustworthy AI” are initiatives that seek to foster public trust, informed consent and fair use of AI applications. They also seek to move against algorithmic bias that may work against the interest of underprivileged social groups. “There are many AI success stories, but algorithms are trained on datasets and proxies, and developers too often and unintentionally use datasets with poor representation of the relevant population,” said Liz Sonenberg, Professor of Information Systems at the University of Melbourne, who featured as one of the webinar’s three speakers. “Explainable AI enables humans to understand why a system decides in certain way, which is the first step to question its fairness,” she added. Sonenberg explained that the use of AI to advise a judicial decision maker of a criminal defendant’s risk of recidivism, for instance, is a development that should be subject to careful scrutiny. Studies of one existing such AI system suggest that it offers racially biased advice, and while this proposition is contested by others, these concerns raise the important issue of how to ensure fairness. Matthias C. Kettemann, head of the Department for Theory and Future of Law at the University of Innsbruck, pointed out that decisions on AI systems’ explanations should not be left to either lawyers, technicians or program designers. Rather, he said, the explanations should be made with a holistic approach that investigates what sorts of information are really needed by the people. “The people do not need to know all the parameters that shape an AI system’s decision, but they need to know what aspects of the available data influenced those decisions and what can be done about it,” Kettemann said. “We all have the right of justification if a state or machine influences the way rights and goods are distributed between individuals and societies, and in the next few years, it will be one of the key challenges to nurture Explainable AI to make people not feeling powerless against AI-based decisions,” he added. Brian Lim, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS), in his research explores how to improve the usability of explainable AI by modeling human factors and applying AI to improve decision making and user engagement towards healthier and safer lifestyles. Speaking at the webinar, Lim explained that one of the earliest uses of Explainable AI is to identify problems in the available data. Then, he said, the user can investigate whether the AI reasons in a way that follows the standards and conventions in the concerned domain. “Decisions in the medical domain, for instance, are important because they are a matter of life and death, and the AI should be like the doctors who understand the underlying biological processes and causes of mechanisms,” Lim said. “Explainable AI can help people to interpret their data and situation to find reasonable, justifiable and defensible answers,” he added. The final webinar will be held on June 15 under the theme Protection of Data Rights for Citizens and Users. The event will address the challenges for regulators in striking a balance between data rights of citizens, and the rights for enterprises and states to make use of data in AI. More information Listen to the recording here. Find out more about the webinar series here. Register for the June 15th session here. Contact Us Lucia Siu Programme Manager, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Hong Kong, Asia | Global Dialogue Email: Lucia.Siu [at] hk.boell.org Christina Schönleber Senior Director, Policy and Research Programs, APRU Email: policyprograms [at] apru.org

The Hong Kong office of the Germany-based Heinrich Böll Stiftung (hbs) and APRU successfully concluded the first in a series of three webinars on regulating artificial intelligence (AI). Held on May 5 under the theme Risk-based Approach to AI Regulation, the event constituted a valuable Asia-Europe platform for the exchange of insights on the risks that are associated with AI and the appropriate regulatory responses. The webinar series comes against the backdrop of AI reaching a stage of maturity and extensive application across supply chains, public governance, media and entertainment. While industries and societies are quick in the uptake of AI, governments struggle to develop appropriate regulatory frameworks to prevent immense possible harm resulting from mismanaged AI. APRU has been pursuing debates in the field of AI policies and ethics since 2016, and APRU in collaboration with UN ESCAP and Google has set up the AI for Social Good network. “This joint webinar series comes at the perfect time to bring together experts from Europe and leading thinkers from the highly diverse Asia Pacific region. We are looking to apply what we have learned to actively support the development and implementation of regulatory frameworks and polices that ensure that AI technology is used for the good of society,” said APRU Secretary General Chris Tremewan, emphasizing the importance of collaboration across regional boundaries. The webinar was moderated by Zora Siebert, Head of Programme, EU Democracy and Digital Policy, Heinrich Böll Stiftung European Union. Siebert pointed out that the European Commission has unveiled its draft AI Act (AIA) in April 2021, accelerating an active shaping process in the European Parliament. Siebert noted that policymakers in the U.S. and the EU have been keen to align on AI policy, with both sides wishing to enhance international cooperation. Toby Walsh, Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of New South Wales, explained that AI can hardly be regulated in a generic way but will require novel regulative approaches instead. “Since AI is a platform, it is going to be much like electricity that is in all our devices, and there is no generic way to regulate electricity,” Walsh said. “The EU AI Act will set an important precedent, but it will depend on how it is going to be implemented and on the sorts of expertise the EU is going to have, because the people who are going to be regulated have vast resources,” he added. Alexandra Geese, Member of the European Parliament for the Greens EFA and coordinator for the Greens EFA in the AI in the Digital Age Special Committee (AIDA), picked up on Walsh’s electricity metaphor, stressing that “we want to be the ones who switch the lights on and off, as opposed to leaving the decisions to the machines.” Jiro Kokuryo, Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University in Japan, provided an alternative perspective from East Asia, explaining that the society and the technologies should be allowed to co-evolve rather than be forced into a static process. “Nevertheless, Japan aligns completely with the EU in terms of human rights protection, and the EU’s risk-based approach is also agreeable,” Kokuryo said. The second webinar will be held on May 25 on the topic Explainable AI. The proposals of “explainable AI” and “trustworthy AI” are initiatives to create AI applications that are transparent, interpretable, and explainable to users and operations managers. The final webinar will be held on June 15 on the topic Protection of Data Rights for Citizens and Users. The webinar will address the challenges for regulators in striking a balance between data rights of citizens, and the rights for enterprises and states to make use of data in AI. More information Listen to the recording here. Find out more about the webinar series here. Register for the May 25th session here. Contact Us Lucia Siu Programme Manager, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Hong Kong, Asia | Global Dialogue Email: Lucia.Siu [at] hk.boell.org Christina Schönleber Senior Director, Policy and Research Programs, APRU Email: policyprograms [at] apru.org

The annual APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Research Prize is now accepting applications for outstanding research work that strives to improve women’s health and economic well-being, and charts the way for more inclusive growth. The winning entry will receive USD 20,000 and the two runners-up will receive USD 5,000 each. The prize, first launched during APEC 2019 in Chile with the support of Merck, aims to encourage the development and usage of sex-disaggregated data and promote gender-based research within APEC. As women across the world were hit especially hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those who serve as unpaid caregivers, more research is needed to support solutions and advancements that allow women to stay in the workforce as the world rebounds. “We know that women in the region are overrepresented in industries hit hard by the pandemic—food, services, hospitality and tourism, to name a few,” said Renee Graham, the Chair of APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy. “While our focus is to narrow disparity and improve women’s economic participation, we must also ensure that we pay attention to women’s health, safety and well-being.” Thailand, host economy of APEC 2022, is prioritizing inequality and imbalance this year by integrating inclusivity and sustainability objectives in tandem with economic goals. “To ensure an inclusive recovery from COVID-19, which has disproportionately impacted women and girls, we must implement evidence-based, gender-sensitive policies,” said Kannika Charoenluk of Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. “Original research, backed by data and evidence, will be crucial in ensuring a gender-intentional recovery and future growth model.” Since its inception in 2015, the APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies initiative has improved women’s health through public-private partnerships. One key outcome has been the cross-sector collaboration in creating a policy toolkit—a compendium of the issues, actions, and implementing elements for improving women’s health across five areas. The areas are: workplace health and safety; health awareness and access; sexual and reproductive health; gender-based violence; and work-life balance. Applicants to the 2022 APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Research Prize can be individuals or teams, with the stipulation that one official participant must represent an APEC member economy. Applicants do not need to come from academia, as long as the research is evidence-based and addresses at least one of the pillars outlined in the Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Policy Toolkit. The prize winner may choose to present their research to APEC gender experts in the public and private sectors on the margins of the 2022 APEC Women and the Economy Forum, hosted by Thailand. “Now more than ever, we need to promote research that supports our collective effort in alleviating the economic burdens women face in the workforce,” said Hong Chow, Executive Vice President and Head of China and International of Merck Healthcare. “By using science, we can provide evidence-based information to policymakers and business leaders so that the right measures get implemented to improve women’s health so women can join and rise in the workforce,” she concluded. Interested candidates may access the prize application form through this link. The application deadline is Tuesday, 31 May 2022. For more information, please visit the APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies website or contact [email protected] with any questions.   For further details, please contact: Masyitha Baziad +65 9751 2146 at [email protected] Michael Chapnick +65 9647 4847 [email protected]

The APRU Global Health Conference 2021 was held virtually on November 16-18, hosted by the School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong. The event, which took three years of preparation due to the pandemic, focused on global urban health and featured the announcements of the student winners of the APRU Virtual Global Health Case Competition and the Global Health Student Poster Contest. Urbanization and expansion of cities are inexorable global trends. Over 55% of the world’s population now lives in urban cities, and this proportion is expected to increase to 66% by 2050. The health consequences of such population changes are increasingly recognized as a key issues for sustainable human development. Cities present opportunities and challenges, which holds the key to citizens’ health and well-being. “Cross-sectoral partnerships offer the chance to develop integrated responses connecting environment and health,” said Gabrielle Fitzgerald, the founder and CEO of US-based Panorama, a platform for visionary leaders to develop solutions and bold action for social change, in a keynote speech. “How we catalyze the coalition in a fluid system is the key to address global challenges,” she added. Keynotes and plenary speakers shared insights on the built environment and its effects on human well-being under climate change and rapid urbanization. The panels’ topics ranged from mental health among adolescents to digital technologies and from health risk behaviour to active lifestyles. The APRU Virtual Global Health Case Competition 2021 awarded the winning prize to the short-listed teams at the conference. Participating teams were challenged young talents to develop technology-driven solutions to the COVID-19 Infodemic. There is a pressing need to address the massive amount of misinformation that has quickly spread throughout the world during the pandemic, with dramatic negative personal and societal consequences. This year the competition was conceived and hosted by the APRU Global Health Program in partnership with Amazon Web Services. ‘Amazon and AWS have made an upskilling commitment, to make it easier for people to have access to the skills they need to grow their careers. The APRU Global Health Case Competition encourages young talents and future leaders to address global challenges with technologies mindful of social impact, equity of access and equality to learning. This synchronises perfectly with AWS’ commitment.’ said by Dr. Julian Sham, Head of Health Business, Asia Pacific & Japan, AWS. 121 teams from 37 universities in 17 economies submitted the entries this year. The winning team is ​UP Mediasina, a team of six medical students from the University of the Philippines, who were awarded US$1,000. The two runners-up are from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanyang Technological University. “Although the Philippines is the social media capital of the world with 89 million active users, it lacks a dedicated information crisis response,” the UP Mediasina team said in their video introducing their Project Dinig for systemized communication strategies. “The Philippines is facing a perfect storm and our health system is under crisis, but it need not be for long, as Filipinos could benefit from social listening facilitated by Project Dinig,” they added. The global health poster contest, for its part, invited current undergraduate and graduate students to submit their works related to global health research and studies to enter the competition. The contest received 64 submissions from 27 universities across 12 economies. The winning teams of the undergraduate category and graduate category are from the University of Santo Tomas and The University of Hong Kong respectively. The two winners were each awarded US$500. Find out more about the conference and the student case competition here.

