AUN News

The 12th ASEAN+3 Heads of International Relations Meeting, hosted by Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) on 8-9 May, 2025, in Bandung, Indonesia, brought together over 60 international relations leaders from ASEAN+3 UNeT Member Universities under the theme "Glorecal Connections: Driving Digital Transformation for a Sustainable Education Future," featuring bilateral networking sessions, keynote presentations, institutional showcases, and high-level visits to ITB's innovation facilities. The meeting's interactive rotating workshops centered on global, regional, and local perspectives revealed that ASEAN+3's strength lies in its ability to integrate diverse strategies into a unified, sustainable digital education ecosystem where international excellence, regional solidarity, and local empowerment converge. Participants also engaged in cultural experiences including an Angklung music session and Batik workshop. The event has supported universities in developing digital transformation strategies, and enhancing collaboration among ASEAN+3 educational institutions for sustainable education across the region.

Join the Mastery Training Workshop on Qualifications Excellence—a 3-day intensive programme organised by the ASEAN University Network (AUN) through its AUN Qualifications Excellence (AUN-QEx) initiative, in association with Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization’s (SEAMEO) Regional Centre specialising in higher education and development (RIHED).

The ASEAN University Network (AUN) conducted a scoping visit to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to collaborate with local educational institutions and government bodies. This initiative aimed at enhancing quality assurance and qualifications excellence in Timor-Leste's higher education sector. The visit, hosted in Dili by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Culture, featured engagement from all 19 universities in the country, demonstrating a robust collective effort to advance educational standards

Throughout the months of October to November in 2024, the Times Higher Education - ASEAN University Network (THE-AUN) tripart webinar series brought together over 1,000 participants from 523 institutions across 24 countries, strengthening institutional understanding of university rankings, sustainability, and strategic reputation management. Spanning three sessions, the series provided valuable insights into THE Impact and World University Rankings, with interactive discussions, expert-led presentations, and strong engagement from AUN member universities. With a 94% positive satisfaction rate, participants praised the webinars for their clarity, depth, and relevance, highlighting a growing interest in best practices and case studies for institutional excellence. Building on this success, AUN and THE are exploring further collaborations in 2025 to expand engagement and deepen content delivery.

The ASEAN-Japan Youth Forum: Take Actions for Social Change (TASC) 2024, a joint initiative between the Japan Foundation and ASEAN University Network (AUN), brought together 20 undergraduate students from Japan and ASEAN countries for a dynamic learning experience under the theme “Good Health and Well-Being”. The programme featured visits to social welfare organisations in Osaka, Mie and Tokyo that provided students with the opportunity to engage directly with local communities. Following the previous article that explored visits to institutions in Osaka centred around “community-building”, find in this piece an overview of the visits to NPO Comekko in Osaka and Nabari City Community Health Room in Mie, and the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities in Tokyo. Insights gained from the knowledge delivered by experts enriched the students’ final presentations on the last day of this trip which reflected the importance of youth-driven initiatives in reaching an inclusive and equitable society.

The first event of the Inaugural ASEAN University Network for Agriculture and Food Security (AUN-AFS) Webinar Series held on 10 February 2025 successfully marked a significant milestone in fostering a regional dialogue on food security and agriculture in ASEAN higher education. Attracting over 800 participants from ASEAN countries, China, Guinea and Uganda, the webinar showcased remarkable diversity and representation across a broad spectrum of institutions including universities, agricultural organisations, government agencies and the medical sector. The strong engagement from students, professors, researchers and head of faculties underscores the critical role of higher education in advancing inclusive and research-driven solutions for food security and agriculture. Hosted by Universiti Putra Malaya (UPM), the webinar featured speakers from 3 ASEAN countries–Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand–who touched upon not only food security in its production phases but also accessibility, affordability and safety. A key highlight was the launch of the “UPM Blueprint on Food Security”, a strategic framework guiding the university’s initiatives in merging academic excellence among students with the necessary technological competencies to transform the agricultural community. UPM’s leadership in developing the blueprint positions the university at the forefront of agricultural and food security innovation, as well as the host institution of AUN-AFS.

Since its establishment in 2014, ASEAN University Network Health Promotion Network (AUN-HPN) has been actively contributing to university health promotion across the ASEAN region. In this connection, the book "Management and Strategy: How AUN-HPN Became a Driving Force for Regional Health Promotion" has been published by the AUN Secretariat team in coordination with AUN-HPN to observe and catalogue the good practices in managing the thematic network of universities. To do so, this book focuses on the work and perspectives of AUN-HPN’s past and current thought leaders as well as the observation of AUN-HPN flagship activities.