We are pleased to welcome the following presidents who will serve on the APRU Steering Committee, the executive body of the network which oversees its strategy, policy, programs and finances, for the year 2024-2025. Steering Committee members (in alphabetical order of the name of universities): Rocky TUAN, Vice-Chancellor and President, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, APRU Chair Dawn FRESHWATER, Vice-Chancellor, The University of Auckland, APRU Vice Chair Kohei ITOH, President, Keio University Teck Hua HO, President, Nanyang Technological University Singapore TAN Eng Chye, President, National University of Singapore Honglim RYU, President, Seoul National University Joy JOHNSON, President and Vice-Chancellor, Simon Fraser University Kuiling DING, President, Shanghai Jiao Tong University David GARZA, President, Tecnológico de Monterrey Xiang ZHANG, President and Vice-Chancellor, The University of Hong Kong Deborah TERRY AO, Vice-Chancellor and President, The University of Queensland Rosa DEVÉS, Rector, Universidad de Chile Gary MAY, Chancellor, University of California, Davis Pradeep KHOSLA, Chancellor, University of California, San Diego Carol FOLT, President, University of Southern California A special thanks to Chancellor Gene Block, UCLA who is stepping down from the APRU Steering Committee and retiring as the 6th Chancellor of UCLA since 2007. He has served on the APRU Steering Committee for 11– years and 7 years—as APRU Chair. Chancellor Block was honored at the APRU Annual Presidents’ Dinner Gala Dinner with a Certificate of Appointment as APRU Ambassador for his longstanding stewardship of APRU. Comprising elected presidents representing various regions of Asia-Pacific, the Steering Committee is responsible for driving the activities of the association and giving direction to its impact and advocacy work across the region. Click here for the biographies of Steering Committee members.

Addressing the impact of climate change on oceans and coastal communities requires input from all academic disciplines, an emphasis on collaboration and greater involvement of local communities. The importance of connectivity was foregrounded at the annual meeting of university presidents of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) held at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, this week under the theme: “Oceans – The World’s Challenges Divide Us, the Ocean Currents Connect Us”. The conference, held from 24 to 26 June and attended by over 120 heads and representatives of 61 APRU member universities which span Asia, the Pacific, North America and Latin America, delivered an overview of what a diverse range of universities are doing to address climate change and its effects on the ocean through research, student activities and working with communities. But the conference also noted it was vital for researchers to partner with other sectors, including industry, to make a bigger impact. 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. University of Auckland Vice-Chancellor and APRU Vice-Chair Dawn Freshwater, in opening remarks, noted the Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean basin in the world, covering more than 30% of the Earth’s surface and holding more than half the Earth’s open water supply. “Our region confronts many existing and emerging sustainability and geopolitical challenges,” she said. “We’re in the South Pacific and not only species but other whole islands and their communities are threatened, just on our back door step. I’m referring to the small island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. We’re already seeing people from these islands migrate due to worsening climate conditions,” she added. Freshwater’s comments were made against the backdrop of figures from UNESCO’s 2020 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission report which show that member states allocate just 1.7% of research budgets to ocean sciences. Imminent challenges include rising sea temperatures affecting the marine ecosystem, severe biodiversity loss, frequent extreme weather and ocean acidification. Freshwater spoke in the wake of a powerful Maori welcoming ceremony known as pwhiri led by Michael Steedman, Kaiarataki deputy pro vice-chancellor, Maori Waipapa Taumata Rau (Auckland university’s Maori name), which set the tone of the gathering, many sessions of which were led by Maori and Pacific leaders. ‘We are the ocean’ In a keynote speech titled “Think like a fish – an ocean-centric vision”, Dan Hikuroa, associate professor of Maori Studies at the University of Auckland said: “Runaway climate change, massive biodiversity loss, an intolerable social and environmental inequality among people are simply the three most serious symptoms of the same root problem. They must be tackled together.” Hikuroa argued that historically, European explorers had a terrestrial vision of the islands as “isolated dots” in the vast Pacific Ocean. But, “Oceania is vast. Oceania is expanded. Oceania is hospitable and generous. The Oceania is us; we are the ocean,” he said. While noting a focus on climate change, particularly in the world’s media, Simon Thrush, director of the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Auckland, said it was important to recognise that “we’re in the middle of a biodiversity crisis and that we’re in the middle of a sustainability crisis”. To tackle these “we need to work with people. The problems were generated by people, the solutions will be generated by people,” Thrush said. The challenge is how universities can work with societies “that are often uninformed”. Indigenous-led research During a discussion by a panel of university vice-chancellors and presidents on “Navigating the Tides”, Bill Flanagan, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta in Canada, said the university was working with indigenous communities in the region to improve their nutrition standards. The project known as Arramat brings together 19 Canadian and 14 international universities, and involves 140 indigenous-led research projects. “This is a project that is working in 24 countries around the world in 30 different languages, looking at Indigenous food systems and economic effects, and in particular the impact that climate change is having on Indigenous food systems and economic wellbeing, and the way in which Indigenous