In time for the upcoming COP26 meetings, 120 dedicated APRU students from across the Asia Pacific region and close on 40 expert speakers and facilitators from within and outside the APRU network contributed to and concluded the first APRU Climate Change Simulation. The 3-session is a role-playing exercise in which students formed multi-country, multi-disciplinary teams to slip intothe roles of delegates to the UN Climate Change Negotiations. The APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation uses materials from Climate Interactive and the EN-ROADS simulation model developed by MIT. Live sessions and breakout room-discussions were supplemented with keynote presentations by experts from the IMF, adidas, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, short lectures from key experts across the network and other materials developed and curated by the APRU expert team. On the long list of intriguing topics were indigenous knowledge, planetary health, public health, coastal habitats, deforestation, clean energy, trading and offsets, as well as diplomacy and negotiation skills. APRU envisions the event to be the first of many activities to develop a network of committed citizens who tackle climate change head-on. “The opportunity to work across different disciplines, places and perspectives as part of this negotiation simulation wasa rare chance for students to learn about the complexities of developing solutions to urgent global challenges, the largest of which is climate change,” said Kathryn Bowen, Deputy Director of Melbourne Climate Future, University of Melbourne. Kristie Ebi, Professor at the Center for Health and the Global Environment, University of Washington, also one of the sixteen participating APRU experts actively facilitating the negotiations and discussions, added that “the APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation represented a call to taking collective action against global warming.” The APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation was co-organized by the APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Program housed at the University of Oregon and the APRU Global Health Program housed at the University of Southern California. External partners include Adidas, Rebalance Earth, Smart Energy Connect-CLP, Tuvalu Mo Te Atua, UN Habitat and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. The participating students gave their thumbs up. For instance, Annette Benger, who studies Masters of Environment at Melbourne University, shared that the event has taken her understanding to the next level. “In my lectures on Sustainability and Behaviour Change, we are discussing the role of selfishness and altruism in human nature,” Benger said. “It is so easy to see so much selfishness, until you come across something like this, and we are all planning to keep in touch in our WhatsApp group,” she added. The APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation also impressed its facilitators, with Tze Kwan, Research Associate, Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, National University of Singapore, labelling the event “super”successful. “I am honoured to be part of this and to have had the opportunity to share my interests with the participants,” Kwan said. “This event was such a valuable learning opportunity, making me hope more students will get to attend and be inspired to act in face of climate change,” she added. The APRU Partner Universities involved in the Student Global Climate Change Simulation are Monash University, Nanyang Technological University, Peking University, Tecnológico de Monterrey, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The University of Auckland, The University of Melbourne, Tohoku University, Universidad San Francisco De Quito, Universiti Malaya, and University of Washington. Find out a featured article from University of Southern California, here. Find out a post-activity report from University of Oregon here. Read students’ feedback from a CUHK article here.

A 12-session virtual workshop series developed jointly by the APRU Global Health Program’s Global Health Education and Technology Working Group at the University of Southern California and the Global STEM Education Program at the University of Oregon has grown into an effective platform providing important support for higher education staff, cushioning the impact of COVID-19. The creation of a peer-to-peer learning platform to exchange ways and knowledge on teaching in virtual environments became a pressing issue, as the pandemic forced the academic community to move fully to online teaching. Launched in August 2020 and scheduled to run until June 2021, the APRU Teaching in Virtual Environments Webinar Series addresses everyday educational problems, such as how do adjust safeguards for course exams. Underlining the series’ significance, it will be highlighted as a case study in a publication expected to be published later this year by the Spring Nature. “We designed these sessions to respond to the immediate need of providing remote teaching resources to faculty within the APRU network, and they have surpassed all of my expectations with a truly global faculty community,” said Elly Vandegrift, program director for Global Science Education Initiatives in the Division of Global Engagement at the University of Oregon. “Our work together strengthens and builds resiliency within our global higher education community to respond to future educational challenges,” Vandegrift adds. The APRU webinar series, moderated and led by Prof Vandegrift are conducted in 90-minute sessions and structured around specific faculty experts sharing their evidence-based practices that they adopted to online teaching. In the webinars’ breakout rooms, participants from different regions with different technology infrastructure share how they overcome the respective challenges. In conclusion the webinars return to a full group discussion to share insights learned and best practices shared across the diverse group. “We have collectively learned how many similar challenges students and faculty have faced during the pandemic and together explored ways to adapt global solutions to our local teaching and learning contexts,” highlights Mellissa Withers, program director APRU Global Health Program at the University of Southern California. The webinars support and complement other APRU Global Health Program events. The seven sessions that have been held so far involved participants from 92 institutes representing 19 economies. For upcoming webinars in this series visit https://apru.org/programs/pacific-rim-challenges/global-health/

Original post in China Daily. Innovate or perish is the new slogan. If you don’t innovate, you don’t invent and if you don’t invent you are out of the race. Gone are the days of captive consumption in an isolated world. Today, we are talking about global economies that transcend borders and if you have nothing new on the plate, you are doomed. A few days back, there were reports that technological innovation is going to see renewed impetus in China. The State Council has said that the government will publish a list of core scientific projects and seek help from researchers for the same on a voluntary basis. In addition, it will also look at developing policy tools to more efficiently select and allocate funding to potentially groundbreaking research projects. In a nutshell, what this means is that the Chinese government is not only planning to seek the help of the private sector, but also allocating more resources to emerging new technologies to unlock new growth strategies, say experts. Nidhi Gupta, a senior technology analyst at GlobalData, a UK-based data and analytics company, tells me that China’s technological advances in recent years can largely be attributed to the government’s proactive policies and strategies. “China has been promoting the development and use of emerging technologies through a supportive policy framework, setting up large-scale funding of research, and attractive incentives for tech entrepreneurs. The country has also put multiyear strategies in place to upgrade its digital infrastructure and achieve technology independence. In addition, the government’s five-year plans for science and technology innovation and ‘Made in China 2025’ have been instrumental in driving its ascendancy on the innovation front,” says Nidhi. Belunn Se, an industry observer based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, tells me that technology innovation is necessary for China to vitalize its domestic economy and reinforce industry strength. It will also help the country as it moves up the value chain and bolsters its supply chains. Several stakeholders need to be involved in a systematic manner for the success of tech innovation, he says. The primary role must be played by the government as an organizer of resources, guide and supervisor. Colleges and universities are also necessary for fundamental scientific research and development, and talent cultivation. Top academic research institutes can play a big role in China’s efforts to reduce its dependence on external sources for cutthroat technologies like semiconductor production equipment, he says. Policies should also focus on improving the funding avenues for tech firms and scaling up their commercialization by market mechanism. “It is important to ensure that elementary education and basic sciences play a crucial role in fostering innovation,” says Se. Christopher Tremewan, secretary general of APRU, a consortium of 56 leading universities headquartered in Hong Kong, tells me that as countries commit more resources to technological innovation, it is important to ensure that new discoveries are directed at the common challenges. “Techno-nationalism will fall short of solving global crises. It is the universities that do much of the fundamental research that lies behind solutions. Organizations like the APRU are the neutral platforms for cooperation among major research universities across international borders, basically, as a forum that builds trust and a renewed commitment to multilateralism.” Tremewan says that universities in Hong Kong are already playing a pivotal role in using their research expertise to foster technological innovation. In the Asia-Pacific region, universities are vital in understanding and preparing for complex problems from extreme climate events to the COVID-19 pandemic. The key, though, is to leverage the best research and ensure that the increases in public funding have maximum impact for the common good, thereby building trust and cooperation internationally, he says. China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), which is due to be ratified by the National People’s Congress, is expected to give top priority to science, technology and innovation, and recognize them as critical to achieving technology self-reliance. The plan is based on dual circulation with the emphasis on internal circulation: domestic technology development, production, and consumption. “With this new five-year plan, China is marking a strategic shift in priorities towards national and industrial security and is set to become increasingly self-sufficient technologically and less reliant on exporting to the West,” says Nidhi from GlobalData. While the draft plan does not specify what technologies will gain focus over the next five years, it however makes it clear that investments in technology will continue to grow, and will focus on frontier fields like artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, aerospace technology, quantum computing, deep earth and sea exploration, adds Nidhi. China has already done well in pioneering and upgrading innovation, like high-speed railways and some 5G-enabled technologies. But in the long term, fundamental breakthroughs are necessary as only such moves can trigger profound effects to the economy and industry, pretty much like how the invention of electricity and computers changed human life, says Se.

