Vice-President Junichi Mori attends 2nd ASEAN+3 Rectors' Conference (6-7 November 2014)

Professor Junichi Mori, Kyoto University's Vice-President for International Relations and Director-General of the University's Organization for the Promotion of International Relations (OPIR) and Professor Mamoru Shibayama, Director of the Kyoto University ASEAN Center, attended the 2nd ASEAN+3 Rectors' Conference at Chiang Mai University in Thailand on 6-7 November 2014. The conference is a regularly held meeting for members of the ASEAN+3 Network, a forum for cooperation between the ASEAN University Network (AUN) and universities in the "plus three" countries of Japan, China, and South Korea.

The two-day conference was attended by delegates from 32 universities spanning 12 countries. The first day of the conference opened with a welcome speech by President Niwes Nantachit of Chiang Mai University, which was followed by speeches by representatives from Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the education ministries of China and South Korea, and the ASEAN Secretariat. The speakers shared their ideas regarding potential collaboration among ASEAN+3 universities and methods to strengthen higher education cooperation within the region. The speeches were followed by discussion sessions and workshops in which the delegates from the participating universities discussed potential collaborative projects and exchanged opinions on research, education, and university policy. The second day of the conference included the ASEAN+3 Network's progress report for 2012-2013, reports of successful activities and the future plans, and the confirmation of the schedule for the next ASEAN+3 Rectors' Conference.

The AUN was formed in 1995 after being proposed at the 4th ASEAN Summit in 1992. The network seeks to promote academic exchange and research collaboration between its member institutions and with universities around the world in order to advance human resources development in the ASEAN Region. The network currently comprises 30 member universities throughout the 10 countries of the ASEAN region. Kyoto University concluded a general memorandum of academic cooperation and exchange with the AUN in 2009, through which it pursues various cooperative endeavors. Through participating in international networks and consortia such as the ASEAN+3 Network, Kyoto University seeks to enhance the scope of its international engagement, and encourage student and faculty involvement in international events, such as academic symposia and meetings, as well as student forums and speech contests.