Universities form an alliance

A TOTAL OF 103 universities from China, South Asia and Southeast Asia have formed an alliance to enhance regional co-operation on higher education.

The alliance includes 45 elite Chinese universities such as Renmin University of China and Fudan University.

Other members of the alliance come from 14 South and Southeast Asian countries, including India, Thailand and Singapore.

The alliance will hold presidents’ forums on a regular basis to share their experience in school administration, establish a resource-sharing platform, launch joint talent cultivation programmes, and set up joint laboratories to promote international co-operation on scientific research.

“We’re looking to effectively utilise the available resources to raise the quality and efficiency of higher education. One of the very important strategies for achieving this objective is greater regional co-operation among universities,” said Lakshman Dissanayake, vice-chancellor of the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka, in a keynote speech.

The secretariat will be based in Yunnan University and Lin Wenxun, president of Yunnan University, will serve as the first secretary-general of the alliance, according to a decision adopted by representatives for the 103 universities at a gathering held on Monday in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province. |