Original post in The Business Times. More has to be done to ensure that AI is used for social good. A SILVER lining emerging from Covid-19’s social and economic fallout is the unprecedented application of artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data technology to aid recovery and enable governments and companies to effectively operate. However, as AI and Big Data are rapidly adopted, their evolution is far outpacing regulatory processes for social equity, privacy, and political accountability, fuelling concern about their possible predatory use. No matter whether contributing to essential R&D for coronavirus diagnostic tools or helping retailers and manufacturers transform their processes and the global supply chain, AI’s impressive achievements do not fully allay anxieties around their perceived dark side. Public concern about the threats of AI and Big Data ranges from privacy breaches to dystopian takes on the future that account for a technological singularity. Meanwhile, there is fairly strong sentiment that tech giants like Facebook, Amazon and Apple have too much unaccountable power. Amid rising antitrust actions in the US and legislative pushback in Europe, other firms like Microsoft, Alibaba and Tencent also risk facing similar accusations. Despite their advancements, breakthrough technologies always engender turbulence. The pervasiveness of AI across all aspects of life and its control by elites, raise the question of how to ensure its use for social good. For the ordinary citizen, justifiable suspicion of corporate motives can also render them prey to misinformation. Multilateral organisations have played critical roles in countering false claims and building public trust, but there is more to be done. AI FOR SOCIAL GOOD Against this backdrop, APRU (the Association of Pacific Rim Universities), the United Nations ESCAP and Google came together in 2018 to launch an AI for Social Good partnership to bridge the gap between the growing AI research ecosystem and the limited study into AI’s potential to positively transform economies and societies. Led by Keio University in Japan, the project released its first flagship report in September 2020 with assessments of the current situation and the first-ever research-based policy recommendations on how governments, companies and universities can develop AI responsibly. Together they concluded that countries effective in establishing enabling policy environments for AI that both protect against possible risks and leverage it for social and environmental good will be positioned to make considerable leaps towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include providing universal healthcare, ensuring a liveable planet, and decent work opportunities for all. However, countries that do not create this enabling environment risk forgoing the potential upsides of AI and may also bear the brunt of its destructive and destabilising effects: from weaponised misinformation, to escalating inequalities arising from unequal opportunities, to the rapid displacement of entire industries and job classes. WAY FORWARD Understanding of the long-term implications of fast-moving technologies and effectively calibrating risks is critical in advancing AI development. Prevention of bias and unfair outcomes produced by AI systems is of top priority, while government and private sector stakeholders should address the balance between data privacy, open data and AI growth. For governments, it will be tricky to navigate this mix. The risk is that sluggish policy responses will make it impossible to catch up with AI’s increasingly rapid development. We recommend governments establish a lead public agency to guard against policy blind spots. These lead agencies will encourage “data loops” that provide feedback to users on how their data are being used and thus facilitate agile regulation. This is necessary due to AI’s inherently rapid changing nature and the emergence of aspects that may not have been obvious even weeks or months earlier. Another important ability that governments have to acquire is the ability to negotiate with interest groups and ethical considerations. Otherwise, progress of promising socially and environmentally beneficial AI applications ranging from innovative medical procedures to new transportation options can be blocked by vested interests or a poor understanding of the trade-offs between privacy and social impact. Governments should also strengthen their ability to build and retain local technical know-how. This is essential, given that AI superpower countries are built on a critical mass of technical talent that has been trained, attracted to the country, and retained. DIASPORA OF TALENT Fortunately, many countries in Asia have a diaspora of talent who have trained in AI at leading universities and worked with leading AI firms. China has shown how to target and attract these overseas Chinese to return home by showcasing economic opportunities and building confidence in the prospects of a successful career and livelihood. Ultimately, for any emerging technology to be successful, gaining and maintaining public trust is crucial. Covid-19 contact tracing applications are a good case in point, as transparency is key to gaining and maintaining public trust in their deployment. With increased concerns about data privacy, governments can explain to the public the benefits and details of how the tracing application technology works, as well as the relevant privacy policy and law that protects data. To deal with the use and misuse of advanced technologies such as AI, we need renewed commitment to multilateralism and neutral platforms on which to address critical challenges. At the next level, the United Nations recently launched Verified, an initiative aimed at delivering trusted information, advice and stories focused on the best of humanity and opportunities to ‘build back better’, in line with the SDGs and the Paris agreement on climate change. It also invites the public to help counter the spread of Covid-19 misinformation by sharing factual advice with their communities. The education sector is playing its part to facilitate exchange of ideas among thought leaders, researchers, and policymakers to contribute to the international public policy process. I am hopeful that universities will be able to partner with government, the private sector and the community at large in constructing a technological ecosystem serving the social good. The writer is secretary general of APRU (the Association of Pacific Rim Universities)

Issued by the Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy Announced during the APEC Women and the Economy Forum on September 24, 2021, the winner and two runners-up for the 2021 APEC Healthy Women Healthy Economies Research Prize are listed here. The winning team is co-authored by Mr. Chen-Wei Hsiang, PhD student at University College London; Dr. Ming-Jen Lin, Distinguished Professor of Economics at National Taiwan University; Dr. Kuan-Ming Chen, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the United States’ National Bureau of Economic Research. Runner-up: Dr. Ying Yang, Associate Professor at China’s National Institute for Family Planning Runner-up: Ms. Nurliyana Binte Daros, Lecturer at Nanyang Technological University Find out the news release here and more information about the prize below. Applications are now open for the 2021 APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Research Prize. The prize rewards researchers who spur the creation of sex-disaggregated data and gender-based research in APEC. Launched in 2018 by President Sebastián Piñera of Chile with the support of Merck, the research prize seek for outstanding research work that will provide policymakers and business leaders with the tools they need to implement measures that improve women’s health and well-being so women can join, rise and thrive in the workforce. “Robust data and evidence are the foundation of sound policymaking,” said Renee Graham, New Zealand’s Secretary for Women and Chair of APEC’s Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy. “The gendered impacts of COVID-19 make the call for data and evidence all the more important, as we look to ensure women are fully incorporated into, and benefit from, the economic recovery from the pandemic.” Last year, the inaugural research prize was awarded to Dr Fanghui Zhao, a director at the National Cancer Center and Cancer Hospital with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, whose winning research looks at ways to make cervical cancer prevention more accessible and affordable for people in lower-middle income economies. Dr Lih Rong Wang of Chinese Taipei and Dr Dorothy Chan of Hong Kong, China were the two runners-up for the 2020 prize. Applicants to the 2021 APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Research Prize can be individuals or teams with one leader listed as official participant from an APEC member economy. Applications for the 2021 research prize are due on 31 May 2020. Applicants do not need to come from academia, as long as the research is evidence-based and addresses at least one of the pillars outlined in the Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Policy Toolkit, such as: workplace health and safety health awareness and access sexual and reproductive health gender-based violence work/life balance The prize winner will receive USD 20,000 and have the opportunity to present the research to APEC gender experts in the public and private sectors on the margins of the 2021 Women and the Economy Forum, hosted by New Zealand. Two runners-up will receive USD 5,000 each. “COVID-19 has exacerbated gender inequalities across a range of women’s health issues, making sex-disaggregated data and gender-based research essential for today’s policymakers,” said Liz Henderson,Regional Vice President, Merck Biopharma Asia Pacific. “To truly unlock the economic potential of women, we must first empower women by promoting policies that improve their health outcomes.” “It is important to make available sex-segregated data, especially in the services sector where women’s participation is high and which have been affected by the pandemic,” explained Dr Rebecca Sta Maria, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat. “Good sex-segregated data will contribute to the development of policies that are effective, equitable and beneficial.” Since established in 2015 the Healthy Women, Healthy Economies initiative aims to identify and implement policies that advance women’s health and well-being to support their economic participation. To submit your application form, click here. The deadline to submit applications is 31 May 2020. For more information, please visit the APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies website or contact [email protected] with any questions. For further details, please contact: Masyitha Baziad +65 9751 2146 at [email protected] Michael Chapnick +65 9647 4847 at [email protected]

The Asia-Pacific region lags behind other global regions with respect to women’s health and economic participation. Sustainable economic growth cannot be achieved if women, who consist half of the workforce, are unable to fully participate in the economy due to health implications. Since 2014, APEC’s Healthy Women, Healthy Economies (HWHE) initiative convenes government (health, labor, gender officials), private sector, academia and other interested stakeholders to raise awareness and promote good practices to enhance women’s economic participation by improving women’s health. A virtual APEC HWHE Policy Dialogue will be held on March 2, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. (EST) / March 3, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. (SGT). A number of high-level speakers from across government, academia, and the private sector will be participating as speakers in the event. The objective of this policy dialogue is to share how public and private stakeholders across the APEC region can ensure women are not left behind, especially given the impact of COVID-19, as well as to identify and discuss the long-term societal risks if we do not build back better. We hope this policy dialogue will help stakeholders – especially those who might not ordinarily consider gender in their line of work – understand why it is vital to construct a COVID-19 recovery effort that takes into consideration the unique ways women have been impacted by the pandemic.

By Christopher Tremewan December 31, 2020 Original post in SCMP. Concerns about the predatory use of technology, privacy intrusions and worsening social inequalities must be jointly addressed by all stakeholders in society – through sensible regulations, sound ethical norms and international collaboration. In September, it was reported that Zhu Songchun, an expert in artificial intelligence at UCLA, had been recruited by Peking University. It was seen as part of the Chinese government’s strategy to become a global leader in AI, amid competition with the US for technological dominance. In the West, a new US administration has been elected amid anxiety about cyber interference. Tech giants Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google are facing antitrust accusations in the US, while the European Union has unveiled sweeping legislation to enable regulators to head off bad behaviour by big tech before it happens. Meanwhile, Shoshana Zuboff’s bestselling book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism has alerted social media users to a new economic order that “claims human experience as free raw material for hidden commercial practices”. In addition, the public is regularly bombarded with dystopian scenarios (like in Black Mirror ) about intelligent machines taking control of society, often at the service of ruling elites or criminals. The dual character of AI – its promise for social good and its threat to human society through absolute control – has been a familiar theme for some time. Also, AI systems are evolving rapidly, outpacing regulatory processes for social equity and privacy. Especially during a pandemic, the urgent question facing governments, the private sector and universities is how to promote public trust in the beneficial side of AI technologies. One way to build public trust is to deliver for the global common good, beyond national or corporate self-interest. With the world facing crises ranging from the current pandemic to worsening inequalities and the massive effects of climate change, it is obvious that no single country can solve any of them alone. The technological advances of AI already hold out promise in everything from medical diagnosis and drug development to creating smart cities and transitioning to a renewable-energy economy. MIT has reportedly developed an app that can immediately diagnose 98.5 per cent of Covid-19 infections by people just coughing into their phones. A recent report on “AI for Social Good”, co-authored by the UN, Google and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, concluded that AI can help us “build back better” and improve the quality of life. But it also said “the realisation of social good by AI is effective only when the government adequately sets rules for appropriate use of data”. With respect to limiting intrusions on individual rights, it said that “the challenge is how to balance the reduction of human rights abuses while not suffocating the beneficial uses”. These observations go to the core of the problem. Are governments accountable in real ways to their citizens or are they more aligned with the interests of hi-tech monopolies? Who owns the new AI technologies? Are they used for concentrating power and wealth or do they benefit those most in need of them? The report recommends that governments develop abilities for agile regulation; for negotiation with interest groups to establish ethical norms; for leveraging the private sector for social and environmental good; and to build and retain local know-how. While these issues will be approached in different ways in each country, international collaboration will be essential. International organisations, globally connected social movements as well as enhanced political participation by informed citizens will be critical in shaping the environment for regulation in the public interest. At the same time, geopolitical rivalry need not constrain our building of trust and cooperation for the common good. The Covid-19 crisis has shown that it is possible for governments to move decisively towards the public interest and align new technologies to solutions that benefit everyone. We should not forget that, in January, a team of Chinese and Australian researchers published the first genome of the new virus and the genetic map was made accessible to researchers worldwide. International organisations such as the World Health Organization and international collaborations by biomedical researchers also play critical roles in building public trust and countering false information. Universities have played an important role in advancing research cooperation with the corporate sector and in bolstering public confidence that global access takes priority over the profit motive of Big Pharma. For example, the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca will be made available at cost to developing countries and can be distributed without the need for special freezers. Peking University and UCLA are cooperating with the National University of Singapore and the University of Sydney to exchange best practices on Covid-19 crisis management. Competition for international dominance in AI applications also fades as we focus on applying its beneficial uses to common challenges. Global frameworks for cooperation such as the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development or the Paris Climate Agreement set out the tasks. Google, for example, has established partnerships with universities and government labs for advanced weather and climate prediction, with one project focusing on communities in India and Bangladesh vulnerable to flooding. To deal with the use and misuse of advanced technologies like AI, we need a renewed commitment to multilateralism and to neutral platforms on which to address critical challenges. Universities that collectively exercise independent ethical leadership internationally can also, through external partnerships, help to shape national regulatory regimes for AI that are responsive to the public interest. Find out more about the UN ESCAP-APRU-Google AI for Social Good project here.