peoples can devise and develop solutions,” Flanagan said. Masahiko Gemma, a professor in the Faculty of Social Science at Waseda University in Japan and the university’s vice-president for international affairs and international fundraising, pointed to a five-year postgraduate and research programme that Waseda runs with 13 other partner universities in Japan to educate professionals on the power generation industry and its connection to social issues. He pointed to two significant characteristics of their approach. “One is a transdisciplinary approach to produce experts in power supply who can be knowledgeable about multiple research areas, including the humanities and social science. “The other is flexibility to work in different environments … [Because] the power industry needs experts trained in multiple disciplines who can be future leaders,” he said. Nancy Ip, president of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), noted that universities cannot tackle the ocean challenge within single disciplines. “We must embrace the expertise from various fields,” she said. “Research itself is not enough. We must collaborate”. Ip pointed to the Sustainable Smart Campus project at HKUST, describing it as a “living lab” in which research and collaboration with communities leads to action on the ground. “It not only engages our community members, but we also engage beyond the campus. So, some of the projects that we work on provide real-world solutions,” she said. “Testing it out on our campus and then taking it beyond the campus to the community is one way to engage our community,” she explained. The Amazon is like an ocean Diego Quiroga, rector of Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador, likened the River Amazon to an ocean, and called for similar ecological approaches. “The Amazon, believe it or not, is considered to be a moving ocean, in a way, because of the importance of water for that ecosystem. So, we work a lot with the Indigenous communities that live in the Amazon,” he said. The university works with Amazon communities looking into the materials that they use, including plant fibres, and helping to provide a scientific base for their knowledge. “[That] has a lot of implications, as far as how you protect their property rights is concerned and how you protect their knowledge [because] Western companies or Western scientists come and just extract that. It presents a lot of challenges from a legal-ethical point of view,” he said. Speaking during a session on “Protecting biodiversity in the Oceans”, Professor Yatimah Binti Alias, deputy vice-chancellor (academic and international) at the University of Malaya in Malaysia, said her university uses also uses the “living lab” concept to work with coastal seaweed cultivators to improve their livelihoods. “We know there’s a lot of research in seaweeds as well, and we know the potential of seaweeds, and this is where all the research is coming together,” she said. “This project aims to develop a global strategy to protect, conserve, and restore wild seaweeds while supporting the livelihoods of seaweed farmers and their communities,” she explained. International collaboration In a video address to the conference New Zealand’s Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins said: “International collaboration enhances the quality of research by bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise. This diversity leads to innovative solutions and groundbreaking discoveries that single institutions might not achieve on their own.” She added: “By working tgether on research and science efforts, we can leverage our unique strengths and address regional challenges more effectively. “I find it exceptional how our shared efforts amplify our impact and drive progress across the region, whether it’s improving disaster resilience, promoting sustainable development or enhancing technological innovation for climate change adaptation initiatives,” she said. APRU Chair Rocky Tuan, who is also president and vice-chancellor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, noted: “We’re all from a country, a region, an economy that touches the water of the Pacific. The Pacific really symbolises our shared global community and the common challenges we face. “Addressing the climate impact on our oceans and its effects on communities and indigenous populations reminds us of APRU’s vital role in fostering constructive dialogue, collaborative research, impactful work, and real world solutions. “The future is a little fuzzy these days. But our job is to bring sunshine to this cloudy future.” He said that collaboration was “more than a MOU [memorandum of understanding]” between universities, noting that, “collaboration requires the partners to have common interests, a common purpose”. Freshwater said: “Our challenge today and tomorrow is to strengthen our partnerships so that APRU members can collectively meet their obligations in the region with solutions to unique Pacific manifestations of the global challenges we face.” Women in Leadership Programme APRU’s Asia Pacific Women in Leadership Programme, which held its summit the day before the conference, received a powerful message from Ziena Jalil, chief of staff at Te Pkenga, New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, who grew up in Fiji. “Many young women, particularly women of colour, disabled and migrant women, have a hard time securing roles in their universities and [there are] a range of reasons for this including not having the right connections or networks. In New Zealand many in our Maori and Pacific communities are the first in their families to go to university,” she said. Jalil, who also sits on the board of Education New Zealand, the government agency responsible for international education, said: “I felt the burden of the communities I represent, because if someone from a dominant group screws up, we don’t stop hiring people from those groups. But when you screw up as a minority, there’s a view that perhaps your community is not fit. “Universities, as the critic and conscience of society, can also play a leading role in shining a light on gender equality issues at the societal level, in informing national policies, which can make a difference, and in supporting the education of future generations to build a stronger pipeline of women across all fields.”

