The Asian Universities Alliance Launch Ceremony and the first AUA Summit were held in Beijing on April 29th, 2017. Vice-Premier Liu Yandong attended the summit and delivered the keynote speech.
Madam Liu extended her congratulations on the establishment of the AUA and its first summit at Tsinghua University. She pointed out that Asia, with its long history and splendid civilization, is one of the regions of the world with a vibrant economy and the greatest possibilities. The establishment of the AUA is of outstanding significance for deepening regional cooperation. As a proactive way to fulfill the idea of building a community with a common destiny for all mankind, it will help promote regional prosperity, strengthen cultural exchange, and enhance people’s welfare in all the member countries.
Liu Yandong pointed out that as a cradle of talent and a sanctuary of knowledge, institutes of higher education are sources for social development and human progress. China regards talent training as the basic task of higher education institutions, and makes efforts to enhance their innovative capability, expand education opening-up, build first class universities and disciplines, and boost the development of higher education. She expressed the wish that the AUA will become a platform in five areas. The first is to gather educational ideas and resources so as to train outstanding talents who will serve regional development with global vision. The second is to strengthen research collaboration to jointly improve the overall status and international influence of higher education in Asia. The third is to serve as a platform for an innovative collaboration ecosystem between academia, government, and industry, promoting in-depth integration of production, learning and research, and social service. The fourth is to become a platform for diverse civilizations, promoting understanding, tolerance, and mutual learning among different cultures and establishing a bridge of friendship among peoples of all countries. Finally, the AUA is expected to be a platform for international cooperation and exchange, contributing Asian wisdom to dealing with regional and global challenges.
Initially proposed by Tsinghua University, the AUA is a university alliance jointly established by 15 representative universities from Asian countries in response to the developing trend of higher education in Asia. The mission of the AUA is to jointly address regional and global challenges, specifically related to higher education and economic, scientific and technological development, by strengthening collaboration among member institutions. The alliance will discuss Asian values and Asian ideas on higher education, promoting cooperation, innovation and cultural communication in the field of higher education in Asia. It will jointly train young leading talents rooted in Asia’s multi-cultural environment, improving the quality of higher education and ability in scientific and technological innovation. The alliance will also promote the rise of higher education in Asia and strengthen the influence and ability to pursue discourse by Asian Universities in the field of global higher education.
The founding members of the AUA are Chulalongkorn University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, King Saud University, National University of Singapore, Nazarbayev University, Peking University, Seoul National University, Tsinghua University, United Arab Emirates University, Universitas Indonesia, University of Colombo, University of Malaya, the University of Tokyo, and University of Yangon.
At the AUA Board Meeting held on April 28th, 2017, President Qiu Yong of Tsinghua University was elected the founding President of AUA and President Bundhit Eua-arporn of Chulalongkorn University became AUA Executive President of 2017. AUA will host the Presidents Forum, Executive Meetings, Youth Forums, culture immersion activities, and academic conferences involving AUA scholars.
