3rd AUN Rectors’ Meeting AUN’s Collective Positioning in the World of Higher Education 27 July 2011 Luang Prabang, Lao PDR INTRODUCTION 1. The 3rd AUN Rectors’ Meeting was held on 27 July 2011 and was hosted by the National University of Laos in Luang Prabang. 2. The Meeting agenda, AUN’s Collective Positioning in the World of Higher Education was addressed in response to the implementation of ASEAN strategies and activities on higher education, comprises of 13 individual and regional dialogue partners. AUN as one of the ASEAN entity responsible for higher education realized of and committed to its obligation to help consolidate the AUN’s collective positions in order to constructively engage with the prioritized dialogue partners; namely China, Japan, Korea, EU, US, ASEAN+3, ASEAN+8 (East Asia Summit) and other future potential partners such as Australia, Canada, and so on. The establishment of the AUN’s Engagement Plan, will in turns, serve the AUN’s Strategic Plan 2011-2015. 3. The Meeting was attended by Chancellors Presidents, , Rectors Vice-Chancellors, , and representatives of the 26 AUN Member Universities from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The Meeting was also attended by the observers from the National University of Laos and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lao PDR. The full list of participants appears as Annex 1.
OPENING CEREMONY 4. Assoc. Prof. Dr.Nantana Gajaseni, AUN Executive Director, delivered the Introductory
Remark. The AUN Executive Director mentioned that this Meeting is duly organised in accordance with the two coherent causes, firstly as to introduce the four new members of AUN; andsecondly, to have the participants sharing their thoughts, experiences, and contributions to the collective initiatives, that is, the AUN’s Engagement Plan.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nantana Gajaseni’s statement appears as Annex 2. 5. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phetsamone Khounsavath delivered the welcoming remarks on behalf of Prof. Dr. Soukkongseng Saignaleuth, President of National University of Laos. He warmly welcomed all the participants to the world heritage site of Luang Prabang and also recorded his appreciation of the organisation of the 3rd AUN Rectors’ Meeting as a significant event for higher education cooperation among AUN Member Universities. By realising the importance of a regional integration process, the commitment and collective endeavours among the AUN Member Universities will contribute to the production of qualified personnel and effort in building the ASEAN community.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phetsamone Khounsavath’s statement appears as Annex 3.
Session I: Three Dimensional Perspectives on Global Challenges 6. Three presentations were carried out by 1.)Dato‘ PadukaDr. Haji Zulkarnain Haji Hanafi, Vice Chancellor, Universiti Brunei Darussalam; 2.) Prof. Dr. Alfredo E. Pascual, President, the University of the Philippines; 3.)Assoc. Prof. Dr. Peter Pang, Assistant Vice President (University and Global Relations) National University of Singapore.The presentations projected the different perspectives on global challenges and provide strategic approaches to the Higher Education and relevant issues. 7. The three presentations had Assoc. Prof. Dr.Nantana Gajasenias a moderator. Dato‘ Paduka Dr. Haji Zulkarnain Haji Hanafi’s presentation appears as Annex 4. Prof. Dr. Alfredo E. Pascual’s presentation appears as Annex 5. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Peter Pang’s presentation appears as Annex 6.
Session II: Introduction of the AUN and current regional cooperation 8. The AUN introductory presentation and the current regional cooperation were presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nantana Gajaseni, the AUN Executive Director. The session offers an intensive introduction of the AUN on the core value, mission, vision and the AUN achievement in cooperation with its dialogue partners. It also provides participants the in-depth information on current status and the development of AUN activities and initiatives with its dialogue partners. The full documentation of presentation “Introduction of the AUN and current regional cooperation” appears as Annex 7.
The country factsheet compiled by the AUN Secretariat was disseminated to participants prior to the meeting. Serving as an assistance tool in consolidating AUN’s Collective Positions, the country factsheet of each country is published to ease the policy makers in their decision making to bring about the ‘proactive’ policy strategy and collective standpoints for each individual dialogue partner namely: Plus Three Countries, Australia, China, Japan, Korea, EU, and US.
The country factsheet appears as Annex 8.
Session III: Briefing on Workshop‘s methods and arrangements 9. The briefing was conducted by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nantana Gajaseni, the AUN Executive Director. The objective of the briefing on Workshop’s methods and arrangements was to provide the participants the general procedures and conducts during the workshop. The expected outcome from the workshop is the AUN’s Engagement Plan with Dialogue Partners, to be implemented as part of the AUN Strategic Plan 2011-2015. The full documentation of presentation for ‘briefing on workshop’s methods and arrangements’ appears as Annex9.
Session IV: Workshop: AUN’s Collective Positioning in the World of Higher Education 10. The workshop divides participants into three groups; each group is led by selected chairperson assigned to report and present group’s recommendation at the end of workshop.Each group will spend 60 minutes in each ‘Dialogue Partners Table’ to discuss and bring about collective areas of cooperation designated in each table. 11. After 60 minutes spent, the group will be rotating to the next table until completing all three Dialogue Partners Tables.The three Dialogue Partners Tables consist of 1.) Table A: China, Japan, ROK; 2.) Table B: Australia, EU, USA; 3.)Table C: ASEAN+3, ASEAN+8, Other Countries.
Session V: Summary of Group Work by Chairpersons 12. After the group rotation was finished, the chairpersons of each group presented their collective results. The presentations of the three groups appear as Annex 10, 11, and 12.
13. The AUN’s Engagement Plan with Dialogue Partners from the 3 rd AUN Rectors’ Meeting was submitted to the 27thAUN-BOT Meeting on 28 July 2011 and will be tabled at the 1stASEAN Plus Three Rectors’ Conference on 2-4 November 2011 in Beijing. The AUN’s Engagement Plan appears as Annex 13. 14. In conclusion of the meeting, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nantana Gajaseni, the AUN Executive Director, expressed her appreciation to all participants for their valuable contribution during the meeting. In order to achieve the engagement plan, she called for the collective effort of the AUN Member Universities as an integral part to bring forth the accomplishment of the activities under the AUN and its dialogue partners. 15. The meeting was held in the traditional spirit of ASEAN cordiality and solidarity.