This article was featured on Waipapa Taumata Rau, The University of Auckland webpage on June 25, 2024. On day two of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities meeting in Auckland, a lunch-time talk by Dr Dan Hikuroa challenges people to ‘think like a fish’. What if we thought of climate change from the vantage point of other life forms – perhaps a dog, the ocean, the stars, trees, a bird, or a fish? That notion, suggested by Samoa’s former head of state, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Taʻisi Efi, is central to a lunchtime talk by Associate Professor Dan Hikuroa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato-Tainui, Ngati Whanaunga, Pākehā) on 25 June at the 28th Annual Presidents’ Meeting of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. The theme of the APRU meeting, hosted by Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, is ‘The World’s Challenges Divide Us, the Ocean Currents Connect Us’. Around 130 delegates from the Americas, Asia and Australasia are congregating for the three-day event from 24-26 June. In Pacific oceanic philosophies, relationships between the cosmos, ancestors, humans, and animals are sacred and intertwined. Since colonial times, a struggle between `thinking like a master,’ in which the sea and its inhabitants are understood as resources for human uses, and ‘thinking like a fish,’ one oceanic life form among many, has been ongoing in the Pacific, and around the planet, says Hikuroa. Presupposing the fundamental interconnection of all living beings and planetary systems and considering existential challenges from the vantage point of a fish, or a bird, or a forest, or a river can provide alternatives to extractive, anthropocentric perspectives, he says. Novel governance experiments of this kind have been happening in Aotearoa New Zealand: Te Urewera Act of 2014 and Te Awa Tupua Act of 2017, which gave a forest and a river legal personhood. “These initiatives driven by Māori have created spaces for thinking about rivers, forests and mountains differently, valuing them as holistic, historical and cultural entities with lives and rights of their own,” says Hikuroa. “These build upon relational understandings of rivers, forests and mountains as entities that are more ancient and powerful than people, viewing rivers as the lifeblood and forests as the lungs of society and the land.” Also speaking at the same lunchtime talk is University of Auckland marine scientist, Professor Simon Thrush. His talk will look at the importance of marine ecosystems in tackling the “trifecta of challenges we face: biodiversity, sustainability and climate change”. APRU delegates from around the world are considering the impacts of climate change on oceans and the implications for communities and Indigenous populations, climate justice, food and water security. APRU comprises leading universities from 18 economies of the Pacific Rim known worldwide for their academic and research excellence.

The Association of Pacific Rim Universities is playing its part in climate change mitigation by carbon offsetting its annual presidents’ meeting in Auckland. With sustainability a key focus of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities’ (APRU) Annual Presidents’ Meeting, being hosted by the University of Auckland, the alliance of leading research-driven universities is walking the talk. Around 130 global delegates are in New Zealand for the event, and the APRU is offsetting the carbon emissions associated with travelling here. APRU Chief Executive, Professor Thomas Schneider, made the announcement on day two of the event, saying, for the first time, APRU is offsetting 420 tonnes of carbon emissions. This will occur through its contribution to Canada’s BigCoast Forest Climate Initiative. (See video here.) The move is part of APRU’s sustainability efforts to mitigate carbon travel costs associated with numerous international conferences held annually. Vice-Chair of APRU and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland, Professor Dawn Freshwater, says the idea is something that could work well for other international conferences held in Aotearoa. “This initiative could set a benchmark for conferences held in New Zealand,” she said. “It demonstrates the collaborative, thought leadership approach of this group of universities.” The BigCoast Forest Climate Initiative has protected unique West Coast forests in Canada by deferring timber harvesting on 40,000 hectares across Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and Coastal British Columbia for at least 25 years.  

This article was featured on Waipapa Taumata Rau, The University of Auckland webpage on June 24, 2024. Academic leaders from the Asia-Pacific region are meeting in Auckland for the Annual Presidents’ Meeting of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), hosted by the University of Auckland from 24-26 June. Around 130 delegates from the Americas, Asia and Australasia are congregating for the three-day event, the theme for which is ‘Oceans: The World’s Challenges Divide Us, the Ocean Currents Connect Us’. Speakers will address the challenges of climate change, the degradation of oceanic systems, protecting biodiversity for the oceans, and advancing climate equity in the Asia-Pacific. A key goal is to strengthen the bonds of this vastly connected university network to provide a forum for leading Pacific Rim universities to collaborate on research that delivers solutions. Programme highlights include a panel discussion called ‘Navigating the Tides: APRU Leadership in Addressing Climate Change’ chaired by the APRU Chair Rocky Tuan, who is Vice-Chancellor and President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Another panel, chaired by Chancellor Pradeep K Khosla, University of California, San Diego, will discuss ‘Guardians of the Blue: Protecting Biodiversity for the Ocean’. The third will be chaired by University of Auckland Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater, APRU Vice-Chair, and will explore ‘Sea, Soil, Sustenance: Pathways to Resilient Food Systems’. The final panel will be ‘Advancing Climate Equity in the Asia-Pacific and Implications for Communities’ chaired by Professor Rosa Devés, Rector of Universidad de Chile. Professor Freshwater said the APRU event shines a spotlight on the urgent need to address climate change impacts on the ocean and provides a forum for leading universities to collaborate on research. “Universities have a duty to contribute to society by advancing knowledge and offering solutions. “The world is reaching a critical juncture. Urgent action must be taken to secure our future. By harnessing our collective expertise, we can address the impacts of climate change on the oceans and the wider implications on communities and Indigenous populations, climate justice, food and water security.” As the world’s largest ocean, the Pacific is critical to global climate regulation. It absorbs approximately one-third of carbon dioxide emissions but also bears the brunt of the detrimental impacts of climate change, which has severe implications for communities and Indigenous populations. At a lunchtime talk on 25 June, Dr Dan Hikuroa, from the University of Auckland, will discuss the idea of ‘thinking like a fish’, which challenges us to stop regarding the oceans as resources to be exploited and instead as complex, integrated, ecological systems that have their own life force. Dr Hikuroa will outline how the early Polynesian navigators, who repeatedly crossed vast distances of ocean, regarded the Pacific as the ‘great connector’ in which the islands themselves were fish. University of Auckland marine scientist Professor Simon Thrush will speak at the same talk, and said the benefit of the APRU event is being able to network and identify threats that university researchers around the Asia-Pacific region can tackle together. “Our collaborative research across geographical regions and disciplines can inform policy and governance in a constructive way.” His talk will look at the importance of marine ecosystems in tackling the “trifecta of challenges we face: biodiversity, sustainability and climate change”. While in Auckland, delegates will visit the University of Auckland’s Newmarket Campus to see the Structures Testing Laboratory complex, which is home to one of Australasia’s largest earthquake-testing facilities, as well as a world-leading water engineering lab designed to tackle water resource problems.