APRU held its annual 2020 Global Health Conference October 19-21, expanding the APRU Global Health Program’s knowledge-sharing and member-engagement through the network. The 14th APRU Global Health Conference was the first APRU program conference conducted virtually, and it also was the APRU conference with the widest reach, attracting nearly 1,500 contributors and participants from 39 APRU member universities and over 300 external partners across 53 economies. In line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, the conference this year focused on the theme Universal Healthcare across the Life Course. The two keynote speeches were held by Dr Margaret Chan, Inaugural Dean of Tsinghua University’s Vanke School of Public Health and Emeritus Director General of WHO, and Alejandro Gaviria, President of Universidad de los Andes and former Minister of Health and Social Protection, Colombia. “When the WHO was founded in 1947, new diseases were rare, as people travelled internationally by ship and news travelled by telegram, but since then profound changes have occurred in the way humanity inhabits the planet,” Chan said. “Today, very few health threats are local, and climate change, population growth, rapid urbanization, intensive farming practices, environmental degradation, and misuse of anti-microbios are challenges that have disrupted the micro-bio world, leading to a dramatic increase of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases around the world,” she added. The third prominent speaker was Dr Ren Minghui, the WHO’s Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage/ Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases. A panel on migration (focusing on immigration in Ecuador, wellbeing of the migrant care workers in Taiwan, and personal story sharing on human trafficking in Philippines) and women (focusing on women’s voices maternity care in the SDG era, case studies in Malawi and China, and infertility in the Asian community) also garnered much attention. The conference prominently displayed new member participation, as reflected by the Universidad de los Andes’ President Gaviria in his keynote speech endorsing further collaboration with APRU’s Global Health Program, and University of Queensland Professor Gita Mishra and Universidad San Francisco de Quito Professor Maria Amelia Viteri serving as the moderator of the life course plenary and speaker in the migration panel respectively. The other speakers on plenaries were Zhijie Zheng, University Endowed Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Wen Chen, Director, Center for Pharmacoeconomic Research and Evaluation, Fudan University, Fan Wu, Deputy Dean of Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, and Michael Lu Dean of School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. Whereas in APRU’s previous global health conferences a physical polling facilitated the picking of the best video of the Global Health Student Case competition, this year an international judging panel chose seven posters (in graduate and undergraduate categories) and three videos as finalists. The panel then invited all students and faculty to log in the online conference and voted for their favorite works. The winning students have received a prize of USD 500. APRU is delighted to note that the virtual conference was able to reach to a wider range of participants. “One of the key benefits of using a virtual platform is helping to reduce disparities in access to information and best practice sharing for people in middle-income countries who would likely not be able to attend international conferences in person, “said Christopher Tremewan, APRU Secretary General.

By Joyce Lau Original post in THE. Academics urge governments to set up frameworks for ethical use of technology and reaffirm the need for greater multidisciplinarity Asia-Pacific universities could use artificial intelligence to harness their strengths in combating epidemics and other global problems, but only if there were regulatory frameworks to ensure ethical use, experts said. Artificial Intelligence for Social Good, a nearly 300-page report by academics in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, was launched the same day as the event, held by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Google. The research, co-published by APRU and Keio University in Japan, laid out recommendations for using AI in the region to achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). While the report outlined the great potential for AI in the region, it also said that risks must be managed, privacy concerns must be addressed and testing must be conducted before large-scale technology projects were implemented. Christopher Tremewan, APRU’s secretary general and a former vice-president at the University of Auckland, said that Pacific Rim universities “have incredible research depth in the challenges facing this region, from extreme climate events and the global Covid-19 pandemic to complex cross-border problems. Their collective expertise and AI innovation makes a powerful contribution to our societies and our planet’s health.” However, he also said there were potential problems with “rapid technological changes rolled out amid inequality and heightened international tensions”. “As educators, we know that technology is not neutral and that public accountability at all levels is vital,” he said. The APRU, which includes 56 research universities in Asia, Australasia and the west coast of the Americas, is based at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In answering questions, Dr Tremewan drew on his own observations in New Zealand and Hong Kong, two places where Covid responses have been lauded. “The feeling in Hong Kong is that there is tremendous experience from Sars,” he said, referring to a 2003 epidemic. “The universities here have capability in medical research, particularly on the structure of this type of disease, and also in public health strategy.” Meanwhile, in New Zealand, “confidence in science” and the prominence of researchers and experts speaking out aided in the public response. “Universities are playing key roles locally and internationally,” he said, adding that expertise was also needed in policy, communications and social behaviour. “The solutions are multidisciplinary, not only technological or medical.” Soraj Hongladarom, director of the Center for Ethics of Science and Technology at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, and one of the authors of the report, said their work had “broken new ground” in Asia. “We’re trying to focus on the cultural context of AI, which hasn’t been done very much in an academic context,” he said. Professor Hongladarom, a philosopher, urged greater interdisciplinarity in tackling social problems. “Engineers and computer scientists must work with social scientists, anthropologists and philosophers to look beyond the purely technical side of AI – but also at its social, cultural and political aspects,” he said. He added that policy and regulation were vital in keeping control over technology: “Every government must take action – it’s particularly important in South-east Asia.” Dr Tremewan said that, aside from crossing disciplinary boundaries, AI also had to cross national borders. “Universities have huge social power in their local contexts. So how do we bring that influence internationally?” he asked. Find out more about the UN ESCAP-APRU-Google AI for Social Good project here.

Hong Kong, November 10, 2020 – APRU partners with UN ESCAP and Google to launch the AI for Social Good report. This is the third project exploring AI’s impact on Asia-Pacific societies to offer research-based recommendations to policymakers that focus on how AI can empower work towards the 2030 UN Sustainable Development goals. With COVID-19’s ongoing social and economic fallout, the role of AI is even more pronounced in aiding recovery. Researchers’ insights underpin the report’s recommendations for developing an environment and governance framework conducive to AI for Social Good – a term encompassing increasingly rapid technological changes occurring amidst inequality, the urgent transition to renewable energy and unexpected international tensions. Chris Tremewan, Secretary General of APRU commented, “APRU members have incredible research depth in the challenges facing this region, from extreme climate events and the global COVID-19 pandemic to complex cross-border problems. Bringing their expertise and AI innovation together in a collective effort will make a powerful contribution to our societies and the health of the planet.” Jonathan Wong, Chief of Technology and Innovation, United Nations ESCAP said, “We designed the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals with a strong commitment to harness AI in support of inclusive and sustainable development while mitigating its risks. Public policies play a critical role in promoting AI for social good while motivating governments to regulate AI development and applications so that they contribute to aspirations of a sustainable future.” Dan Altman, AI Public Policy, Google shared, “Google and APRU share the belief that AI innovation can meaningfully improve people’s lives. Google introduced the AI for Social Good program to focus our AI expertise on solving humanitarian and environmental challenges. Google is excited to be working with experts across all sectors to create solutions that make the biggest impact.” The report’s multidisciplinary studies provide the knowledge and perspectives of researchers from Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, India, and Australia. Combining local understanding with international outlook is essential for policymakers to respond with regulation that enables international tech firms to contribute to the common good. Here are the key recommendations: Multi-stakeholder governance must push innovation to realize AI’s full potential In addition to overseeing major players controlling data, governance must take manageable risks and conduct controlled testing before large scale tech implementation. Establish standardized data formats and interoperability Information asymmetries create inequities, therefore standardized data formats and interoperability between systems is critical. Address data privacy concerns and protect individual dignity Data needs anonymization, encryption, and distributed approaches. Governments must enforce privacy and individual dignity protection. Incorporating the Asian values of altruism in data governance can also help encourage data sharing for the social good. November is “AI for Social Good Month” featuring investigative discussions, conversations, and policy briefings with leading AI thinkers and doers from Asia and beyond. Visit the Summit here. View the original release here. Media contact: [email protected] / [email protected]

APRU Global Health Working Groups provide a platform for experts and scholars to develop joint-research and share lessons-learnt. During a webinar held in May 2020, experts brought together by the Global Health Bioethics Working Group examined ethical challenges in both research and clinical care associated with COVID-19. The inter-disciplinary and international nature of the event offered participating scholars the unique opportunity to analyze these challenges from diverse perspectives and publish the findings in the Journal of Global Health Science. View the paper here. Find out details about the authors and the webinar here.

