Alliance of Asian Liberal Arts Universities
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The Alliance of Asian Liberal Arts Universities (AALAU) is a network of renowned liberal arts universities in Asia. Members collectively enhance their quality of teaching, learning and research through benchmarking, the sharing of best practices, and collaboration within and beyond the network. The 2021 Annual Presidents’ Forum of the AALAU, hosted by the Northeast Normal University (NENU) in Changchun, China, was conducted online on 11 November 2021, and was focused on the theme “Liberal Arts Education: Mission of the Times and Implementation Path”. The Forum attracted over 70 educational leaders and scholars representing 19 universities in India, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, who discussed best practices and exchanged views on the future development of liberal arts education in the region. Prof Leonard K Cheng, President of LU, was invited to deliver an opening speech with Prof Liu Yichun, President of NENU. 
Group photograph of the attendees at the 2021 Annual Presidents’ Forum of the AALAU. President Liu of NENU declared that the key mission of future education is to cultivate students’ mindset and ability to address uncertainty. He elaborated that universities are responsible for strengthening cultural and moral education and enhancing students’ ideological awareness, morality and cultural literacy. In the “new normal” situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic, universities should fully utilise their existing international exchange resources and endeavour to maximise internationalisation locally. That is, they should shift from the traditional international cooperation model, which relies on physical mobility, to the new model, which involves rich technological, “Smart+” and “Internet+” elements. President Cheng of LU spoke on the skills and traits that all talented individuals need in the 21st century. He highlighted the importance of the “4Cs” for life and career development–critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration–and noted that these skills should be cultivated in students through holistic education. He emphasised that such education should also equip students with self-awareness, personal and social responsibility and an appetite for life-long learning, which will enhance their future career competence. He added that multiple approaches should be adopted and a quality assurance system established for holistic education management, as this will ensure that students are comprehensively and sustainably educated. Prof Huang Futao, Professor of Research Institute for Higher Education of Hiroshima University, gave a keynote speech entitled “Liberal Arts Education in Japanese Universities” to introduce the educational goals and execution of liberal arts education at the University of Tokyo, the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Hiroshima University. He noted that liberal arts education in all countries needs to evolve from an external introduction to the field to a localised focus, to better serve local students. |
Prof Li Manli, Professor of the Institute of Education of Tsinghua University, delivered another keynote speech on “High School-Undergraduate ‘Duancha’ and the Direction of Liberal Arts Education Re-Examined”, in which she explained the “disconnection” (“duancha”) between high school and university education in the US, Japan and China. She also emphasised the importance of systematic and comprehensive education reform, and universities’ proactivity and autonomy, for ensuring students’ successful transition from high school to university education.
At the sub-forums held in the afternoon, representatives from Alliance members shared their experiences and had fruitful discussions on the topics “Liberal Arts Education and Interdisciplinary Talent Training”, “Liberal Arts Education and Cultivation of High-quality Teachers” and “Curriculum Construction and Teaching Reform of Liberal Arts Education”.
The AALAU builds synergies between member universities, and creates opportunities for collaborative work within and beyond the group. More information and updates are available at www.aalau.org.
Prof Liu Yichun, President of NENU (left), Prof Leonard K Cheng, President of LU (middle), and Prof Joshua Mok Ka-ho, Vice-President and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Comparative Policy of LU (right), delivering speeches at the 2021 Annual Presidents’ Forum of the AALAU.
