The Provosts Forum brings together APRU Provosts or Chief Academic Officers. As key drivers of academic strategy and output, Provosts discuss topics of collective interest and importance to their respective institutions. Through this forum, APRU expands the leadership networks within the consortia beyond presidents and senior staff, and addresses major issues of academic management such as the quality assurance of education and research, and academic personnel.    

Hosted by Tsinghua University, the APRU Provosts’ Forum 2022 will be held online on the morning of April 20 (China Standard Time) / evening of April 19 (Pacific Standard Time).

HONG KONG–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Tsinghua University hosted the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Provosts’ Forum 2022 under the theme “Futures of Higher Education” on April 20. The virtual meeting was attended by provosts and academic officers from APRU member institutions, as well as education specialists from UNESCO. In his welcome remarks, Tsinghua University President Wang Xiqin said that the forum was being held in the spirit of collaboration and experience-sharing as the drivers of higher education and academic policy in higher education institutions’ respective and connected communities. He stressed the need for collective, concerted effort and attention to address the challenges faced in higher education. “We meet online as a result of the ongoing disruption caused by the pandemic. This reminds us that we live in a world where vastly different versions of the future are entirely possible. But we also have enduring hope to inspire through our shared commitment to education, research, and community service,” President Wang said. Christopher Tremewan, Secretary General of APRU, thanked Tsinghua for hosting the forum in his opening remarks and said that, as a foundation APRU member, Tsinghua University has been strongly engaged for 25 years with APRU initiatives and has offered valuable global leadership through its commitment to the Asia-Pacific region. He urged universities to work together to transform higher education, emphasizing the common good. APRU provides a neutral international platform for scaling up universities’ responses to global challenges, including educational reform, and for shaping a new generation of international leadership. Our understanding of diverse contexts as well as expertise in technological innovation are critical to creating the political will required for solutions to be implemented, he said. In her opening remarks, Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education of UNESCO, said that higher education could and must help forge a new social contract for education, one that can shape more just and sustainable times for all. “We need a new culture of collaboration which can only be fostered through strengthened partnerships and networks,” she added. Giannini encouraged higher education institutions to develop the great opportunity to address the challenges of current times, think beyond the horizon of the future and shape more just sustainable societies. Sobhi Tawil, Director, Future of Learning and Innovation Team of UNESCO, delivered a keynote address, shedding light on the proposals advanced by the “Reimagining our futures together – A new social contract for education” report, published by the International Commission on the Futures of Education of UNESCO. “At the current crossroads that we find ourselves, we need an education that can help transform and shape the world. But to shape and transform and define this future, education itself must be transformed,” Tawil said, adding that forging a new social contract for education was a critical step towards reimagining our futures together. The forum featured two roundtable sessions, followed by break-out group discussions. At the first roundtable, Michael Bruno, Provost of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and Ling San, Provost of Nanyang Technological University, delivered presentations on “The future of instruction, in-person vs. online, and why this matters.” and “Nurturing Future-Ready Lifelong Learners,” respectively. At the second roundtable, Toshiya Ueki, Executive Vice President of Tohoku University, presented on the topic of “How can universities enhance preparedness and resilience in higher education?” and Alan Chan, Provost of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, presented on the topic of “Renewing Education: Transformational Change or Back to Basics?” The event ended with a forum summary delivered by Annamarie Jagose, Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney, and closing remarks from Christopher Tremewan, Secretary General of APRU, and Yang Bin, Vice President and Provost of Tsinghua University. Yang said that future challenges could only be solved by working together, adding that Tsinghua looks forward to continuing to work with APRU and its partners worldwide to enhance shared academic development, mutual understanding, and levels of cooperation. The forum was moderated by Gao Hong, Vice Provost of Tsinghua University. For more information on APRU Provosts’ Forum, please visit www.apru.org/our-work/university-leadership/provosts-forum