This article was featured on Waipapa Taumata Rau, The University of Auckland webpage on June 22, 2024. A meeting at the University of Auckland of the Asia-Pacific Women in Leadership group aims to challenge barriers. The cultural complexities for women advancing into leadership roles in Pacific Rim universities will be explored at a weekend meeting at the University of Auckland. Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater says the Asia-Pacific Women in Leadership group, of which she is the current Presidential Champion, was established to confront and challenge barriers such as gender stereotypes and diverse social norms that prevent women from becoming leaders. “We have made progress, thanks in part to a mentoring programme launched in 2020, but there is much more work to be done to close gender equality gaps and increase the impact of women’s empowerment programmes.” Two University of Auckland leaders have mentored women within the group network, bringing their own university and leadership experience to the year-long mentoring relationships. For Pro Vice-Chancellor Māori, Associate Professor Te Kawehau Hoskins, the mentoring experience was two-way and highlighted her own approach to leadership, which is influenced by her Māori culture and its emphasis on the collective rather than the individual. “Sometimes – and I was one of these people – we’re not ambitious personally, and so we’re not always aware of how the game is played. It took me a long time to apply for a promotion … because no one said to me: ‘You’re at a point where you should apply for a promotion’.” Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific, Professor Jemaima Tiatia-Siau’s experience is shared by her family and the efforts and sacrifices they made to support her academic and leadership career. “It has taken a village to bring me to this point – from my spouse, family, elders, friends, peers, line managers, direct reports, spiritual mentors, students and Pacific pioneers; all have in some form, shaped my leadership journey. The best part, however, is not guarding this for self-gain, but rather, to give back just as much.” Professor Freshwater says complex social, cultural, and economic barriers impact women’s abilities to pursue leadership roles. “By sharing experiences, supporting each other, and working across universities, we are making a difference. The bonds formed around the Pacific Rim have enabled this. This is why this meeting in Auckland is so important.” The Asia Pacific Women in Leadership (APWiL) group is associated with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU). Vice-Chancellor Professor Freshwater is an APWiL champion and the Vice-Chair of APRU. As well as hosting the APWiL meeting, she is hosting an annual meeting of APRU Presidents and senior leaders. They will represent most of APRU’s 61 university members. Media Enquiries Email: [email protected]  

The 27th Annual Presidents’ Meeting of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) was successfully hosted by The University of Hong Kong (HKU) with the theme of “From Invention to Implementation – Solutions for a Sustainable Future.” From June 25 to 27, 2023, the University became a hub for higher education leaders across the Pacific Rim to exchange views and inspire one another with solutions that can bring us closer to a sustainable future. The event, spanning three days, attracted esteemed presidents and senior administrators representing leading universities to explore innovative ideas and strategies to achieve sustainable goals. It highlighted the need for collaborative efforts in tackling current and future sustainability challenges. The panel discussions centered on topics including the need for fostering research on low-emission energy production and green technologies, the vital role of higher education in providing research-based solutions for future generations and more. During his welcome remarks, the President and Vice-Chancellor of HKU, Professor Xiang Zhang, emphasised the importance of addressing humanity’s negative impact on the planet. He noted that this cannot be addressed by any single nation but requires a collective effort. President Zhang also highlighted the need for continued commitment to sustainability policies across all areas of human activity. “As university leaders, we acknowledge that the challenges stemming from climate change demand a united effort from all of us. The APRU network offers a platform for collaboration and the cultivation of innovative solutions to tackle these pressing issues. Through our discussions held during this President’s Meeting, we have the opportunity to harness our collective expertise, empowering the next generation of thought leaders and change-makers with the mindset, knowledge, and skills to create a sustainable future,” said Professor Zhang. During his opening remarks, Chair of APRU and Chancellor of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Professor Gene D. Block, noted the significance of this year’s meeting hosted by HKU as a platform for higher education leaders to share new ideas and seek solutions to pressing challenges in the region. “Creating a sustainable future requires all of us to work together in order to find lasting solutions,” Professor Block said. “This is consistent with the collaborative work we do as members of APRU. The bond between our Asia-Pacific universities allows us to address critical global issues that impact so much of our world – even well beyond the Pacific Rim.” He added. During the panel discussions, university presidents and senior representatives highlighted the vital role of research universities in fostering innovative solutions and leveraging them to drive progress toward a sustainable future. The discussions also underscored the significance of providing equitable and inclusive educational opportunities to the next generation, empowering them to become agents in addressing our planet’s urgent challenges. Additionally, the speakers emphasised the critical roles universities play in developing a systematic approach to mitigate the globally interconnected risks and create solutions for achieving sustainable growth. The three-day in-person event hosted by HKU proved invaluable in fostering renewed respect and trust among top university leaders, igniting a shared commitment to deeper engagement in shaping the future landscape of higher education. The event showcased the power of leveraging APRU’s network to drive meaningful progress. Education leaders will harness this momentum to sustain collaboration and develop innovative solutions for the pressing challenges facing higher education and society at large. “The conclusion of the meeting does not mark the end of our discussion. I believe that all APRU members will carry on our missions and work hand-in-hand towards sustainability,” said Professor Zhang in his concluding remarks. Download event photos here.

