Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU)
2009 Program | 2009 APRU World Institute (AWI) Program | 2008 Program | 2007 Program
The University of Melbourne was admitted as the 37th member of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) in June 2006. The main objective of APRU is to promote scientific, educational and cultural collaboration among Pacific Rim economies.
Melbourne is the third Australian member, along with the Australian National University and the University of Sydney. A full list of APRU member institutions may be viewed here.
Secretariat to the Association of Pacific Rim Universities at the University of Melbourne is provided by the International Relations Office. For further information please contact the Manager, International Relations.
Please revisit this website for updates in the future on news and activities associated with the APRU network.
2009 Program
Senior Staff Meeting
The University of Melbourne is hosting the APRU 6th Senior Staff Meeting from 18-20 March 2009 under the theme “Changing Trends in Higher Education in the Pacific Rim: Realities and Opportunities” (see Preliminary Program).
Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, will be the keynote speaker at the meeting, which will bring together the senior executive & senior management staff responsible for internationalisation and international activities from the majority of the 42 APRU member universities (see Participant List).
Invitations to the event have been extended within the University to Senior Executive, Deans, Associate Deans (International) and Associate Deans (Research), and externally to relevant members of the local consular corps, senior international staff from other Victorian universities, and representatives of State Government Departments, the City of Melbourne & the local office of the Commonwealth Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Presidents Meeting
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) will host the APRU 13th Annual Presidents Meeting from 28-30 June 2009 at Caltech in Pasadena, California. The theme of this year’s meeting will be “Grappling with Global Challenges: How universities can provide leadership and strategies to solve the problems of the 21st century”.
Undergraduate Summer Program
Information on the 2009 Undergraduate Summer Program at the National University of Singapore is available from the Melbourne Global Mobility website.
Research Symposium - Multi-Hazards around the Pacific Rim
National Taiwan University (NTU) will be hosting APRU’s 5th Research Symposium on "Multi-Hazards around the Pacific Rim" on 17-18 August, including an optional two-day field trip.
This conference series on earthquake and natural disaster mitigation will bring together leading researchers from APRU member universities in the fields of seismology, geology, volcanology, earth and environmental sciences, civil engineering, and related social sciences to deepen understanding of multi-hazards and how they contribute to natural disasters.
The research symposium will not only investigate earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, it will also touch on other natural catastrophes like flooding, landslides, droughts and wildfires. The hope is that this conference will stimulate discussion between APRU institutions and lead to fruitful, long-term collaborations on ways to build sustainable societies that are equipped to cope with natural disasters.
Interested researchers of APRU member universities from the fields of seismology, volcanology, earth and environmental sciences, civil engineering and/or related social sciences such as disaster information studies, are invited to register online via the conference website. Enquiries can be sent to the organizers at National Taiwan University at drymwu@ntu.edu.tw.
Submissions on scientific aspects relating to massive earthquakes and tsunamis, and the associated catastrophes, particularly from the earthquake and tsunami generated in the Indian Ocean in 2004, are strongly encouraged, with a deadline for submission of abstracts of 31 May 2009. More information such as program, conference sub-themes and submission of abstracts can be found on the conference website.
If you are interested in attending the symposium, you can register on the conference website and the registration deadline is 15 July 2009. An optional field trip to places such the Ta-An River Gorge, Shihkang Dam and Chiufenerhshan Landslide is also being planned for 19-20 August at a cost of USD 150 and further information is available online.
News from APRU member universities
News items and announcements from individual APRU institutions are available online.
2009-2011 Calendar of APRU Activities
The current 2009-2011 Calendar of APRU Activities is available online.2009 APRU World Institute (AWI) Program
AWI Public Health Research Meeting: February 2009
Stanford University will be hosting the AWI Public Health Research Meeting on February 24-25, 2009 for the Public Health Research Project steering committee to discuss preliminary findings of the baseline study and further develop directions for the Public Health Research Project.
AWI CMAS Project Meeting: March, 2009
The 4th AWI Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies (CMAS) Project Meeting will be hosted by the University of Melbourne from March 15-18, 2009. The meeting agenda will include discussing and reviewing project progress, developing the external funding strategy for CMAS and a discussion forum involving Melbourne business and government officials who are confronting water-related impacts.
The timing of this Project Meeting is aligned with the APRU Senior Staff Meeting in the hope that interested Senior Staff could take advantage of this opportunity to participate in part of the workshop so as to better understand the potential value of AWI activities for Climate Change and Public Health experts from their universities.
Interested participants may contact Professor Jim Falk, AWI Climate Change Director at jfalk@unimelb.edu.au.
AWI Public Health Workshop: June 2009
The AWI Public Health Workshop 2009 will be held at Johns Hopkins University on June 24-26, 2009. The planning meeting for this workshop will be held at Stanford University on February 23, 2009. Interested participants may contact Professor Lim Meng Kin, AWI Public Health Director at coflimmk@nus.edu.sg.