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

Covid-19 has widened the gap already felt in STEM education, exerting pressure on the academic community to respond with new inclusive teaching practices. According to a recent paper, “Teaching in Virtual Environments: Global Educational Development to Respond to Challenges and Opportunities of the COVID-19 Pandemic” academic institutions have the opportunity to build capacity among faculty to respond to the shift in education brought on by COVID-19 by training their educators and implementing strategies outlined in the panel discussion. Valuable food for thought was delivered in late-2021 at APRU’s panel on innovation in STEM Education as part of the THE Teaching Excellence Summit hosted by Nankai University, China. Dr Mellissa Withers, Associate Professor, University of Southern California, and Program Director of the APRU Global Health Program moderated the session and opened the panel, “It has been challenging to keep an innovative mindset in shaping the learning experiences of students in various learning environments during this time of upheaval and transformation of traditional academic environments. This panel is designed to inspire new ways that STEM faculty can teach with student-centered teaching methods.” “At The Chinese University of Hong Kong, we encountered a lot of issues in ensuring active participation in remote learning, but a shift to the students-as-partners concept worked out very rewarding,” said Vivian Wy Lee, Associate Professor at CHUK’s Centre for Learning Enhancement and Research and the University Associate Dean of Students. “It involved translational co-creation projects with students from various backgrounds, such as health, engineering and science, and this diversity of participants made everybody think out of the box,” she added. Robert Thomson, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Hawai’i at Manoā, explained how a course of conversation biology benefited from the shift to remote learning despite the university traditionally relying heavily on people personally knowing each other. “Conversation biology is a very broad field, involving statistical modelling, field work activities on endangered plants and animals as well as cultural practices to build sustainable communities,” Thomson said. “While the conventional approach was to get experts from these fields to come into our classes to comment and participate, the shift to video calls made us successfully reach out also to experts who are geographically far from Hawai’i,” he added. Eleanor “Elly” Vandegrift, Program Director for Global Science Education Initiative, Global Studies Institute, Division of Global Engagement, University of Oregon, recalled how she during the pandemic thought a lot about how to create classrooms that work under the new circumstances and then came across a pioneering paper from 1999 that investigated issues associated with online learning. The paper identified the three key elements social presence (students and teachers get to know each other); cognitive presence (during classes and between classes); and teaching presence (the structure created by the teacher to teach online). “I overlaid this with what I want to do and arrived at a structure that makes sure that the students always introduce themselves to each other and that there always are breakout rooms and warm-up questions,” Vandegrift said. “It is crucial to ensure that students and teachers see each other as people with lives outside the classrooms,” she added. Tim Woo, Associate Professor of Engineering Education at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering, shared how HKUST grouped students from different backgrounds, such as business, science, and humanities, and assigned them with the creation of STEM workshops. Some of these workshops used robots, with the target participants being senior elementary and junior high school students. “Some of these young students had learning disabilities, and our university students were tasked with empowering these students in our STEM workshops,” Woo said. “This created a strong ‘think out of the box’ effect and made our STEM education approach truly inclusive,” he added. More information about the event and the recording at here.

By Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (HKCMCL) Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (HKCMCL) is sharing this call for proposals with international universities (outside of Hong Kong SAR) to host the Online Entrepreneurship Boot Camp as part of the Cyberport University Partnership Programme (CUPP) focused on FinTech. CUPP Entrepreneurship Boot Camp: Hosting University Expectations and Responsibilities Universities will design an online interactive entrepreneurship bootcamp programme for up to 25 Hong Kong student teams. Universities will develop and conduct a nurturing programme, which comprises of vibrant and interactive learning environment, with a combination of lectures, simulations and group discussions. The nurturing programme will inspire CUPP team’s thinking, drive innovation and to take their projects to new levels of development. Responsibilities include: Design and conduct assessment e.g. written test to help select the suitable 25 teams among the nominated teams to join CUPP. Invite and confirm a training team, which includes professional trainers, facilitators and mentors, and industry speakers (with expertise in FinTech is preferred) in areas important to CUPP teams for successful project development such as but not limited to strategies, market and trends, start-up finance and investment, governance, leadership and change, etc. The training team will share their experience, professional knowledge, significant entrepreneurial mind-set that empowering the budding entrepreneurs. Recommendation on pre-camp and post-camp activities held in Hong Kong to get the CUPP teams ready for the Entrepreneurship Boot Camp and the Hong Kong Demo Day. Bootcamp format and resources: The Online Entrepreneurship Boot Camp must contain 30 hours or more training hours, including at least 20 hours of seminars, 5 hours of FinTech guest speakers, 5 hours group activities and 2 hours of professional advice consultation per team. The consultants for professional advice should have knowledge in FinTech or experience in startup. The consultants should provide advice on project development for the teams to get ready for Demo Day. Provide study materials including reading material before the Online Entrepreneurship Boot Camp and homework to the CUPP teams prior/during the Online Entrepreneurship Boot Camp. Provide one (1) trainer representative or delegate from the Service Provider organisation to be the judging member of the Hong Kong Demo Day. Provide one (1) representative or delegate from the Service Provider organisation to attend the Graduation Ceremony and award the Certificate of Completion to CUPPers on stage. Provide one (1) additional training-related service and explain in detail including number of beneficiaries, examples of additional training-related service could be networking event, physical activities in Hong Kong or overseas after Boot Camp, company visit etc. More information about the programme here. The Schedule of the tendering Tender Briefing Session via Zoom Session 1 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. on 7 May 2021 (Hong Kong Time)Session 2 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. on 7 May 2021 (Hong Kong Time) Deadline for Questions raised by Tenderers 5:00 p.m. on 19 May 2021 (Hong Kong Time) Publication of answers to questions by Tenderers 5:00 p.m. on 21 May 2021 (Hong Kong Time) Date for lodging of tender 12:00 nn on 22 June 2021 (Hong Kong Time) Tender Presentation (Tenderers could present in person or on Zoom) 29 & 30 June 2021 (Hong Kong Time) (The exact presentation date and time will be released on 24 June 2021) To attend the tender briefing session via Zoom please fill in this form. To Apply Complete ‘Reply to Tender Notice’ (Annex A) and ‘Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Undertaking’ (Annex B) on the above form to express interest. Register on Cyberport eProcurement system Once the Cyberport eProcurement registration is completed, login here and view tender document with a password provided by Cyberport.   For enquiries, please contact Anya Wong at [email protected] If you are interested to apply, please contact Jackie Wong at [email protected] for APRU International Secretariat notice.