AI For Social Good, a partnership between APRU, UN ESCAP and Google, released a new report exploring the impact of AI on societies in the Asia-Pacific region and offering research-based recommendations to policymakers. Providing perspectives of multidisciplinary researchers from Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, India, and Australia, each chapter of the report presents a unique research-based policy paper offering a set of key conclusions and policy suggestions aiming to support and inform policy makers and policy influencers. The report seeks to inform the development of governance frameworks that can help to address the risks and challenges associated with AI, while maximizing the potential of the technology to be developed and used for good. It also furthers understanding for developing the enabling environment in which policymakers can promote the growth of an AI for Social Good ecosystem in their respective countries in terms of AI inputs (e.g., data, computing power, and AI expertise) and ensuring that the benefits of AI are shared widely across society. The AI for Social Good network was launched in December 2018 under the academic lead of Keio University Vice-President, Jiro Kokuryo. It aims to provide a multi-year platform to enable scholars and experts to collaborate with policymakers to generate evidence and cross-border connections. “We worked very hard to come up with a set of recommendations that will make AI truly contribute to the well-being of humankind. I hope this voice from Asia will be heard not only within the region, but by people around the world.” ‘Governments are encouraged to invest in promoting AI solutions and skills that bring greater social good and help us “build back better” as we recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.’ said Mia Mikic, Director of the United Nations ESCAP’s Trade, Investment and Innovation Division. To share the report’s findings with policymakers, industry leaders, and academics from around the region, the Virtual AI for Social Good Summit will be held in November. The series will feature  working and policy insight panels with details to be shared on apru.org soon. Find the full report here. See a press release from Keio University here.

The APRU Global Health Poster Contest 2020 just released seven finalists from total 49 submissions across 15 economies and 26 universities . A prize of USD 500 will be awarded to the winners. The winning team of the undergraduate poster is from University of Santo Thomas. The winner of the graduate poster is from Fudan University. See the posters from the seven finalists here.   Finalists Undergraduate (in an alphabetical order) University of Malawi Zaithwa Matemvu Apatsa Villiera Steve Chilmenji University of Santo Thomas (winner) Mary Kristine Pinpin Chelsea Pineda Krisalene Plazuela Biana Pollo Clare Quimson Gian Carlo Torres University of Oregon Tyra Judge   Graduate (in an alphabetical order) BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences Bikram Adhikari Fudan University (winner) Zhixi Liu Universitas Indonesia Bonardo Prayogo Hasiholan University of Tokyo Maya Fujimura   View all the submissions here.   The APRU Global Health Student Case Competition 2020 challenges young talents to develop and test a new intervention that could help improve the health system of elderly care in the Asia-Pacific. The competition seeks for teams creating cost-effective and culturally-appropriate strategies that are realistic and also creative. In this challenging time, the competition brought together 45 teams from 22 universities in 12 economies (Australia, China, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and the US) to register and develop creative and evidence-based proposals to address the complex issue of elderly care. The videos of three finalist teams are (in an alphabetical order): MoreDoe from Yonsei University The Yellow Jackets from University of Indonesia Toilet Paper Hoggers from The Chinese University of Hong Kong The three runner-up teams were PH Pro (Fudan University), Team Medeavour (The Chinese University of Hong Kong), and Terps for Health (University of Maryland, College Park). The winning team is The Yellow Jackets from University of Indonesia. Total fifteen international judges were invited to review the entries. A prize of USD 500 will be awarded. Watch the finalist videos below.   MoreDoe from Yonsei University   The Yellow Jackets from University of Indonesia   Toilet Paper Hoggers from The Chinese University of Hong Kong

By Laura Lambert The program, part of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, is rooted in collaboration, communication and education. originally published in USC News In the shadow of the United States leaving the World Health Organization, and amid rising international tensions, the work of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Global Health Program, which is housed at USC, is a welcome meeting of the minds, rooted in collaboration and communication, education, rather than politics, sharing, rather than blame. Associate Professor Mellissa Withers of the Keck School of Medicine of USC has been the director of the APRU Global Health Program since 2013. And when the coronavirus pandemic hit, Withers realized it was the perfect time for the conversations at the heart of her program to reach a wider audience. “As this was all starting, I thought, we’re in global health — this is us,” says Withers. “To be able to disseminate the work of the network is impactful.” The pandemic as the great equalizer In May, the APRU Global Health Program hosted a webinar, bringing together five of the leading minds within the network – from Australia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Mexico and Ecuador – to grapple with the most pressing questions in bioethics, from how best to distribute scarce resources to the role that outdated notions of aging play in managing COVID-19. More than 1,000 members from across the Americas, Asia and Australasia signed up – far more than 350 or so members who typically take part in the group’s annual conference. The influx of new participants made a real impression on Christopher Tremewan, PhD, the APRU Secretary General, based in Hong Kong. “This first APRU Global Health webinar also highlighted a key benefit of virtual platforms in helping to reduce disparities in access to information and training for people in middle-income countries who would likely not be able to attend international conferences in person,” he said. Withers agrees, saying, “There is an interest and need.” There was a need, too, to make the webinars more than just a one-way conversation. “We allowed time for questions, versus just listening to somebody, not being able to interact,” says Withers. “We intentionally did that.” After the webinar, members in Singapore and the Philippines sent in additional guidelines for health care workers, further disseminating information in a way that reflects the collaborative nature of the APRU network. “It’s not just an opportunity to talk about bioethics,” says Withers. The webinars provide a way to practice the kind of cross-cultural work that is at the cornerstone of global health. Promoting international conversations in an increasingly global world Connecting across borders and time zones requires certain cross-cultural competencies, not to mention technical logistics – and the APRU Global Health Program webinar was not the first time members have been able to hone such skills. Since 2015, APRU Global Health has also hosted for-credit graduate-level distance education courses on the topics of leadership and ethics, where students and faculty from at least three research universities from across the Pacific Rim come together to investigate and discuss of-the-moment topics from a variety of cultural vantage points. Says Withers, “It’s building the skills they will need in the future.” For USC students who have taken part, the courses have been transformative. Louis Litsas, a lab manager in Toronto who earned his MPH from USC in May, credits the Global Health Leadership course with developing his cultural sensitivity and listening skills. “It was an evolution of my global eyes,” he says. “The COVID experience has shown me that the global perspective is what my vision has to be in the future. It can’t be local anymore.” For Bethany Deford, who took the APRU Global Health Ethics in Research and Practice course in the fall as an elective for her MPH program, the cross-cultural conversations made a huge difference when, after graduation, she returned to work as a traveling nurse in the midst of the pandemic. Ethics were always at the forefront in the ICU, Deford explains, especially as traditional hospital practices were up-ended in the midst of the health care disaster. “It was a lot of preserving dignity and patients’ rights,” she says, of the work she strove to do. And for Diana Dimapindan, who also took the ethics course, the interdisciplinary nature of the course was key. “I’m a policy student,” she explains. “There were lawyers in the class, physicians in the class, and soon-to-be public health policy makers. I think that broad range of students perspectives is what made it so meaningful. And it’s amazing, logistically, that it even works, having all those countries dialing in.” The conversation continues Bioethics was just the first of APRU Global Health Program’s coronavirus-related webinars. In June, a series of eight additional webinars, co-hosted by the APRU Global Health Program and USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, kicked off, grappling with on COVID-19 and how it intersects with, for instance, mental health, environmental health or human rights. “We can look at COVID-19 from many different aspects,” says Withers. “We need engineers, anthropologists, lawyers, psychologists. It’s not just medicine and public health professionals.” The goal of the conversation, then, is to be both international and interdisciplinary – and now, more than ever, students, researchers and faculty around the Pacific Rim are primed for this kind of conversation. “Luckily, people who weren’t paying attention to global health before are interested in what we’ve been talking about,” says Withers. “There’s a general shift in sentiment — and a new appreciation for the importance of the work we do.”

