PUBLIC LECTURE: Asia-Pacific Universities in the New Era

- East and Southeast Asian universities are intensifying Asian focused internationalization efforts. Japan, S. Korea and Taiwan in particular are investing substantial amounts of public money to send postgraduate students to its Asian neighbours and to recruit the best and the brightest science and technology students from the region, with the hopes that these students will replace in the future, their aging workforce. Additionally, with the launching of the ASEAN charter in December 2008, in Jakarta, Indonesia, ASEAN countries are seriously promoting socio-cultural cooperation through bilateral student mobility among their members and the plus 3 countries (Japan, China, S. Korea). This lecture will explore how internationalization efforts among universities in the region will bring a new kind of regionalism in 21st century. It is one that will no longer be driven by the traditional integrators (i.e. businessmen many of whom knew nothing about Asia before they had to work in the region). Asian universities, by introducing a new awareness and appreciation among their students of the identity of the countries in the region, are forming new integrators who know Asia, chose to work in Asia and are proud to be Asian.

The lecture will also discuss challenges to current internationalization programs and proposes research topics and changes in student mobility efforts so universities and academics can better promote appreciation and understanding of the region.