The 26th Annual Presidents’ Meeting 2022 was the first international in-person meeting for many university presidents worldwide. More than 100 presidents, university delegates, higher education leaders, and guests from around the world gathered at the 26th APRU Annual Presidents’ Meeting hosted by Nanyang Technological University Singapore, which kicked off on 6 July 2022. Themed “Reconnecting in a Sustainable World”, this APM is the first in-person meeting of APRU since 2019. In the 3-day meeting, speakers and panelists addressed critical sustainability and climate change issues, how to prevent the next pandemic, and the urgent need to collaborate in a post-COVID-19 world. More: www.apru.org SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Annual Presidents’ Meeting 2022 wrapped up in Singapore on July 9th, marking an important milestone as university leaders from at least nine countries gathered together in person as our societies began to open up. Hosted by Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, under the theme “Reconnecting in a Sustainable World”, the three-day event saw more than 100 presidents, senior university administrators, and private sector representatives in attendance. Over six sessions, the participants addressed critical sustainability and climate change issues, how to prevent the next pandemic, and the urgent need to collaborate in a post-COVID-19 world suffering from an alarming trend of international rivalry. The meeting ended with a firm commitment by the university presidents to pool together their resources by combining the formidable scholarship, research, and innovation on our campuses to help shape a cleaner, safer, more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world to secure the 21st century for future generations (See Appendix A for the full Presidents’ Statement). Opening of Annual Presidents’ Meeting 2022 APRU is a network of 60 leading universities linking the Americas, Asia, and Australasia. APRU has members in very diverse contexts, so it is well-positioned to offer relevant expertise from around the region. NTU Singapore President Professor Subra Suresh said in his opening remarks: “For the first time since 2019, this in-person meeting brings together presidents of some of the world’s leading research-intensive universities from around the Pacific Rim. As we gather at this pivotal moment, let us pledge to create a roadmap for compelling action-oriented cooperation and make a positive contribution in a transformed world.” Fireside Chat with Mr. Piyush GUPTA DBS Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta discussed sustainability issues, suggesting that universities and businesses like DBS should explore co-creation and research to combat climate change. They should also partner to train the workforce in the sustainability field by providing grants, for example. “The private sector and the corporate world are serious about putting money behind these big issues. Just the motivation of being able to fund some research helps businesses and universities come together,” Mr. Gupta said. The subsequent meeting’s sessions highlighted a wide range of critical concerns. They were held under the themes Responses to Crisis in a Diverse Region; Sustainability and Climate Change; Preventing the Next Pandemic; and Reconnecting: The New Urgency for Collaboration. Panelists representing different regions shared their experiences building resilience against the challenges (See event rundown). Responses to Crisis in a Diverse Region The biggest challenge to many universities has been the pandemic over the past few years. Provost and Executive Vice President Kwang-Jae Kim, POSTECH in Pohang, Korea, explained that POSTECH had taken steps to expand the university into a Metaversity—a combination of the words, Metaverse and University. “We decided to introduce virtual reality work through VR technologies in some undergraduate classes. We provided VR devices to all freshmen students for the lab classes in physics, so students can experience the experimental scenes using the VR devices just as if they were participating in the actual experiment,” Prof. Kim said. “In addition, we provided experimental kits to students. We sent the kits to their homes so the students could do the actual experiments themselves at home by just following the VR directions. And we built a specially designed classroom with a VR-AR augmented reality and mixed reality capabilities.” Chancellor Gary S. May, the University of California, Davis in the United States, identified several substantial commonalities in the responses to various crises we discussed between the different regions while finding some notable differences. “The concept of the Metaversity I thought was very interesting. For one of our panelists, that is inclusive of activities like eSports and campus sharing. Regarding the climate change crisis, we talked about our various activities in the evolution toward carbon neutrality and how we’re addressing the UN sustainability goals. Finally, on the aging demographic crisis, we heard about attracting international students to the university and internationalization at home as possible solutions to that particular situation,” Prof. May, said. “In the spirit of thinking about actionable responses from the APRU community…We’ve collected a lot of data over the past few years particularly relevant to the pandemic and (we should think about) how can that data be shared for productive and constructive solutions to potential new crises, including perhaps the next pandemic.” “We all agree that APRU is an important network…(On) the idea of building standards for education, now we have lots of micro-credentials; we