By By Peggy McInerny, Director of Communications, UCLA A group of Bruins minoring in the global health met during the APRU Global Health Student Case Competition. They are now planning careers in the field. The APRU Global Health Student Case Competition gives students an opportunity to practice critical-thinking and problem-solving skills to help solve global health challenges. The competition has brought together young and creative teams of university students to tackle many pressing global health problems with out-of-the-box ideas in helping to facilitate real changes in society.     Originally published by UCLA International Institute.   UCLA International Institute, April 9, 2020 — UCLA students today have an enviable capacity to use multiple communication methods simultaneously when collaborating on a project. It is a skill that will serve them well in the coming months, as all UCLA courses continue remotely due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.The “Gamechangers Team,” a group of global health minors who designed a social media–based health intervention and produced a video about it, have a unique view on the value of communications technology in global health. Over the course of roughly six weeks in spring 2019, six undergraduates (two of whom have since graduated) met once a week in person, exchanged ideas regularly via a smart phone chat room and shared research on project components via Google Docs.The students came together to participate in the annual Global Health Case Competition of the APRU (Association of Pacific Rim Universities), whose 2019 challenge was: “Social Networking Intervention to Promote Physical Activity among Young People in Urban Environments.” The team was comprised of Julia Houshmand (UCLA 2020, molecular, cell, and developmental biology), Franklin Leung (UCLA 2019, microbiology, immunology & molecular genetics), Vera Ong (UCLA 2020, psychobiology), Rene Rosas (UCLA 2019, international development studies), Wendy Tang (UCLA 2021, economics) and Sahej Verma (UCLA 2020, global studies). “I remember that [student counselors] Katie Osterkamp and Magda Yamamoto said, ‘You will be competing with medical students and Ph.D. students.’ — And I thought, ‘Great!’” said Julia Houshmand ironically. “I remember watching some of the past videos — we were very intimidated,” said Vera Ong. “But we just gave it our best shot.” That best shot won the Gamechangers team a place among the three finalists — the first time a UCLA team had placed in this APRU competition. (Bruins have won and placed in several APRU health poster competitions in the past). Building on one another’s ideas and skills The team eventually designed a campus-based intervention that would use competitions between individuals, colleges and professional schools of UCLA (and with other universities in Los Angeles) to build community, increase physical activity and encourage healthier eating. One key idea was to showcase star UCLA athletes interested in pursuing careers in fitness by livestreaming their workouts. Although the International Institute was set to cover the students’ travel costs to attend the 13th APRU Global Health Conference last November, the conference was eventually cancelled due to demonstrations in Hong Kong. In the end, the UCLA team came in third. Surprisingly, the students were remarkably upbeat about the outcome, stressing they had learned so much from the collaborative process. “We went into this not to win the competition, but because we wanted to,” said Houshmand. “It sounded like something that was fun and interesting.” “Stressful, but fun!” added Ong, noting that the team developed their case on a compressed timeline that ran into spring quarter finals. “It was interesting how we all came up with the idea. It wasn’t just one person. Honestly, it was all of us sitting on Kerckhoff Patio and using the Socratic Method, asking: ‘What about this?’ ‘No, no, no, no.’ ‘What about this?’” said Ong. As they progressed, the students divided up research and tasks such as budgeting the hypothetical funding. Franklin Leung, a runner, suggested that the intervention use a Strava application to measure physical activity. He also ended up editing the final case video. “We wanted to create an intervention where people would actually have discussions about exercising together, eating healthier foods and so on,” explained Verma. “We set it up in a competition environment so that if, for example, I and Julia were roommates, we could compete with one another to see how we are doing. The goal was to use those friendly elements to live healthier lives.” A shared interest in global health policy The team members are deeply interested in the social determinants of health, equitable access to health care and health policy. Whether pre-med students, future economists or future health activists, their educations and career goals were a great fit with the video project. Houshmand, for example, is a pre-med senior whose interest in global health was sparked by significant travel and the experience of living between France and the United States for most of her life. “The two countries have very different medical systems,” she remarked. “My classmates in both countries came from a lot of different backgrounds, including refugees and people who were undocumented, and on the other hand, people from the highest levels of society,” she continued. “So I saw a lot of these differences, not just at the level of health, but at the level of access to health care.” “Since I became interested in medicine, I’ve always seen it in a global framework,” explained Houshmand. “When I started taking classes in my global health minor, I realized that I love thinking of solutions and interventions for a health issue not just from a biological standpoint, but also taking into account the historical context, the cultural context, the political climate, etc.” Ong also has significant experience in two countries, having been born in the Philippines before moving to Silicon Valley at a young age. She subsequently traveled frequently to see family in the Philippines. “What really got me into global health was growing up watching my uncle, who is a general surgeon there, serve his community,” she remarked. “Similar to Julia [Houshmand],” she adds, “I have experience of different health care systems and have seen that same lack of access to care,” she adds. Both her interest in global health and her volunteer work in the UCLA chapter of Global Medical Training (2018–2020) deepened her intellectual engagement with health policy. For example, she joined the Health Equity Network of the Americas, where she helped organized international conferences that address topics such as universal health, gender inequality in health access and immigrant health. Doctor in provincial hospital in Bulacan, Philippines. (Photo: ILO Asia-Pacific via Flickr). CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Ong, who plans to become a doctor, eventually came to evaluate potential medical schools partly on the basis of whether they incorporated courses on global and public health in their curricula. “That is a big factor for me in choosing a medical school and in what I want to do in the future,” she said. Houshmand, who is also going to medical school, shook her head in agreement. Verma approaches health policy from a social development perspective, but with insider knowledge of health care — he comes from a family of doctors. An internship for a pharmaceutical lobbying group in Geneva, plus subsequent biotech work experience, helped him define a health policy career direction. Specifically, he seeks to combine health policy with new therapeutic and diagnostic technologies to achieve better health outcomes. To do so successfully, however, requires effective communication. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with a few health economists in the Fielding School of Public Health,” he said, “and I’ve seen how they work to communicate the value of therapeutics and life sciences products to different policy makers to help them devise solutions that will both improve people’s lives and health outcomes.” COVID-19 and its impacts The COVID-19 pandemic has, if anything, increased the interest of the Gamechangers team in global health policy. The race to develop a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infections, for example, directly bears on Verma’s senior thesis. The global studies senior, now an undergraduate research fellow, is researching the role of Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers in developing vaccines against diseases of poverty that are prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. Verma may, in fact, temporarily delay plans to pursue a Ph.D. in health policy and economics so that he can work for the Indian ministry of health as it develops the regulatory infrastructure to speed the development of safe, efficacious and affordable pharmaceuticals. The pandemic is a wake-up call for the United States, said Verma. “Whether it is the inequitable distribution of materials — think therapeutic tools (vaccines), sanitary equipment (masks), life-saving infrastructure (protocols for medical staff in hospitals) or social rigidities (young people not following social distancing norms, while older folks are scared to shop for essential groceries and medicines) — America needs to rethink where its priorities lie as a society,” he continued. An image of the global pandemic in the shape of a COVID-19 molecule. (Image by Miroslava Chrienova courtesy of Pixabay.) “Post–COVID-19 will be a time not only to reconstruct infrastructure, but also to reconcile a communal attitude with productivity arguments,” he remarked. The UCLA student believes that the pandemic will lead many young people to study health policy in order “to challenge existing rationales about mechanisms of healthcare in the USA.” Ong has been struck by how much the pandemic has highlighted pre-existing flaws in public and global health policy. “It exposed just how much our current systems were unprepared for a pandemic such as this, and how much we need to improve as global and local communities,” she commented. “COVID-19 definitely shows the importance of global communication, teamwork and transparency, as well as the importance of forming pre-planned protocols to minimize potential consequences,” she said. Ong, who is currently working with the UCLA Learning Assistants Program to help professors navigate Zoom and better engage their students remotely, is seeing firsthand how time-efficient and useful such interactions can be. “With an increased focus on telemedicine, I can see similar benefits within the medical field,” she said. “By decreasing overall waiting time and providing more scheduling flexibility, telehealth could encourage patients to be more active in consulting physicians overall, increasing doctor-patient interaction and treating illnesses early.” Verma also believes that one outcome of the pandemic will be a revival of doctor-patient interaction. Yet the barriers to effective telemedicine remain significant, with equitable access to communications technologies at the top of the list. “The COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting the gaps in communications infrastructure, with restricted broadband speeds amid increased usage,” he pointed out. How regulators and the government support the adoption of these technologies will be the true litmus test of their efficacy in serving community health needs, insisted Verma. Ong points to additional barriers that must be addressed before telehealth can become a reality, including lack of technological literacy among physicians and patients, hacking dangers and lack of a robust protocol. As for the immediate future, Ong — like Houshmand — heads off to medical school in the fall. Verma will begin working as a research assistant at University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. Expect these Bruins to make their mark on global health policy in the coming decades.   Published: Thursday, April 9, 2020  

APRU and Beijing-based mobile transportation platform Didi Chuxing (DiDi) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration and the development of activities and projects. Currently both organizations are contributing to the APEC Public-Private Dialogue on Sharing Economy and Digital Technology Connectivity for Inclusive Development, which aims to advance economic, financial, and social inclusion in the APEC member economies. APRU participated in the APEC Public-Private Dialogue’s latest seminar with the theme, “Capitalize on Research and Development.” Held on February 12 in Putrajaya, Malaysia, the seminar brought together stakeholders in the science and technology innovation sector to strengthen the ecosystem in promoting R&D and enhancing connectivity within the innovation value chain. “APRU’s large network of researchers, policy-makers and private sector representatives in the Asia-Pacific region makes it the ideal partner for us to jointly explore opportunities for collaborative research, joint projects, education and training, talent development, and academic exchanges, as well as technology transfer and innovation,” said Leju Ma, DiDi’s Senior Expert in International Industries. “We are looking forward to the significant input that APRU will provide for our projects,” he added. On the list of future projects to be explored and developed is the joint organization of side events at relevant UN conferences and cooperation on developing future APEC workshops. Other collaboration opportunities will be provided by the DiDi Engine Initiative, which includes international youth exchange and technology competitions, regional joint AI laboratories, women’s entrepreneurship and empowerment programs, as well as APRU’s support for DiDi’s engagements related to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). In view of the Covid-19 outbreak, APRU and DiDi will work together to share best practice on non-pharmaceutical prevention and control measures with entities outside China, especially in the mobility sector.   Find out the report published by APEC Policy Partnership on Science Technology and Innovation.  About DiDi https://www.didiglobal.com Didi offers on-demand taxi-hailing, private car-hailing, bike-sharing, automotive solutions and smart transportation services to over 550 million users across China, Japan, Latin America and Australia, delivering over 10 billion rides per year.

The APEC “Healthy Women, Healthy Economies” (HWHE) has found that sex-disaggregated data and gender based research and analysis is lacking. Policy makers, business leaders and others do not have adequate data and evidence to draw from to identify gender-specific interventions appropriate for their economies and organizations. To spotlight and spur much-needed data and evidence, Chile, along with Merck’s support, has created an annual prize recognizing research that enables policy makers, business leaders, and others to identify and implement measures to improve women’s health in APEC economies so women can join and rise in the workforce. Dr. Mellissa Withers, Director of the APRU Global Health Program, was chosen to be one of the judges of this contest in 2019. Prize The winner of the prize will win USD $20,000, while the 2 runners-up will win USD $5,000 each. If the winner or runner up is from government then the prize money will be given instead to HealthyWomen (a women’s health not-for-profit). Alternatively, the winner or runners-up may designate a not-for-profit entity to receive the prize money. Please attribute the research to all involved in its making, but only one individual may be nominated and eligible to receive the prize money and present the research. Eligibility In order to be considered for this prize, individuals must submit an original piece of research that is no older than two years of age as of January 1, 2020. All are welcome to apply; you do not require a background in academia in order to be considered. However, the research must be evidence based. Furthermore, the research must be submitted in English. If the research was not originally written in English please have it professionally translated. Application Materials  Application (**Please use this for applying. Send completed version to [email protected]**) APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Application Form APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Prize Flyer For more information, please visit the APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies website. Contact [email protected] for any questions.

