CUHK
News Centre

Peking University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) co-organised the 2020 Forum on Building World Class Universities and the Meeting of the Association of University Presidents of China (AUPC) from 16 to 17 October in Dongguan, Guangdong. The Forum and meeting were successfully held with generous support of the Dongguan Municipal Government. Prof. Tan Tie-Niu, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; Prof. Wang Xi, Vice-Governor of Guangdong Province; Mr. Liang Wei-Dong, Party Secretary of the Dongguan Municipal Government, Mr. Xu Yong-Ji, Deputy Director of the Office for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs; and Prof Hao Ping, President of Peking University officiated at the opening ceremony. Around 100 participants attended the events including Presidents/Vice Presidents of AUPC member institutions and representatives of Ministry of Education.

Professor Rocky S. Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK participated in the activities, specifically in a forum on future development paths for China universities with presentations given by officials from the Ministry of Education and member institutions of AUPC. AUPC members include Peking University, Tsinghua University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Nanjing University, Zhejiang University, University of Science and Technology of China, Xi’an Jiaotong University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and The University of Hong Kong. Heads of the 12 AUPC universities shared their plans and strategies on the three themes of the Forum, namely “The Evaluation and Prospect of Building First Class Universities”, “Challenges and Responsibilities of Universities in the Post Pandemic Era” and “How Do First Class Universities Serve Regional Social and Economic Development”.

Professor Tuan delivered a talk on the challenges and responsibilities of higher education in the post pandemic period. He said that universities are more instrumental than ever and have the responsibility to develop creative and actionable approaches and solutions, and provide leadership to make education and research more relevant to societal and global sustainable development. Professor Tuan, the current President of AUPC, also convened and chaired the annual round table meeting of AUPC on 16 October. During the meeting, the participating senior members exchanged opinions on the future endeavors of AUPC and their concerted efforts in creating positive impacts to the future development of higher education development.

About AUPC

Founded in 1997, AUPC comprises member institutions including nine top mainland universities and three research universities in Hong Kong. The Association aims to dedicate its expertise and coordinate resources to the development of higher education in China. Apart from annual meetings and Presidents Forums among member universities, the Association also forged and encouraged research collaboration, scholar and student exchange, and joint supervision of postgraduate students among member institutions.