New Asian Universities Alliance to raise regional mobility and international visibility

A new alliance consisting of 15 Universities across Asia has been formed with the mission to boost cooperation among the continent’s institutions and tackle joint regional, as well as global challenges. The consortium, initiated by Tsinghua University in March 2016, will slightly more than a year later begin its operations and serve as a platform with the key objective to strengthen regional ties among members and collectively play a greater role in international higher education.

The Asian University Alliance (AUA), launched in Beijing in the presence of Vice-Premier Liu Yandong, will pursue four key action lines, as announced in the AUA Joint Statement:

Promote mobility of students, scholars and staff among all members;
Strengthen research collaboration and joint innovation;
Establish high-level dialogues and forums to discuss higher education strategies and policies;
Compile and publish annual reports on Asian higher education.

The alliance shows no shortage of highly recognised universities in the continent, including the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Peking University, the University of Tokyo, King Saud University and more. The alliance, in which China takes a leading role underpinned by governmental support, will serve to manage and harmonise inter-regional mobility flows, and promote an Asian perspective on the stage of international higher education.

The State Council of the People's Republic of China – Press release