The AUA Board Meeting for 2025 was successfully convened on April 17, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. Hosted by The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), the meeting brought together over fifty representatives from member universities, who engaged in in-depth discussions on the challenges and development trends confronting higher education in Asia.
Kaori Hayashi, the Executive Vice President of UTokyo, delivered a welcome address on behalf of President Teruo Fujii. In her speech, she extended a warm welcome to all participants and expressed the hope that the close partnership within AUA would serve as a model for future international cooperation.
The board meeting was structured into two sessions. The first session was chaired by K. V. Krishna Rao, the Deputy Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB). Mohsen Sherif, Acting Provost of the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), presented the AUA Work Review for 2024-2025 to the Board on behalf of Ahmed Al Raeesi, the AUA President and UAEU Acting Vice Chancellor. Subsequently, Liu Jian, the AUA Secretary, reported on the AUA Financial Statement for 2024-2025.
Ms. Yvonne Li, Head of Global Engagement and Greater China Affairs at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and Dr. Mezyad Alterkami, President of the Global Engagement Office at King Saud University (KSU), then presented two progress reports from AUA working groups. Board members actively engaged in discussions on the contents of these reports and put forward a wealth of valuable suggestions.
In the Handover of AUA Executive Presidency segment, Shireesh Kedare, IITB Director and AUA Executive President from 2023 to 2024, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity that enabled IITB to hold the executive presidency from 2023 to 2024 and looked forward to accelerating the preparations for the future among AUA. Then a token of appreciation was presented to him by Mohsen Sherif. With the Board's approval, Seoul National University (SNU) officially took over the AUA Executive Presidency for 2025-2026. The Board also confirmed the appointment of Ryu Hong Lim, President of SNU, as the AUA Executive President for 2025-2026. On behalf of Ryu Hong Lim, Jae W. Lee, Vice President of SNU, stated that SNU is committed to working closely with all member institutions to reinforce AUA as Asia's leading inter-university platform for collaboration, innovation and shared progress.
The second session, chaired by Yang Bin, Vice Chairman of the University Council at Tsinghua University, saw Liu Jian, the AUA Secretary, to introduce the AUA Programs and Budget for 2025-2026.
The Board then voted on the AUA Themes for 2026-2029. After deliberation, AI & Digital Innovation, Climate Change, Environmental Sustainability & Future Habitat, Public Health, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship were selected as the frontier fields for AUA during the 2026-2029 period.
Waqar Ahmad, President of Nazarbayev University; Li Luming, President of Tsinghua University; Wilert Puriwat, President of Chulalongkorn University; Tin Maung Tun, Rector of The University of Yangon; Noor Azuan Abu Osman, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaya (via video message); on behalf of Abdullah Alsalman, Mezyad Alterkawi, President of the Global Engagement Office at KSU; Hettige Don Karnaratne, Vice Chancellor of University of Colombo; Tim Cheng, Vice-President of HKUST; Dong Zhiyong, Vice President of Peking University; and Lum Sau Kim, Associate Vice President of National University of Singapore delivered remarks in sequence.
At the conclusion of the board meeting, Kaori Hayashi, Executive Vice President of UTokyo, delivered the closing remarks. She noted, “So many students and young scholars are engaged in cutting-edge activities proposed and organized through this global alliance.” She expressed her hope that AUA would enable all member universities to collaborate closely, nurturing globally-minded and talented individuals who could contribute to academic excellence, as well as to the future peace and prosperity of Asia and the world.