have online distance learning and whatnot. Many universities are engaging with all these education techniques, and there is no one standard. Should we have one under the umbrella of APRU? That’s a question that (we) probably have to answer.” Vice-Chancellor Mohd. Hamdi Abd. Shukor, Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia added. Sustainability and Climate Change On July 8th, the panelists discussed advancing the climate change agenda. In a few snapshots taken from the meeting’s many insightful exchanges, President and Vice-Chancellor Joy Johnson, Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, zoomed in on universities’ moral obligations to protect the vulnerable in surrounding communities. She recalled that 2021 was a devastating year for her province. British Columbia experienced an extreme heat wave where temperatures exceeded 40° C. 619 deaths were attributed to a weather phenomenon known as the “heat dome”. Prof. Johnson noted that these deaths occurred among the elderly and the homeless – vulnerable populations. In addition, recently released research suggests that a billion sea creatures were killed due to the heat. “I do believe that the president’s role is to try being a beacon of hope in this time because it does feel a little bit dark…Climate change is very much on our mind, and I believe that universities have a moral obligation to think about our commitments, given that we have the people, the infrastructure, the research, and the engagement capacities,” Prof. Johnson added. For his part, Executive Vice President, International Affairs, Toshiyuki Kono, Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, illustrated how universities could continue to lead by example. He described Kyushu University’s new campus, explaining how it manages to embrace both its history and its future. The site was already mentioned by Chinese literature in the 3rd Century AD. “We kept the green areas, groundwater, landscape, and historical remains, but this campus is also designed for next-generation technologies with comprehensive research centers,” Prof. Kono said. “We have established three priority areas: decarbonization, medicine and health, and environment and food. And specifically, decarbonization is one of the significant research areas we wish to focus on in our cooperation with the APRU network. Last year, we also established the Research Center for Negative Emissions Technologies. Professor Shigenori Fujikawa, one of the star researchers at our university, developed 30 nanometer-thin sheets so that we could collect CO2 from the atmosphere. He’s trying to make social implementation. If it can be implemented properly, you can collect CO2 everywhere worldwide. He named it a ubiquitous negative emission. The idea is that carbon-neutral is not enough, the time doesn’t wait. So we must collect the CO2 in the atmosphere and make it negative.” “We have been very active in the area of hydrogen research. And this research focuses on fundamental methods of hydrogen production, storage, transport, and utilization…Our main Ito Campus has installed an Ene-Farm energy generation system, contributing to Toyota’s 2021 hydrogen fuel vehicle Mirai and its hydrogen station. The campus is the testing ground for hydrogen energy; this is a long-run project. We are committed to achieving a sustainable energy society by advancing our hydrogen research and education.” Prof. Kono added. “Last but not least, we were privileged to host a five-week webinar series on sustainability in the framework of APRU. This webinar series focused on the realization of a decarbonized society to combat climate change. It brought together a diverse group of experts and researchers focusing on early career researchers, to exchange ideas and explore potential cross-disciplinary collaborations to develop solutions.” Preventing the Next Pandemic The panelists also investigated what universities can contribute to preventing the next pandemic by addressing issues of global governance, as well as improved public health strategies and the sharing of intellectual property on biomedical discoveries. The APRU Presidential Working Group provided an update on how their concerted efforts have played a role in helping APRU members demonstrate global leadership In preventing the next pandemic. According to President and Vice-Chancellor Santa J. Ono, The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, “the working group is focused on bringing together resources and presenting recommendations for action in the following areas: – assembling scientific research assets in biomedical technology and therapeutics for APRU’s 60 member universities as a major global resource for responding quickly to the next pandemic; – implementing strategies for combating the infodemic through science and media literacy and other initiatives, taking into account diverse cultural settings; – and compiling a handbook on pandemic crisis management in various societies, which record lessons from COVID-19 while looking to future requirements in a world increasingly affected by inequality and climate change.” Prof. Rocky S. Tuan, Vice-Chair of APRU and Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China, identified social and cultural determinants of public health strategies. Nine APRU member universities looked at more than 90 different sources of studies published in highly reputable journals, such as The Lancet, Nature, PNAS, etc., and studies performed in different parts of the world. “Further analysis shows that resistance to intervention was relatively strong in individualistic societies. Whereas conformism was relatively common in societies high in collectivism and subordination to the powerful others,” Prof. Tuan said. “What is the strategy forward? When it is an endemic disease, we should increase trust in science and public institutions and develop efficient global epidemic watch and alert systems. We should promote early compliance with interventions through effective communications when it is an epidemic disease. And once you go to post-pandemic, you can talk about post-pandemic public education to increase pandemic awareness and strengthen civic values. These strategies are helpful in all societies. But particularly important in individualistic societies.” “What should APRU do? I can