Universities Shaping the New Normal Together: APRU Annual Presidents’ Meeting

Chulalongkorn University actively engages with local and global communities in working to achieve a sustainable society. While the university is strengthening its international collaboration on all fronts, one of the notable platforms for international partnership is the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), whose credo is “The Voice of Knowledge & Innovation.” Prof. Dr. Bundhit Eua-arporn, President of Chulalongkorn University, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Natcha Thawesaengskulthai, Vice President for Strategic Planning, Innovation and Global Engagement, and other Chula reps recently participated in APRU’s 25^th Annual Presidents’ Meeting and the satellite program held from August 25 to 27, 2021.

Attended by some 350 delegates from all 60 APRU members across the Asia Pacific, the meetings allowed participants to reflect on the state of higher education in pandemic and post-pandemic era and propose ideas for joint actions in shaping futures together. 

The Presidents’ Meeting confirmed several key priorities for APRU, namely: 1) to serve as a neutral platform for high-level policy dialogue and cooperation (thus building trust and cooperation in the context of geopolitical tensions), 2) to address climate change (through mobilization of faculty and students, and partnerships with international organizations, NGOs, and the public and private sectors), 3) to advance equality, inclusivity, and  diversity (to be mission-focused, and expand Higher Education access through the virtual world), 4) to promote experiential learning, and 5) to share data and practices.

Active discussion among APRU university presidents touched upon 1) how to better prepare young people to contribute to society, 2) identifying areas where collaboration could be enhanced (e.g. campus sharing), 3) how to address the transition to online-dominant campuses (and how to serve communities). The most active exchanges were on the expanded role of universities. Many shared an impression that while university contributions have become much appreciated at the policy level during the pandemic, the public expectation for universities to continue to act for the public will persist and thus universities are expected to act fast. Some stressed that while science has delivered results (e.g. COVID vaccines), there is a lingering suspicion of science among citizens, and how to tackle this is our responsibility. All presidents echoed that universities have a deep mission to lift the human spirit.

Vice President Natcha was invited to speak at the session “The role of network in advancing UN SDGs and engaging students and faculty in related initiatives” during the Senior Leaders’ Meeting. She presented Chula’s strategic vision of “Innovations for Society,” which strengthens university-level efforts to integrate multi-stakeholder collaborations to serve society, and supports and promotes innovation enterprise, research, and education to precipitate positive and concrete socio-economic changes that contribute to building a sustainable society. She spoke about how indispensable international partnerships and collaborations have become and proposed co-developing a “Virtual SDG Academy” via network-wide collaborations. The Academy would enable students to learn about SDGs through global issues, challenges and practices. “Universities, as key institutions of higher learning, have a clear responsibility to nurture inclusive culture with respect for diversity. These values particularly need to be emphasized and instilled among students at a time when the world is witnessing increasing conflicts, violence, and injustice,” she said. The proposal is to invite each member institution to develop online program(s) for students to discuss local and global challenges related to SDGs in their respective cultural and social contexts. Critically, these programs should introduce and share locally embedded unique case studies and best practices among the network members to help students develop understanding and rich perspectives of SDGs. She further introduced the Social Innovation Student Competition organized at Chula, which could help in promoting the importance of SDGs awareness and students’ roles in making our futures better. This proposal received strong support from several member institutions, and thus concrete follow up conversation is now taking place. 

Media coverage:

APRU Annual Presidents’ Meeting 2021 (August 27) – YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9aj1h9qQpM

Senior International Leaders’ Meeting 2021 – YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTi1o2ZzopA

APRU CASE Presidents’ Panel on University Advancement (August 26) – YouTube