Keio hosts APRU Senior Staff Meeting

The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) annual Senior Staff Meeting (SSM) was held at the Keio University Hiyoshi Campus from March 10 to March 12. This was the first time that the meeting has been held by a Japanese member university. Keio previously played host to the APRU Annual Presidents Meeting at its Mita Campus from June 26 to 28, 2008. At the SSM, Vice Presidents (or their equivalent) responsible for international affairs at top research universities from the Pacific Rim (West Coast of North America, Central and South America, Oceania, South East Asia and East Asia) gathered at Keio where they had some meaningful discussions. The six participating universities from Japan were Tokyo University, Kyoto University, Osaka University, Tohoku University, Waseda University and Keio University.

The meeting, which was on the theme of "Riding the Demography Wave: How to Adapt, Survive and Prosper in a Changing Higher Education Environment in the Pacific Rim", included a keynote speech by Keio University President Prof. Atsushi Seike, two panel discussion sessions as well as group discussion sessions where participants had lively exchanges of ideas.

Main Program

March 10 (Wednesday)
Panel Session I: “Different Perspectives: The Impact of Shifting Demographics and an Aging Society”
Chair: Prof. Naoyuki Agawa, Vice President for International Collaboration and Education, Keio University
Panelists:
Prof. Kazuo Tsubota, School of Medicine, Keio University
Prof. Futao Huang, Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University
Prof. Naohiro Yashiro, International Christian University

March 11 (Thursday)
Keynote Speech: “Towards a Life-long Active Society” (Prof. Atsushi Seike, President, Keio University)
Panel Session II: “Changing Demographics in the Pacific and their Impact on Higher Education”
Chair: Prof. Junichi Mori, Vice President for International Relations, Kyoto University
Panelists:
・William Lacy, Vice Provost, University Outreach and International Programs, University of California, Davis
・Sung-il Cho, Deputy Vice President for International Affairs, Seoul National University
・Christopher Tremewan, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International), University of Auckland

March 12 (Friday)
APRU Business Meeting