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/our-work/pacific-rim-challenges/global-health/

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.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to benefit many sectors while it may greatly impact societal structures. For example, it is widely expected that the future of work will be considerably transformed by the ubiquity of AI in this digital era. However, current research remains limited in terms of how AI can positively transform economies and societies, while addressing governance and policy needs, as well as assessing key areas of concern relating to the technology. In order to fill this gap, APRU, United Nations ESCAP and Google have come together to set up a new research network, called, ‘AI for Social Good’, which was officially launched at the start of the Asia-Pacific AI for Social Good Summit in Bangkok on December 13, 2018. Launch of the Asia-Pacific AI for Social Good Summit in Bangkok, Thailand The AI for Social Good network will provide a multi-year platform to enable scholars and experts to collaborate with policymakers to generate evidence and cross-border connections on “AI for Social Good”, while promoting an enabling policy environment at both domestic and international levels. “ESCAP has a mandate to strengthen the regional technology and innovation agenda through our role as a think tank, policy adviser and convener,” says Armida Alisjahbana, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary. “We hope that multi-stakeholder partnerships, such as the ones we are launching here today, will support member States in their efforts to harness technology and innovation in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals.” Armida Alisjahbana, UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Although AI’s revolutionary prowess is well known; it is yet to be extensively applied to scale and sustain impact for all in important sectors, such as education and social inclusion. The AI for Social Good collaboration is about supporting policy framework, which ultimately will benefit the population across the Asia Pacific through sharing the best practices and solutions to promote its benefits. This project is a continuation of APRU’s previous Google-collaborated AI research project, namely AI for Everyone: Benefitting from and Building Trust in the Technology. This project initiative will see scholars across the region developing and publishing a collection of research-based policy recommendation papers to influence the development of policy process to support AI for Social Good. Keio University Vice-President, Jiro Kokuryo, is the academic lead and will be supported by a Steering Committee, bringing together policymakers and experts from across Asia. Policymakers, industry, universities and other stakeholders will convene to utilize the research results to develop partnerships to grow and sustain the use of AI for social good. “This network will bring together leading academics from around the region to produce research on how to promote the use of AI for social good and how best to manage risks and concerns,” says Kent Walker, Google Senior Vice-President of Global Affairs. “It will also be a forum for these academics to discuss their research with government, civil society and the private sector.” (L-R): Jake Lucchi, Google Head of AI Policy, APAC; Jiro Kokuryo, Keio University Vice President; Christina Schönleber, APRU Director Policy and Programs; Atsuko Okuda, ESCAP Chief ICT and Development Section; Marta Pérez Cusó, UN ESCAP Economic Affairs Officer at the Asia-Pacific AI for Social Good Research Network event (L-R): Jake Lucchi, Google Head of AI Policy, APAC; Jiro Kokuryo, Keio University Vice President; Christina Schönleber, APRU Director Policy and Programs Kent Walker, Google Senior Vice President of Global Affairs AI for Social Good project’s first meeting is planned in Tokyo alongside the G20 Summit, while it is planned to hold a second meeting and stakeholder event in Bangkok, Hong Kong or Tokyo, in the winter of 2019-2020. The submitted papers will be collated into a final report to be published in June 2020, and disseminated widely by UNESCAP and Google. Find out more photos of the event here.