HONG KONG – Universities should give more thought on promoting and presenting social and economic value of their research to the public through collaborations between institutes from different regions, some delegates said in the Provosts’ Forum held by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU). Panel on the role of present and future provosts as facilitators and transformers Provosts and administrative staff of 24 campuses around the Asia Pacific gathered on March 12 at The University of Hong Kong to discuss obstacles faced by APRU members, and the future of higher education system. During the discussion about the future of high-impact research and innovation, San Ling, Provost of Nanyang Technological University, talked about the application-driven research projects the university has done in cooperation with technology industry in Singapore. “These translational works…teach students how their research can be linked to real life,”Ling said, highlighting the importance of having good partnerships with local and global industries. Ling mentioned a famous project in Singapore in which a filmmaker was hired to “understand the science, bring it to the public, and look back and forth”. San Ling, Provost of Nanyang Technological University According to Ling, it is crucial to help the public understand what research projects are about, and optimize the university’s resource allocation to create more impact on the whole community and society. Also, Ling emphasized the value of interdisciplinary collaboration when it comes to ethical issues and policies as a safeguard of technological research.“Involvement of social science cannot be enough. It has to be throughout the process,” Ling added. Christopher Tremewan, Secretary General and John Morrow, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland (L-R) John Morrow, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland, said that “community [should be] viewed as a partner in [research-related] activities, not merely as a recipient”. Morrow pointed out that it is necessary for administrative staffers to hold a long-term view when considering the potential and interest of academics in order to integrate research with the needs of communities. KEY ISSUE ONE: FUNDING Panel on Regional Issues faced by APRU Members Ralph Hexter, Provost of the University of California, Davis, said that the U.S. has seen a trend of higher education institutes being increasingly privatized, given that the government seems to be less interested in any kind of public investment. “More and more people hold that higher education is not a public good, but a private one,” Hexter said. He talked further about the struggle to keep a balance between state support and independence of academic research, saying that “the more state legislature gives us, the more they seem to want to control us”. Andy Hor, Vice President of The University of Hong Kong, said that Hong Kong government shows a “dangerous” change of attitudes in recent years when it comes to allocating funds to local universities. “(The city’s government) care about how much money are spent on local students in particular,” Hor said, pointing out that government has doubt about the benefit of international student exchange programs. KEY ISSUE TWO: CROSS-NATIONAL STUDENT EXCHANGE Chen Chusheng, Vice President of the University of Science and Technology of China, said that postgraduate students at USTC are less willing to pursue PhD degrees abroad in recent years, which may be attributed to a growing sense of nationalism of their parents. In response to this trend, the university is trying to attract more students to participate in summer exchange programs during which they can obtain first-hand experiences of studying overseas, according to Chen. “For some students, attending these programs did change their mind,” he added. When speaking about the situation of international students, John Morrow from the University of Auckland said that it has become a “tricky issue” for Australian universities considering the shifting attitude of the government. According to Morrow, Australian government is now more cautious of accepting overseas students due to security concerns and the country’s less welcoming policies towards immigrants. Shirley Leitch, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Australian National University, said that there are concerns about whether Australian universities are “too successful” in terms of attracting international students, as they have become financially dependent on international investment when doing research. KEY ISSUE THREE: STUDENTS PARTICIPATION IN EXPLORING THE FUTURE Ralph Hexter from the University of California, Davis held that teaching style should be more student-oriented by understanding “who our students are [and] what they came to the university for”. He stressed the importance of constantly being in dialogue with students in order to identify their needs. “We are trying to help [the faculties] understand that the world is not the way it was when they were students, and just teaching in the same way they were may not necessarily lead to success for their students,” Hexter said. Rosa Devés, Vice President of academic affairs of the University of Chile Rosa Devés, Vice President of academic affairs of the University of Chile, pointed out that student participation is crucial in determining how universities should adapt to changes in the society. According to Devés, the key to the development of universities is “to give students a voice [and] look at the future together with them”. CONCLUSION: UNIVERSAL CHALLENGES AND COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS The issues that delegates touched upon during the forum include state and private funding, relation with government, nationalism and international academic activities, the influence of technology boom on the future of higher education, and social responsibilities of universities, many of which are universal in campuses from a variety of regions. An APRU provosts’ statement is to be published on the basis of the two-day forum, which focuses on networking and