Petra Christian University (PCU) is proud to be the host for the Asian University Presidents Forum’s (AUPF) annual meeting this year. AUPF is a forum that brings together higher education institutions across Asia. Every year, member universities take turns to host the forum’s meeting, whose main purpose is to develop internationalization initiatives, particularly in the context of higher education. This event also becomes a hub for the exchange of ideas to increase the quality of higher education and to develop bilateral cooperation among higher education institutions in Asia.
The upcoming 17th annual meeting will be held on 6-8 November 2018 at PCU campus and Sheraton Surabaya Hotel and Towers. The forum will be attended by approximately 200 delegations consisting of university presidents and accompanying officials from more than 100 higher education institutions in Asia.
This year’s theme for the forum will be “Disruption at the Cross Roads: Innovative Engagement and Future Challenges for Higher Education.” This theme was chosen because swift changes are happening in the world due to technology development, and most of these changes ultimately catch the society by surprise. The era of change is also known as the era of “disruption.” Many sectors and fields are affected, including education. The issue of change (or disruption) becomes a challenge that is fitting to be discussed and solved together, especially in Asia where development is ongoing at a rapid pace. Discussing this theme will result in strategic insights on how to deal with future challenges in the era of disruption and will also prepare the leaders of education in Asia to creatively address these challenges.
The 17th AUPF meeting features five prominent speakers who will each address different aspects of the forum’s theme. The keynote speech, which will address the main theme of the meeting, “Disruption at The Cross Roads: Innovative Engagement and Future Challenges for Higher Education,” will be delivered by Prof. Ainun Na’im, Ph.D., The Secretary General of the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of Indonesia.
Following the keynote session, four distinguished speakers will present in the Talk Show session, namely Prof. Dr. Jekuk Chang, the President of Dongseo University, South Korea, Brig. Jen. Datuk Prof. Emeritus Dr. Kamarudin bin Hussin, the Board of Directors Chairman from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia, Prof. Dr. (H.C.). Ir. Rolly Intan, M.A.Sc., Dr. Eng., the Rector of Petra Christian University in 2009–2017, Indonesia, and Prof. Dr. hab. C. Eng. Janusz Szpytko – AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland.
The speakers will discuss three subthemes that are related to the conference main theme. The first subtheme will unpack the navigation of online courses at the age of disruption, while the second subtheme expands on shifting the way of learning through disruptive innovation. Finally, the last subtheme addresses the issue of disruption, globalization, and the changing context of education.
The discussion in the forum will be enriched by the perspectives of various higher education institutions across Asia. In addition to idea-sharing, one of the aims for this meeting is to provide an opportunity for the participants to network with each other. In fact, there will also be an opportunity for participating institutions to formalize their partnerships in the MoU Signing ceremony.
Moreover, Petra Christian University as the host has taken an initiative to publish a non-scientific journal where higher education leaders who are AUPF members can share their thoughts and ideas. It is hoped that the journal will be a legacy from the 17th Asian University Presidents Forum. “The journal will be a vehicle for higher education leaders to socialize their ideas to others. We hope that starting this year and in the following years, the journal will be routinely published every time an AUPF meeting is being held,” Prayonne Adi, M.MT., the Head of the AUPF 2018 Committee, mentioned.
Note: This article was originally published in Indonesian language in the March 2018 edition of Dwi Pekan, a bi-weekly publication of the Public Relations Department at Petra Christian University. The article is translated with permission from the Public Relations Department for use by the Committee of AUPF 2018. Some slight changes are made in the translated version in order to reflect the most current information.
