The ASEM Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum (ARC) is a bi-annual conference series that has been recognised as an Official Dialogue Partner of the ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM ME). The past editions of ARC have brought together hundreds of Asian and European student, university and business leaders for solution-oriented discussions on emerging higher education issues concerning both regions.[1] ARC is also one of the initial commitments to the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which is the successor to the United Nations Decade of ESD (2005-2014).
During ASEM ME5, the 4th ASEM Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum (ARC4) Policy Recommendations became an integral part of the Chair’s Statement of the Ministerial Meeting. Furthermore, the Ministers invited the Senior Officials “to explore how the Policy Recommendations developed by the Rectors and the Students during the 4th ASEM Rectors’ Conference (ARC4) and Students’ Forum […] could be integrated into the deliberations and work of the two pillars of the ASEM Education Process […]”. The Ministers “reaffirmed the importance of engaging HEIs and students as valuable active partners in the ASEM Education Process [and] asked ASEF to continue its efforts work in this regard”.
The ASEM Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum (ARC) has also become one of the initial commitments to the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) which is the successor to the United Nations Decade of ESD (2005-2014). It is one of the few existing large-scale inter-regional projects aimed at advancing ESD-related policies.
DESCRIPTION
Hosted by Zhejiang University, the 4th ASEM Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum (ARC4) was co-organised by Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, on 23-27 March 2015 in Hangzhou, China. The International Association of Universities (IAU) and the ASEAN University Network (AUN) contributed as ARC4 partners, as well as Chulalongkorn University and the Office of Higher Education Commission (OHEC) of Thailand as supporters.
Themed “University-Business Partnerships: Asia and Europe Seeking 21st Century Solutions”, the specific topics of ARC4 reflected some of the key issues facing the higher education sector in both Asia and Europe. These include how universities and the business sector can better cooperate to equip students with employability skills, to cultivate entrepreneurship, and to innovate learning environments through information and communication technologies.
ARC4 consisted of 3 Plenaries and 3 Working Sessions. Under each Working Session,
3 simultaneous Working Groups (WGs) discussed the following topics respectively:
- WG1: University-business partnerships for employability skills
- WG2: University-business partnerships for entrepreneurship
- WG3: University-business partnerships for New Learning Environments through Technology
Based on the group discussions, the participants jointly developed Policy Recommendations for the 5th ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM ME5) held on 27-28 April 2015 in Riga, Latvia. In addition, the participating universities and organisations benefitted from the networking, partnership-building and profile-enhancing opportunities provided by the Conference.
ARC4 Students’ Forum mirrored the theme of ARC4, “University-Business Partnerships: Asia and Europe Seeking 21st Century Solutions”. The participants were divided into 3 Focus Groups, each tackling one of the 3 above-mentioned areas of university-business partnerships. The Forum started with a 3-week Online Discussion Phase, which set the framework for the Focus Groups and served as a foundation for the on-site discussions in Hangzhou. Each participant was encouraged to bounce off her/his knowledge and perceptions with her/his counterparts. The idea was to identify the key issues and screen the landscape of their respective focus area prior to the meeting so that concrete proposals could be well developed on site. The Online Discussion Phase was led by selected Moderators and summarised by designated Rapporteurs.
The Forum was structured in 3 Plenary Sessions and 3 simultaneous Focus Group Sessions. The students’ discussions during these sessions yielded jointly developed Policy Recommendations, which were presented to the Rectors’ Conference and personally handed over by 4 student representatives at the Closing Ceremony of ARC4 to Ms Marite SEILE, Minister for Education of the Republic of Latvia. The Policy Recommendations were thus directly channelled to ASEM ME5.
The Keynote Speakers of the Rectors’ Conference included Mr DU Zhanyuan, Vice-Minister of Education of the People’s Republic of China; Ms Marite SEILE, Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia; Dr KIM Gwang-Jo, Director of the UNESCO Office in Bangkok; and Mr Jan TRUSZCZYNSKI, Former Director-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) in the European Commission. Dr ZENG Ming, Chief Strategic Officer of Alibaba Group was among the Panellists.
The Keynote Speeches at the Students’ Forum were delivered by Professor Nick MILES, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham University and Provost of Ningbo Campus, and Dr LOU Xiangming, Executive Director of Wahaha Group Institute. The Closing Remarks were given by Ms Anita VAHERE, Deputy Director of Policy Initiatives and Development, Ministry of Education and Science, Latvia, as well as Mr ZHAO Aaron, Deputy Director of the Division of International Organisations, Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, Ministry of Education, China.
To ensure a close linkage between the Rectors’ Conference and the Students’ Forum, 3 senior university representatives who attended the Rectors’ Conference also joined the Students’ Forum, acting as Mentors for the Focus Groups. Furthermore, 4 selected student representatives (2 from Asia and 2 from Europe) participated in the Rectors’ Conference to report on the outcome of the Students’ Forum.
To link the civil-society stakeholders with the ASEM Education Senior Officials, 1 Asian rector and 2 students (1 from Asia and 1 from Europe) were invited to participate in ASEM ME5 as stakeholder representatives. 2 video loops and 3 short videos were shown at ASEM ME5. The Policy Recommendations from both the Rectors’ Conference and the Students’ Forum were included in the ASEM ME5 Chair’s Statement as Annexes.
OUTPUT & OUTCOME
ARC4 brought together 139 rectors and 67 Students. The project successfully organised a 4-day event (2-day Students’ Forum and 2-day Rectors’ Conference) with thematic speeches by high-level speakers, plenary and working/focus group sessions led by the participants, study visits to Alibaba and a cultural evening/networking sessions – to share experiences, develop partnerships and propose ASEM perspectives on university-business collaboration. Deliverer 2 sets of Policy Recommendations from both students and rectors respectively to the ASEM Senior Officials at ASEM ME5
