University heads welcome Xi’s championing of openness

Seoul National University, believed Xi’s speech sends a friendly message to the rest of the world and provides a basis for more cooperation between universities in China and other parts of Asia.

“Openness is also important to transparency, whether for nations, governments or people,” Sung told China Daily.

As Asian universities rise up along with the regional economy, openness is important to further improve the quality of higher education, Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong said.

“Openness is maybe the most important feature in higher education in the 21st century,” said Qiu.

“Openness, I think, is the prerequisite for innovation. It is also the prerequisite for cultivating young talents with global vision.”

Qiu hopes Asian universities will have more impact on global higher education by promoting openness, and contributing to the development of Asia and the world.

Lakshman Dissanayake, vice-chancellor at the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka, praised Xi’s emphasis on building a community with a shared future for mankind. “We see so many values within the Asian culture,” he said.

“We are divided by countries and all that, but when it comes to culture, we see cultural values, common values.”

Dissanayake said Asian universities need a common integrated approach based on the shared values in Asian culture to further develop.

Referring to Xi’s intellectual property protection measures, Abdul Rahim Hashim, vicechancellor of the University of Malaya, said IP rights in universities are often flexible. They are based on the source of funding, especially when it comes to research funded by industries under negotiated agreements.

Devang V. Khakhar, director at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, said strong intellectual-property protection will increase the level of innovation.

“More inventors will spend more time to come up with new ideas,” said Khakhar, adding that investors will be willing to invest much more when they feel safe.

“This will be great news for innovation in China,” said Khakhar.

The roundtable on “The Rise of Asian Universities” was a sideline event at the forum. The discussions brought together leading experts in the higher-education sector from different regions and countries across Asia.