The Asian Universities Alliance Founding Assembly and the first AUA Summit were held in Beijing on April 29th. Vice-Premier Liu Yandong attended the summit and delivered the keynote speech.

Firstly, she extended her congratulations on the establishment of the AUA and its first summit in Tsinghua University. She pointed out that Asia, with its long history and splendid civilization, is one of the regions in the world with a vibrant economy and the greatest possibilities. To establish the AUA is of outstanding significance for deepening regional cooperation and a proactive way to fulfill the idea of building a community of common destiny for all mankind, and one which will exert an important influence on promoting regional prosperity, strengthening cultural exchange and enhancing 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 institutes of higher education, and makes efforts to enhance their innovative capability, expand education opening-up, promote the construction of first class universities and disciplines, and boost the development of higher education. She expressed the wish that the AUA will become a platform for gathering educational ideas and resources to train outstanding talents with an international perspective and to serve regional development; become a platform for research collaboration to jointly improve the overall status and international influence of higher education in Asia; become a platform for benign interaction amongst academic circles, the government and enterprises, promoting in-depth integration of production, learning and research, and serving society; become a platform of diversified civilizations, promoting understanding, tolerance, and mutual learning among different cultures and establishing a bridge of friendship among peoples of all countries; become a platform for international cooperation and communication, contributing Asian wisdom to resolve regional and global problems.

The founding members of the AUA consist of 15 representative universities in 14 countries and regions; over 400 university Presidents, teachers and students attended the summit.

The AUA is a university alliance jointly established by 15 representative universities from Asian countries on the basis of the developing trend of higher education in Asia and following a proposal by Tsinghua University. 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 in running and promoting cooperation, innovation and cultural communication in the field of higher education in Asia, jointly training young leading talents rooted in Asia’s multi-cultural environment, improving the quality of higher education and ability in scientific and technological innovation, promoting the rise of higher education in Asia and strengthening the influence and ability to pursue discourse by Asian Universities in the field of global higher education.

The founding members of 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, Tsinghua University was elected the Alliance President. The Alliance will hold AUA Presidents Forum, Annual Meeting, Youth Forum, Summer and Winter Vacation Culture Immersion Program, and Scientific Research Cooperation, in order to promote the growth of young people and cultivate future leaders, promote collaborative innovation, cope with common challenges, strengthen cultural exchanges, and build a regional consensus.

(From Office of Global Communications and Outreach)

Transferred from: Tsinghua University News