collaboration among APRU members such as launching scholars program. “Generally, I’m struck…[by] the common themes that emerged about identifying an appropriate narrative, and the need for us to demonstrate the service we provide to communities,” John Morrow said during the round-up session. Robin Garrell, Vice Provost of University of California, Los Angeles, said that there are opportunities for APRU to explore practices that help break down barriers that deter institutes with different backgrounds in various regions from collaboration. According to Garrell, the value of conversations taking place in this forum lies in the diversity and the universality of APRU members. Founded in 1997, APRU has 50 members of leading research universities from 17 economies in the Asia-Pacific region. Its provosts’ forum this year focuses on changing student profiles, development of technology and the need to prepare university graduates for increasingly competitive job market. The University of Hong Kong is the host of APRU Provosts’ Forum 2018, themed “the Future of University”, which lasted for three days from March 11 to 13. (Mandy Zheng) Paul Tam, Acting President and Provost, The University of Hong Kong   MATERIALS OF THE FORUM   SESSION 1 REGIONAL ISSUES FACED BY APRU MEMBERS Regional Issues on Higher Education in Asia: An Example of USTC Prof. Chen Chusheng, Vice President, University of Science and Technology of China Report on regional issues of Higher Education in Latin America Prof. Rosa Devés, Vice President of Academic Affairs, University of Chile Two Key Issues Facing the Australasian Higher Education Sector Prof. John Morrow, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), The University of Auckland SESSION 2 THE FUTURE OF HIGH-IMPACT RESEARCH AND INNOVATION HIBAR Research: What it is, why more of it is need, and how this might be accomplished. Prof. Lorne Whitehead, Special Advisor on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Research, University of British Columbia ROUND-UP SESSION: KEY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE Day 1 Summary Prof. John Morrow, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), The University of Auckland SESSION 4 NETWORKS AND COLLABORATION Osaka University’s Vision 2021: Five Pillars of Openness Prof. Mayumi Ishikawa, Director, Planning Unit, Center for Global Initiatives, Osaka University Grand Challenges: Transformative research on the world’s most intractable problems Prof. Shirley Leitch, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement), Australian National University Public University Partnership Ecosystems Prof. Robin Garrell, Vice Provost and Dean, University of California, Los Angeles SESSION 5 DISPERSING THE BENEFITS OF INTERNATIONALISATION LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY Higher Education: A Global Perspective Prof. Kai-Ming Cheng, Emeritus Professor, Division of Policy, Administration and Social Sciences Education, The University of Hong Kong What benefits do universities offer locally and globally? Prof. Rosa Devés, Vice President of Academic Affairs, University of Chile SESSION 6 THE ROLE OF PRESENT AND FUTURE PROVOSTS AS FACILITATORS AND TRANSFORMERS Provost Roles in 2050 Prof. O Ok Park, Provost and Executive Vice President, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology   APRU PROVOSTS’ FORUM 2018 STATEMENT As a consortium of leading research universities of the highly diverse Asia-Pacific region, APRU universities, we are committed to promoting the public good locally and globally. While each university faces challenges in its own context, APRU universities acknowledge the similarity of many issues across national borders and appreciate the significance of addressing regional and global challenges of increasing cultural parochialism and institutional complexity. By providing world class environments that facilitate teaching, learning, research and social inclusion, we translate leading-edge research and produce the next generation of leaders to address the challenges of the 21st century. APRU universities can network and collaborate on: sharing resources (e.g. data and online courseware) sharing best practices in teaching and learning enhancing faculty, staff and student performance crafting narratives that address issues of social justice, diversity, equity and access sharing practices on how to address these issues both within and beyond the network crafting narratives that support higher education and best represent our engagement and impact. Specifically, APRU could facilitate across the network: student and faculty mobility (e.g. APRU Scholars Program, group-based study abroad program); multi-disciplinary and cross-border collaboration in both teaching and learning; and narratives that best represent impact to diverse stakeholders. April 2018 More information about Provosts’ Forum 2018

Teaching & Innovation The 3rd Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Provosts Forum centered on innovations in teaching and learning. To highlight the theme of innovation, program sessions used a “flipped classroom” approach rather than lecture-style presentations. Session facilitators shared content in advance, briefly introduced research and case studies, then asked questions that promoted lively discussion. The APRU Provosts Forum was held on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, with participants in attendance from 21 universities around the Pacific Rim. The Forum was held in one of the UW’s Active Learning Classrooms, which is a lively and dynamic environment that serves as a center for undergraduate instruction, learning and technology. Read the APRU Provosts’ Forum 2016 Report