APRU is pleased to announce the new release of the book “AI for Everyone: benefitting from and building trust in the technology.” Published on January 28, 2020, the book was written by Jiro Kokuryo, Catharina Maracke, and Toby Walsh.  The project was led by project co-chairs and AI-experts Professors Jiro Kokuryo (Keio) and Toby Walsh (UNSW). The open-access book features APRU’s project and introduces its findings. The project is the result of a discussion series organized by APRU and Google. “Experts from APRU universities greatly contributed to this foundational project in which we built upon for projects such as the Transformation of Work and AI for Social Good,” said Christina Schönleber, APRU Senior Director (Policy and Programs). “It enabled us to actively pursue opportunities to interact with policymakers, businesses, and leaders in society to address major AI-related fears, such as of ‘black box’ machines manipulating human society, unethical uses of AI, and that AI may widen the gap between the rich and the poor,” she added. The project’s first meeting was held in late-2017, laying the groundwork for the crafting of a series of working papers and their resulting policy recommendations. As many as twelve of these AI-related working papers were reviewed at the second meeting in September, reflecting eager participation by APRU members. An accompanying project workshop took on key questions, such as how to establish more trust in AI and how to amplify human intelligence through the use of AI toward beneficial ends. The project’s preliminary outcome was prominently featured by the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council’s State of the Region Report 2018-2019, which fed into the 30th APEC ministerial meeting held in the following month in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. “The title of our book reflects the belief that access to the benefits of AI should be transparent, open, and understood by and accessible to all people regardless of their geographic, generational, economic, cultural and other social background,” said Kokuryo. “We wrote it to strengthen awareness about the nature of the technology, governance of the technology, and its development process, with a focus on responsible development,” he added. The book is available as a paperback edition at cost price. Please see the project overview and policy statement here. Keio and UNSW are the APRU member university leads of this project.  Other involved APRU member institutions include: The Australian National University (Australia), Far Eastern Federal University (Russia), Peking University (China), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, National University of Singapore, Technologico de Monterrey (Mexico), Fudan University (China), University of California Irvine (USA),  Universidad de Chile (Chile), UNSW Sydney (Australia), and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The final in a series of dissemination events presenting the policy recommendations and research from The Transformation of Work project took place on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Christina Schönleber, Director (Policy and Programs) talked in the opening of the Forum about the research conducted by APRU on the impact of automation on the future work on the society and the economies across the Asia Pacific region. The research is available in the APRU published book titled  “Transformation of Work in Asia-Pacific in the 21st Century”. Digitalization and automation are transforming the world on unprecedented scale and speed, and the impacts are felt in all levels of society. Additionally, recent technological advances such as AI-driven innovation and machine learning require a new set of skills for the future workforce. The future workforce will see the transformation of jobs as technological change creates surpluses of workers and skills in some occupations while creating demands for new skills and jobs in others. The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), supported by Google, has conducted a serial of discussions and policy recommendations under Forum Kebijakan Ketenagakerjaan (FKK), a multi-stakeholder platform in labor issues through discussion and dissemination. Yose Rizal Damuri (CSIS) opened the public seminar and introduce FKK which is to stimulate discussion, accommodate multi-stakeholders perspectives and formulate policy recommendations from evidence-based research. The forum has been successfully held and produce some fruitful debates among researchers, policymakers, the private sector and labor unions. After that, Christina Schönleber (APRU) explains that APRU has conducted a research on the impact of automation on the future work on the society and the economies across the Asia Pacific and held discussions between academia, governments, and industries. The objectives of the projects are to understand digital technology, automation challenges and benefits in relation to the future of work; inform the discussion among researchers, policy-makers and civil society on possible direction and solutions; and publish and widely disseminate a data-driven study with key focus on APAC region. Faizal Yahya (National University of Singapore) explains that Singapore has a tiny workforce and an aging demographic. There is a growing fear of losing jobs and influx of foreign laborers which creates a negative impression that their jobs are taken away by foreigners. Also, it is necessary to create new jobs for old workers or to reskill them. To prepare for the changes in the future. The government has undertaken several initiatives. First, the government launched SkillsFuture in 2015 to give training to graduates and provide courses for reskilling especially for mature workers under the Ministry of Education. From the demand side, the Committee of Future Economy (CFE) created an Industry Transformation Map (ITM) and assigned different agencies to help different industries sectors since there are more SMEs than larger companies in Singapore. Thirdly, to support the manufacturing sector, the government establish Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI), which helps companies to architect their industry 4.0 roadmap through The Prioritization Matrix. Lastly, the government tried to solve the mature workers’ problem through Workforce Singapore (WSG) Adapt and Grow Initiative. The Forum hosted speakers from Asian Institute of Management, National University of Singapore (NUS), The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), in addition to a number of Indonesian educational organizations. The speakers addressed important topics related to the impact of recent technological advances (i.e. AI-driven innovation, machine learning, etc.) on the workforce. They highlighted main challenges faced by the workforce including obsolete education material, expiration of skills in the light of rapid technological changes, and heavy rates of young unemployment in Indonesia. “Education will have to be reimagined”, said Jikeyong Kang from the Asian Institute of Management. The interactive talk-show panel drew participants’ attention to developing solutions to the discussed challenges. The expansion of the Indonesian Government effort to keep the education system updated and relevant to the industry demands was suggested.  Meanwhile, continuous training of existing workforce is necessary to keep up with technological trends and deal with the lack of talent in certain fields.

APRU congratulates Dr. Juhwan Oh, a long-standing member of the APRU Global Health Program’s advisory group, for the successful launch of the Journal of Global Health Science (JGHS). The open-access, peer-reviewed international online journal officially published by the Korean Society of Global Health advances research to support policy, practice, and education in the field of global health by publishing papers of high scientific quality from diverse stakeholders in the global health community. JGHS’s focus is on under-served populations in the low- and middle-income nations and marginalized groups within otherwise prosperous nations. As a reflection of the successful start, JGHS will turn to quarterly publication this year, from biannually during the inaugural year 2019. APRU sees JGHS as playing an important role. Although unparalleled improvements in living conditions, poverty reduction, and life expectancies were made in the last century, many more global challenges lie ahead, including aging, urbanization, migration, environmental degradation, rising rates of chronic diseases, as well as social and economic inequalities. “Confronting the health challenges of our modern world requires challenging conventional wisdom with new ideas that reflect the changing global landscape; the launch of JGHS is an important step in advancing global health by creating a platform to share and debate scholarly research from around the world,” said Dr. Mellissa Withers, Director, APRU Global Health Program. “I am pleased to see that the focus of the JGHS is under-served populations in low- and middle-income economies and marginalized groups in high-income economies, and I am certain that JGHS will expand the opportunity to share high quality scientific work through an open-access format,” she added. JGHS places special focus on the following topics: reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child, and adolescent health; infectious diseases, including neglected tropical diseases; non-communicable diseases including cancer and mental health; injury; humanitarian aid; nutrition; universal health coverage; health law; global health workforce; health systems; surgery; health technologies; people centeredness; and health policy. The journal specially aims to focus on interconnecting diverse key stakeholders: community leaders; national and local members of parliament; national and local health officials; professionals from academic institutions; non-state actors; clinical and laboratory experts; and multilateral and bilateral agency officials. The scope of JGHS accommodates diverse styles of submissions including Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Short Research Notes, Editorial, Comments, and Letters from Field. Special niches within JGHS include articles on scientific program evaluation as well as any debating comments on official development aid.

APRU Global Health Program released its latest report on Workplace Wellness (WW) finding that although many universities have implemented a range of programs designed to promote employee health and well-being, these programs are often not designed in a strategic or comprehensive way. The report was initiated at the Global Health Conference 2016, a special workshop on workplace wellness was held on the first day of the conference. A Sydney Statement on Employee Health and Well-being was announced and called on our universities to fulfil the responsibility to their employee’s health and well-being. Responding to this call, the report is based on an online survey conducted by the APRU Global Health Program (GHP) and completed by 29 universities in 13 Asia-Pacific economies in 2018. The survey aimed to assess the range and scope of employee health and wellness programs at universities in the Asia-Pacific; evaluate gaps and challenges; and facilitate the crafting of recommendations. “We identified a number of innovative and successful workplace wellness programs that our member universities offer, such as fitness challenges and health screenings, but programs relating to mental health, violence, and smoking cessation are especially lacking,” Prof Mellissa Withers of USC says. “The results demonstrate that the main perceived challenge of workplace wellness programs is lack of employee participation,” she adds. The survey suggests that participation suffers from a lack of protected time for employees to engage in WW programs. It also found that few universities offered financial rewards (such as discounts for health insurance or salary bonuses) for employees who have healthy lifestyles. The report moreover cited universities’ insufficient usage of social media or mobile phone messaging to disseminate health information to employees. Among the commendable case studies highlighted are The University of Hong Kong’s Walking Challenge, which entails a goal number of steps for the HKU community to walk together. In October 2018, the challenge expanded to involve over 1,500 people from more than 17 countries and amassed 463,447,412 steps—equivalent to walking 7 times around the world. Another case study is the Domestic Violence Support Policy by The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, which supports members who are directly or indirectly experiencing domestic violence, including by offering paid domestic violence leave of up to 10 days. The University of Southern California, for its part, offers an attractive reward scheme for smoking cessation, with staff and faculty who do not use tobacco or commit to enroll in a tobacco cessation program receiving a $25 reduction per month in paycheck contributions for their medical plan.   Download the report >> The APRU Global Health Program, launched in 2007, is hosted by the University of Southern California and is led by Program Director, Professor Mellissa Withers. By facilitating collaboration and enhancing regional dialogue, the APRU Global Health Program works to bridge health divides, promoting and protecting population health and meeting shared health challenges.

AI Policy for the Future: Can we trust AI? Date & Time: August 23 from 9 am to 5 pm Venue: Korea Press Center, 20th floor, International Conference Hall   Seoul National University Initiative will host a one-day conference focusing on AI trust for the future. The conference will invite AI experts and scholars from academia, industry, and government to address the current concerns on accountability and enhance social beneficial outcomes related to AI governance through technology, policy, and law. Considering the critical issues such as fairness and equity will be analyzed on both a macro and micro level to develop key recommendations on the responsible use of AI. Find out the program here.

The APRU Report, Transformation of Work in Asia-Pacific in the 21st Century, was launched in Singapore on July 11, 2019. Dr Faizal bin Yahya, Senior Research Fellow at Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), contributed Singapore’s case studies to the sixth chapter of the report, which highlights the advances Singapore has made in introducing digitalization in its economy and offered suggestions on future related initiatives. This report also emphasized the need for greater synergy between academia and industry to help workers remain employable in a fast-evolving business environment and a digital economy. The event started with an overview of APRU and project developments introduced by the APRU International Secretariat. Follow up the project’s major findings and policy recommendations were presented by Prof Tam Kar-Yan who is the project lead of this collaborative work and the Dean of the Business School, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Dr Faizal was a moderator in the following panel chairing an in-depth discussion on Singapore’s cases. The panelists included Mr Patrick Tay, Director of Legal and Strategy and Assistant Secretary-General of National Trades Union Congress, Dr Jaclyn Lee, Chief Human Resources Officer and Senior Fellow and SUTD Academy of Singapore University of Technology and Design and, Mr Abhijit Chavan, Director of Intelligent Automation, PwC South East Asia Consulting. The key themes behind the ensuing discussions revolved around a mindset shifting and industry transformation. Most participants agreed that it was important to have leaders with a long-term vision within organizations to promote digital transformation in the workplace in an organic and non-hostile approach. It was noted that many people especially workers were unaware of the changes were occurring. As such, most of them were unprepared when disruptions impacted their work or displaced them. Adapting to a transformative work environment is also important. There has been an accelerated growth in technology advancements to a point that pessimism tends to dominate the minds of workers that they fear many jobs will be automated away. It is, therefore, necessary to equip workers with relevant new skills that are needed for the digital economy. The training of workers necessitates the transformation of educational institutions. Graduates now need to be equipped with broader skillsets to promote flexibility and agility in a transformative landscape. Computational skills are also necessary in many fields such as human resources though it should be introduced in a way where there is buy-in from the workers themselves.   See the photos here.