think of a number of things such as exchanging ideas and information, consulting each other in terms of best practices, enhancing and developing scholarly and research collaborations, and enriching student experience,” Prof. Tuan added. The group will convene a major international symposium in November 2022 during the APEC Leaders’ Week and APEC CEO Summit week. President Bundhit Eua-arporn, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, expressed confidence that the forum will help universities across the globe to build international cooperation, develop new knowledge on challenges facing the region and contribute to social and economic advancement. “This platform will also provide opportunities for participants from all sectors to share their experience in their preparation for handling new challenges, especially during this period of uncertainty, in which mutual collaboration is needed more than ever,” Prof. Eua-arporn said. Reconnecting: The New Urgency for Collaboration Finally, panelists shared their unique experiences and visions of how higher education institutions may work together to address imminent regional and global issues and shape a sustainable future. “Last year at UQ, we launched our Global Development Impact Plan to coordinate our global development expertise better and help address shared challenges and affect social change. As part of this plan, we articulated our focus on helping to build the global capacity of people and organizations to achieve their sustainable development goals. We believe we can make a difference in agriculture and food sciences, understanding and combating natural hazards and providing leadership, governance, and management programs in developing countries. We also believe we have a role to play in helping to provide higher education opportunities to our neighboring nations,” shared Vice-Chancellor and President Deborah Terry, The University of Queensland in Queensland, Australia. “While devastating and challenging in so many ways, the pandemic also presented opportunities, one of which is the potential for new education models, which could assist UQ and other universities to help meet the educational needs of our region…A forum such as the APRU Annual Presidents’ Meeting will help us to reconnect and explore these possibilities.” Prof. Kathy Belov, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement), The University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, introduced a new program, the APRU Biodiversity Program. “We have lost 80% of our insect biomass in the last 30 years, 80%. In 50 years, we’ll only have half of what’s left now. And in 100 years, all of our insects will be gone…Our insects are at the heart of our food webs, pollinating our plants…We aim to leverage our expertise within APRU universities to conserve our unique biodiversity. So we’re going to foster collaboration to catalog, study and conserve the biodiversity in our region. We want to capacity build and train particularly HDR and postdoc students. And we want to focus on ethical, legal, and social issues. And of course, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion,” Prof. Belov said. “At the moment, a million plant and animal species are threatened by extinction. That’s about 28% of all species that we know about. It’s recently been said that this is the sixth great extinction spanning geological time, but humans entirely drive it.” Prof. Belov added. “The challenge is getting access to the samples, preserving those samples well, not the sequencing, but the analysis of all the data because this will generate a huge amount of data. And I think this is where APRU can come in…The Pacific Rim is full of amazing biodiversity. And I think there are something like 17 countries known to be biodiversity hotspots, and about 13 or 14 are in the Pacific Rim. So what we’ve done is we’ve set up a steering committee. I’m keen that we consider engaging our academics, postgraduate students, and postdocs. Together, we can be going out and sampling our biodiversity, studying our biodiversity, and more importantly, all the data analysis that comes with it.” “In our case, we had a 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, we lost 20,000 people, and the Fukushima incident was associated with it. In response, we have established the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) next year, and APRU agreed to launch the APRU Multi Hazards Program…The basic message of risk reduction is that if we invest earlier, we can suppress many costs that once things happen. The costs include, of course, human as well as financial costs.” said President Hideo Ohno, Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. “We had this in-person APRU Multi-Hazard Summer School, and it was reasonably popular, but suddenly, when we made it online, the 2020 version was a three-day program. We had almost 850 participants, so apparently, there are interests and needs in this type of activity. We had the summer school visit places affected by earthquakes and tsunamis. Although we share lessons learned from our experiences, we also learn from the participants’ experiences…We also have an APRU Multi-Hazard Campus Safety Program. Another thing that we did together with our APRU members is this ArcDR3 exhibition of future urban design. This exhibition was first shown in Tokyo this year and will be shown in Los Angeles later this year. Eleven universities got together and formed seven regenerative cities, meaning that it’s how to cope with all kinds of disasters.” “We also make International Organization for Standardization (ISO) on disaster prevention. By standardizing it, we can use this equipment and many means all over the place. So that will be published hopefully by 2023.” President Hideo Ohno added. “So we want to use this Fukushima as a ground to do these proof of concept activities. We will have the 10th anniversary of the APRU Multi-Hazard Program late this year in Bangkok. Next year, we will have an APRU session at the World BOSAI Forum, a Japanese disaster risk reduction forum in Sendai. So, we look forward to putting this disaster (reduction) level to the next level. I think it’s urgent.” Highlights of Global Reports The APRU Annual Presidents’ Meeting 2022 saw the release of four global reports from within the APRU