AUAP in cooperation with the Masters' Institute of Development Academy Seminary , Thailand and International Federation of Catholic Universities organized the 1st AUAP and IFCU Joint International Conference and the 16th AUAP General Conference held in Dusit Thani Pattaya Hotel, Thailand on November 19 to 20, 2018.
In the name of the Most High
Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests
I am very pleased to be with you tonight and to have this opportunity to share with you my plans
for AUAP as I start my term as President of this vibrant and very active organization, the AUAP for the coming two years, 2019 and 2020.I would like to start with a brief review of the history of how AUAP was established. Prof Wichit Srisa-an , our founder who is with us tonight can testify to the fact that this organization was established at the urgings of UNESCO, as there was no such association of higher education institutions in this part of the world at that time. The Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific (AUAP) was founded and established by representatives of universities from countries in the Asia and Pacific regions that assembled in a conference at Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhorn Ratchasima, Thailand, on 28 July 1995 under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Wichit Srisa-an, as the Rector of Suranaree University and became the AUAP Founding President.
Since the establishment of AUAP, representatives from the University of Tehran have been active members and were frequently attending the AUAP events and were actively engaged in the AUAP programs and undertook various roles in the management body of AUAP, General Conferences and Learning and Sharing Fora.
I am delighted that the University of Tehran was also a host to the AUAP Board Meeting and a Learning and Sharing Forum in 2014. The following years, 2015 and 2016 I served as the second Vice President then First Vice President in 2017 and 2018.
Now, it is an honor for me to undertake the responsibility of serving as the AUAP President for the next two years, 2019 and 2020.
I would also like, at this moment, to thank the previous management and leadership body who greatly devoted their time to the promotion of AUAP programs and to the growth of mutual understanding and cooperation among the member countries, universities and institutions.
During its lifetime, AUAP has played a large role in establishing a network among the university members through a variety of mechanisms such as holding conferences, workshops, and student activities.
AUAP was created to help universities achieve more success and overcome their challenges through networking primarily in the Asia and the Pacific regions. AUAP has gained significant experience through many years of cooperation among its members. The AUAP platform is a good opportunity for the exchange of information and it is an effective way for improving cooperation and promotion of mutual developments.
It is our understanding that through collaboration and networking, it will be possible to overcome the regional and global problems.
AUAP will provide us an opportunity to explore some of the issues posed by globalization, to set strategies for university management, to find ways to enhance quality assurance, to develop strategic partnership and to set mechanisms for further flexibility in dissemination of knowledge.
All new changes have had profound effects on the institutions of higher education. There is an essential need to prepare our faculty and students to see these changes and plan for it.
Now, it is crucial for AUAP, following its past successful achievements, to have a well-prepared road map with action plans. The future of AUAP strongly depends on all the members’ performance and activities. The three main missions of universities which are Education, Research and Social responsibility, highlight for us the areas that AUAP should focus on. AUAP, by sharing and networking amongst its members could help member universities in initiating innovation in Education to deepen creativity, critical thinking, employability, problem solving, communication and self management skills in their own students.
The third mission which is “social responsibility” should be considered a must “context” in which our research takes place and one subject that could be more highlighted and promoted by AUAP members.
Advance Technology has proven to improve the standards of human life on one side but on the other side has caused overuse of resources, which lead to shortage of valuable resources, climate change, and the widening gap between the rich and poor, and so on. Therefore, tackling these challenges and shortcomings should have top priorities and could only be mitigated by policy makers, scientists through bilateral partnership and collaboration.
Regarding the AUAP future strategic goals, the following could be assumed such that, with your support and cooperation, we could design programs to move ahead as desired and achieve results that help AUAP members to attain progress towards excellence:
· To encourage the exchange of faculty members, students and staff among the member
universities.
· To hold various programs for the member universities to learn about diverse cultures.
· To consider universities accreditation for easier evaluation of degrees.
· To hold workshops.
· To arrange study tours for the member universities .To request the member countries
to set prizes and awards for successful academic achievements.
· To disseminate information on diversification in higher education.
· To encourage the culture of equipping the young generation both women and men with
new skills and new technologies.
· To assist in organizing educational fairs and social events.
· To arrange and expand sports competitions following the basketball example.
· To set academic contest in different subjects such as language and leadership.
· To set mobility programs among the member countries similar to the international
programs as IESTE, ERASMUS Mundus, etc.
· To help the member universities to establish joint institutions.
· To arrange lectures by successful Asian and the Pacific businessmen to help with the
employment of new generation.
· To seek funds from private sectors to support academic programs among the member
universities.
· To set sharing scholarships for the outstanding students and faculty members.
· The list continues but most importantly, we need to strive and work together to establish
the culture of dialogue, knowledge-based activities, mutual decision making and
expansion of scientific cooperation among the member universities.
Last but not the least, on behalf of the members, I would like to express our gratitude to the leadership of AUAP in the past two years, namely:
· Prof. Sunghee Nam, President of Daegu Health College, Korea and President of AUAP
· Prof. Dr. Peter P. Laurel SECOND VICE PRESIDENT, Philippines, SECRETARY GENERAL,
· Professor Dr. Ricardo Pama, President Emeritus, University of the Cordilleras, Philippines,
· ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL Prof. Dr. Kyung Yong Kim, Daegu Health College, Korea
· Professor Dr. Ashish Dongre, Vice Chancellor of Ram Krishna Dharmarth Foundation
University (RKDF), India
· Dr. Shawn S. Chen, Chairman of the Advisory Council. and Founder of Sias International
University
· Country Chapter Chairs
Ms. Supaporn Chuangchid, Executive Secretary, AUAP Secretariat, Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific (AUAP)
And the local host institution, Master’s Institute Development Academy and Seminary or MIDAS and its President, Dr. Rolando Garcia.
I wish you all the best and look forward to working closely with all members for the betterment of our association.
Thank you so much for your kind attention.