Executive Vice-President Nagahiro Minato attends the 20th AEARU Annual General Meeting (31 October 2014)

The 20th Annual General Meeting of the Association of East Asian Research Universities (AEARU) was held at Nanjing University, China on 31 October 2014. Dr Nagahiro Minato, Executive Vice-President for Research, Planning, and Hospital Administration attended the meeting on behalf of Kyoto University, accompanied by a staff member from the International Affairs Division.

AEARU is an association of 17 leading universities in five regions of East Asia -- Japan, the Chinese Mainland, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan -- founded with the aims of generating world-class knowledge and promoting academic exchange in East Asia. AEARU organizes various activities throughout the year, including research workshops and student summer camps. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the core activity of the association, which brings the presidents or vice-presidents of all member universities together once a year to review operations and discuss matters relating to the association. Kyoto University has been a member of AEARU since 1997.

The AGM was chaired by President Chen Jun of Nanjing University, the current chairperson of AEARU. The meeting began with an announcement of changes in member university presidencies that have occurred since the previous AGM last year. In acknowledgment of his contribution to AEARU, a certificate of appreciation was awarded to former Kyoto University President, Dr Hiroshi Matsumoto, who was actively involved in AEARU throughout his term as President, which ended in September of this year. During his term, Dr Matsumoto served as the organization's chairperson for two years and as a member of its Board of Directors.

The meeting proceeded with reports by the member university delegates of AEARU activities conducted in 2014, such as workshops and student camps. Activity plans for 2015, the association's financial report, and a report on the status of its collaboration with the League of European Research Universities (LERU) were also given. Also during the meeting, Yonsei University in the Republic of Korea was newly admitted as a member of AEARU.

In the latter half of the meeting, presentations were given by four of the member university representatives, introducing initiatives at their institutions. A guest presentation was also given by a representative of the QS Intelligence Unit. The presentations were followed by a lively discussion session.

The next AEARU Annual General Meeting is scheduled to be held at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in December 2015.