APRU members participated in the APEC Closing the Digital Skills Gap Forum, held in Singapore in mid-July. The forum gathered representatives from 16 APEC economies to explore policy options that can strengthen digital skills and the digital economy, with Project DARE taking central stage. APRU members participating in the forum were Bernard Tan, Senior Vice Provost of the National University of Singapore; Fidel Nemazo, Vice Chancellor for Research and Development of the University of Philippines (UP); Eugene Rex Jalao, Associate Professor of University of the Philippines; and Kar Yan Tam, Dean of the School of Business and Management of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). “With the imminent need to facilitate the transition of workforce in the age of disruption, Project DARE provides a tripartite platform for governments, academia and business across the APEC economies to discuss human capital development in data science and analytics,” said Kar Yan Tam. “This platform connects all of us closely together to manage the transformation wisely,” he added. Project DARE (abbreviation of data analytics raising employment) is an APEC initiative seeking to facilitate development of a data science and analytics (DSA)-enabled workforce across the APEC region to address the skills shortage in DSA. The Closing the Digital Skills Gap survey launched by the forum and prepared by Wiley, an education and professional training solutions provider, showed that 75 per cent of respondents – comprised of employers, government officials, and academics – perceive the existence of a significant skills mismatch. At the forum, participants finalized a roadmap to support and scale-up skills development and reskilling programs carried out by employers, governments, and educational institutions across APEC. Tam explained how HKUST has leveraged the Recommended APEC Data Science & Analytics Competencies to inform curriculum in data science and technology, including a full undergraduate degree track. Fellow APRU member Jalao highlighted Philippine projects in high-impact investments in digital upskilling and reskilling, including an ambitious pilot model to train 30,000 workers over three years led by the Analytics Association of the Philippines (AAP). Indeed, the pilot project has been one of the first models to implement the Recommended APEC Data Science & Analytics Competencies. The Project DARE timeline for 2018 entailed more than 60 participants sharing models how to bridge the digital skills gap, as well as the development of case studies on Recommended APEC Data and Science & Analytics (DSA) Competencies. On the 2019 timeline are the presentation, finalization and beginning implementation of a collective version and roadmap in APEC to support efforts to upskill and reskill at scale. Implementation of the roadmap is envisioned for the 2020-2025 period.  

On Wednesday, June 5, a kick-off meeting for the “AI for Social Good ― a United Nations ESCAP-APRU-Google Collaborative Network and Project” was held at Keio University’s Mita Campus. The project brought together 8 scholars from all across Asia Pacific under the academic lead of Keio’s Vice-President Professor Jiro Kokuryo for the meeting, with the support of UN ESCAP and Google, and organization by the APRU-Association of Pacific Rim Universities. The scholars, encompassing a wide range of academic backgrounds from technical aspects of AI such as computer science to ethical views including philosophy, had lively discussions on their research plans as well as providing mutual feedback, alongside representatives from the project organizations ― UN ESCAP, Google, and APRU. Their work at meetings set to take place over the coming year will be published as a policy recommendation paper for government policymakers and other stakeholders including those in industry, NGOs, and academic institutions. Originally published by Keio University  Vice-President Professor Jiro Kokuryo Chairs Meeting of AI for Social Good ― A United Nations ESCAP-APRU-Google Collaborative Network and Project                          

The inaugural APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Research Prize is now accepting applications for outstanding research that strives to improve women’s health, economic well being, and inclusive growth. The winning entry will receive USD $20,000 and two runners-up will receive USD $5,000 each. Theme The prize aims to highlight and spur the creation of sex-disaggregated data and gender-based research that will help decision-makers make more evidence-based policies to improve the lives of women and strengthen the regional economy. Based on The Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Policy Toolkit, the five research topics are: workplace health and safety health awareness and access sexual and reproductive health gender-based violence work/ life balance Requirement Individuals must submit an original piece of research that is no older than two years as of January 1, 2019. Applicants may be individuals or teams (with one leader listed) who are from an APEC economy. No academic background required. The research must be evidence-based and addresses at least one of the topics outlined in the toolkit. The research must be submitted in English. Find out the full list of requirements. Must be an APEC member economy. Submission & Deadline To submit your application form, click here. The deadline to submit applications is July 5, 2019. Prize The winner of the prize will win USD $20,000, while the 2 runners-up will win USD $5,000 each. If the winner or runner up is from government then the prize money will be given instead to NGOs. See details here. The top three finalists will have the opportunity to present their research to members of the APEC Women and the Economy Forum in La Serena, Chile. The prize winner will be announced at the annual Women Leaders’ APEC Roundtable during the 2019 APEC CEO Summit in Santiago, Chile in November 2019. APEC CEO Summit is Asia-Pacific’s most influential meeting of business and government leaders. Contact Contact [email protected] with any questions.  

With youth unemployed rising in the Asia Pacific in 2017, policymakers have to bridge the gap between a critically low supply of highly skilled professionals and the urgent demand among employers for a skilled workforce. By 2020, the global shortage of highly-skilled workers is expected to reach 38-40 million. Current advances in the digital age require the collection and interpretation of big data. Employees with the ability to gather, analyze and draw practical conclusions from big data, as well as communicate these findings to others are forecasted to be among the most in demand. Labor markets are in dire need of professionals trained in data science and analytics, and shortages are severe enough to constrain economic growth. In response to APEC’s policy goals on human capital development, Project DARE – Data Analytics Raising Employment – was created to address the current shortage of employees skilled in data science and analytics, which has resulted in billions of dollars in lost revenue annually. The project brought together business, government and academic leaders to develop a set of ten Recommended APEC Data Science and Analytics Competencies to serve as a resource to equip academic institutions and training providers across APEC economies to align curricula, courses and programs to fill this gap between skills and employer demand. APRU Experts joined the Project Advisory Group Meeting taking place in Singapore to actively supported the development of the APEC Data analytics Competencies. At the inaugural APEC University Leaders’ Forum, in Dan Nang, Vietnam, Dr. Christopher Tremewan, APRU Secretary General, and Mr. Clay Stobaugh, Vice President of The Wiley Network and Co-Chair of APEC Project DARE announced a new partnership committed to bridge the projected skills-gap in the Asia Pacific. See more details about the here recommended APEC DAS Competencies here Find out more about the project here Download attachments: APEC_Project_DARE_2018_Workshop_Agenda_2_October  

APRU provided valuable recommendations to shape APEC’s health-related agenda at the third Senior Official Meetings (SOM3) held in mid-August in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. At the APEC “Healthy Women, Healthy Economies” workshop,” Mellissa Withers, Director of the APRU Global Health Program and Associate Professor at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, presented on the assessment of workplace wellness programs implemented by universities in the Asia-Pacific region with a specific focus on gender. The assessment is based on a recent survey of APRU members, who represent collectively more than 140,000 staff and approx. 2 million students, regarding their range and scope of employee health and wellness programs. Withers pointed out that the survey showed the top priority was chronic diseases, with violence prevention being last priority. Among the other findings cited were low employee engagement in programs, lack of budget, and programs often being regarded as low priority. Many programs were “token” as opposed to comprehensively or strategically designed, and data is not being routinely collected. “We recommend regular, in-depth, mandatory sexual harassment trainings and more formal protocols for handling complaints,” Withers said. “Universities should implement specific, written policies on discrimination, and workplace culture should be more supportive of women and less tolerant of violence and abuse,” she added. Withers went on to represent the APRU Global Health Program at the 8th APEC High Level Meeting on Health and the Economy (APEC HLM8). Her presentation at APEC HLM8 addressed the wide-reaching consequences when primary health care does not adequately support women with a focus on economic loss. Among Withers’ recommendations were routine screenings, more victims services, shelters and hotlines, as well as the establishment of sexual violence units in police, hospitals and primary care facilities. “The availability of counseling and support services with collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams must be ensured, and there should be workplace support programs for women experiencing intimate partner violence,” Withers urged. “There also is a need for more relevant national policy and formal legislation with designated budget,” she added. The APEC HLM8’s keynote addresses were held by Honorable Sir Dr. Puka Temu, Minister of Health and Chair-APEC HLM8, Papua New Guinea, and Dr. Shin Young-soo, Regional Director, World Health Organization – Western Pacific Region. A ministerial panel on putting people at the center of health care through primary health care included panelists: Honorable Michiyo Takagi, State Minister of Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan; Honorable Shih-Chung Chen, Minister of Health and Welfare, Chinese Taipei; and Honorable Dr. Puka Temu. APRU’s contributions to the SOM3 reflects its strong commitment to continue actively feeding into APEC’s health-related agenda. The aim is to inform policy makers and collaborate on activities supporting economic development of the region.

The winners of the APRU Global Health Program Conference Student Poster Contest 2018 emerged from 36 excellent submissions from students from 10 economies. They were judged by APRU Global Health Advisory Group members. The winners are: UNDERGRADUATE 1st Place: Anak Agung Diyananda Paramita (Warmadewa University) 2nd Place: Bonardo Hasiholan (University of Indonesia) 3rd Place: Megan Ren, Jason Zhang, Rishi Makkar, Nicolas Gonzalez, Mili Patel (University of California, Los Angeles)   GRADUATE 1st Place: Mengge Han (Fudan University) 2nd Place: Jocelyn Dracakis (The University of Sydney) 3rd Place: Sarah Lawrence, Betty Nguyen, Jacqueline Pei (University of California, Los Angeles)   The 1st prize winners in each category will receive a USD$100 gift card during the awards ceremony at the annual APRU Global Health conference 2018 which is going to be hosted by University of Malaya on October 28-30, 2018. All student posters will also be presented at the conference.

For this year’s inaugural APRU Global Health Program Case Competition student teams were encouraged to consider a balance of innovative yet realistic, evidence-based solutions for the competition challenge Preparing Pacific Rim Countries for Natural Disasters’. The plot created for this case study is fictional and bears no direct reflection to any existing organisation or individual and was created exclusively for use in the 2016 APRU Global Health Case Competition. Any reuse, reproduction, or distribution of this case material must be approved by the USC Institute for Global Health or APRU. For questions, please contact Mellissa Withers at [email protected]. Here are the videos of the winning team, Our Lady of Fatima University and the finalist teams from Tohoku University and Kyoto University: Winning Team: Our Lady of Fatima University Finalist Teams: Tohoku University and Kyoto University (L-R)