A historic meeting of two major university groups, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and the Association of American Universities, took place in Singapore last month and led to a proposal to establish an Asia Pacific World Institute.
If, as expected, the plan goes ahead, it will be the first institute to be formed in the Pacific Rim region by a consortium of leading research universities from the Americas, Asia and Australasia. Australia was represented at the Singapore meeting by the vice-chancellors of the ANU and Sydney, Professor Ian Chubb and Professor Gavin Brown.
A meeting of the Australian and other vice-chancellors from around the Pacific later discussed the plan to create the Asia Pacific World Institute. A statement from the meeting said the institute would represent "a talent and resource base across a variety of knowledge branches from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond". The institute would aim to provide opportunities for research and scholarly collaboration by individual institutions and scholars from universities in the Asia Pacific as well as elsewhere.
"Apolitical in nature and housing diverse knowledge bases, the institute will seek to address global issues, trans-geographical and inter-cultural concerns," the statement said. A temporary governing board will be created to oversee the institute's establishment. President of the National University of Singapore and chair of the APRU, Professor Shih Choon Fong, will head the board to investigate the plan. The two meetings were hosted by the Singapore university and attracted vice-chancellors from the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region.
The Asia-Pacific group included representatives of 36 leading universities from 16 economies while the North American consortium of research universities had representative from 60 American and two Canadian institutions. As well as the 54 delegates from the US, Asia and Australasia, the presidents of top Indian universities from the Association of Indian Universities were also present.
Discussions ranged from strategic issues to trends and developments in higher education and globalisation. The topic of the international role of universities in a changing global environment was first on the agenda, followed by issues such as internationalisation, research capacity and resource building.
The Association of Pacific Rim Universities was formed in 1997. It aims to foster co-operation in education, research and enterprise thereby contributing to the economic, scientific and cultural advancement in nations around the rim. The Association of American Universities was founded in 1900 and currently consists of 60 American and two Canadian universities.