network. Chair of APRU and Chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles, Professor Gene Block, and Secretary General of APRU, Dr. Christopher Tremewan, announced the release of the APRU Annual Report 2022, highlighting APRU institutions’ actions and collaborations throughout the pandemic and amid continuing global geopolitical tensions. APRU also launched a joint report with Elsevier entitled For the Global Common Good: APRU and the China-US Research Landscape. Vice President, Global Strategic Networks at Elsevier, Dr. Anders Karlsson, discussed the report’s findings, highlighting the importance of maintaining research collaborations, especially on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. NTU Singapore, for its part, presented its Report on NTU’s Carbon Footprint Framework and Roadmap, which includes a tool for institutions such as universities worldwide to measure their carbon footprint. The second NTU Singapore report released at the meeting was the Report on Resilient Universities during the COVID-19 pandemic; Differences between East and West. The report highlights the best practices by universities in various countries in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. About APRU As a network of 60 leading universities linking the Americas, Asia, and Australasia, APRU brings together thought leaders, researchers, and policy-makers to exchange ideas and collaborate on practical solutions to the challenges of the 21st century. They leverage their members’ collective education and research capabilities into the international public policy process. In the post-pandemic era, their strategic priorities focus on providing a neutral platform for high-level policy dialogue, taking actions on climate change, and supporting diversity, inclusion, and minorities. APRU’s primary activities support these strategic priorities with a focus on critical areas such as disaster risk reduction, women in leadership, indigenous knowledge, virtual student exchange, esports, population aging, global health, sustainable cities, artificial intelligence, waste management, and more. ​To learn more about APRU, please visit www.apru.org. About Nanyang Technological University, Singapore A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Engineering, Business, Science, Medicine, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and Graduate colleges. NTU is also home to world-renowned autonomous institutes – the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering – and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N). Under the NTU Smart Campus vision, the University harnesses the power of digital technology and tech-enabled solutions to support better learning and living experiences, the discovery of new knowledge, and the sustainability of resources. Ranked amongst the world’s top universities, the University’s main campus is also frequently listed among the world’s most beautiful. Known for its sustainability, over 95% of its building projects are certified Green Mark Platinum. Apart from its main campus, NTU also has a medical campus in Novena, Singapore’s healthcare district. For more information, visit www.ntu.edu.sg Contacts Media: Jack Ng Director, Communications APRU Email: [email protected] Lester Kok Senior Assistant Director Corporate Communications Office Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Tel: 6790 6804; Mobile: 9741 5593 Email: [email protected] Event photos: link Appendix A — APRU 26th Annual Presidents’ Meeting 2022: Reconnecting in a Sustainable World — Presidents’ Statement July 9, 2022, Singapore Following a substantive exchange of ideas at the Annual Presidents’ Meeting of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), held at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU, Singapore) from 6th to 9th July 2022, we pledge to put our resources to bear by combining the formidable scholarship, research, and innovation on our campuses to help shape a cleaner, safer, more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world. We build on the momentum generated during the Covid-19 pandemic in which universities made crucial contributions alongside other major stakeholders in the successful development of the vaccine with unprecedented speed and efficacy and the formulation, analysis, and deployment of pivotal public health policies and practices. APRU members will endeavour to continue making transformative changes to education and learning by deploying cutting-edge and appropriate technologies and new approaches to learning suited to a post-COVID world. We are committed to enhancing global health and well-being with game-changing discoveries led by a diverse community of our scholars, innovators, and change-makers. We also pledge to identify more robust pathways and safeguards to prevent the next pandemic. Never has our role been more critical in improving the health of our planet and people. Never has the convergence of education, technology, and innovation better prepared us for this enormous task. As the world faces surging geopolitical tensions, we will strive to keep our doors open for debate, dialogue, connection, and collaboration. We will continue to build on our work to embrace and endorse the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that include such issues as climate change, health, disaster risk mitigation, mobility of students and researchers, and reducing inequality within and among our communities, in the geographic, societal, and cultural context of each of our institutions. We will strive to build greater trust and resilience among countries and people in the Asia Pacific region and across the world. In new and innovative ways, we will endeavour to find impactful solutions to diminish the risks of climate change and the next global health crisis. With our collective ingenuity and commitment, along with our individual strengths and unique approaches to address local, regional, and global challenges, we will help shape a more sustainable future through our efforts in education and lifelong learning, human talent development, scientific discoveries, technological innovation, and service to society. We take this responsibility seriously and with utmost sincerity and will make every effort to secure the 21st century for future generations to come.