This Annual Presidents’ Meeting 2023 Report captures the precious moments which delegates of universities from Asia-Pacific came together to address critical global issues.

The 3-day meeting saw over 140 presidents, higher education leaders and guests from over 50 institutions to address on sustainability issues and share innovative thoughts about the goals we need to reach, to bring us closer to a sustainable future for humanity.

Leaders at the APRU Annual Presidents’ Meeting agree to ratify the APRU Statement on Gender Equity and Diversity. The meeting took place at the University of Malaya in 2016.

APRU Presidents’ Statement

We believe that universities enhance their contribution to society through accessing the talents of diverse communities. APRU has the opportunity to demonstrate thought leadership, both within and outside the network, to advance equity and diversity across its member universities.

We recognize that our universities operate within different contexts and are at different points in progressing these objectives.

As university presidents we see consensus on policy principles as an opportunity to unify the network and demonstrate the added value of an international alliance.

We therefore endorse the following principles:

Diversity at all levels is a key factor in the success of universities.

The achievement of diversity requires a commitment to promoting equity and bringing about the associated changes that result in positive and powerful outcomes.

APRU universities will work towards making gender equity an integral part of their diversity strategy, organizational structure and culture including their strategic objectives and senior accountabilities.

APRU universities will develop a clear, consistent and sustainable policy framework appropriate to their diverse contexts that guides, promotes and reinforces their commitment to gender equity and diversity.

APRU universities will commit to collecting and using data to measure progress and inform future strategy and policy.

APRU Presidents
Kuala Lumpur
June 2016

The Annual Presidents’ Meeting of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) once again served as a perfect platform for more than over 120 heads and representatives of 48 APRU member universities to exchange views on the joint efforts that universities can make to address climate change and its effects on the ocean through research, student activities, and working with communities.

APRU’s 28th Annual Presidents’ Meeting was hosted by the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in late June as a three day- event under the theme “Oceans – The World’s Challenges Divide Us, the Ocean Currents Connect Us”.

The panel discussions centered on key topics include:

1. Navigating the Tides: APRU Leadership in Addressing Climate Change
2. Guardians of the Blue: Protecting Biodiversity for the Ocean
3. Sea, Soil, Sustenance: Pathways to Resilient Food Systems
4. Advancing Climate Equity in the Asia-Pacific and Implications for Communities

This Annual Presidents’ Meeting 2022 Report captures the precious moments which worldwide delegates re-connect in the first in-person meeting of presidents since the pandemic.

The 3-day meeting saw over 100 presidents, higher education leaders and guests addressed on sustainability and climate change issues, preventing the next pandemic, and the urgent need to collaborate in a post-COVID-19 world.

A core purpose of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) is building collaboration between leading research universities to address global challenges.

China and the United States are the most productive research leaders in the international community. Their research relationship, in terms of co-publications, is the largest globally. Universities from these two countries comprise almost half of APRU’s members.

Using Elsevier’s Bibliometric tools, Scopus and SciVal, this report, as part of an ongoing collaboration between Elsevier and APRU, provides an overview of the China-US research relationship and in the context of the collective research output of APRU universities.

As we confront overlapping global crises, this report indicates the enduring strength of the China-US research relationship as well as the high research capabilities of APRU member universities. It also shows that much could be achieved by acting together for the common good through research collaboration on selected Sustainable Development Goals and on COVID-19 and broader pandemic research.

This report was created following discussions between APRU and Elsevier.