The 17th Annual Presidents Meeting of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) was held at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia on June 27--28, 2013. APRU is an association of forty-two leading research universities in the Pacific Rim region. The association aims to facilitate collaboration between its member institutions, address issues relevant to the Pacific Rim region, and contribute to international society. Kyoto University has been a member of the association since its formation in 1997.
The meeting was attended by approximately ninety faculty and staff members from APRU member universities, including university presidents and vice-presidents. The Kyoto University delegation consisted of Vice-President Junichi Mori, director general of the Organization for the Promotion of International Relations, Prof. Kunio Takeyasu of the Graduate School of Biostudies, and two administrative staff members from the International Affairs Division.
The theme of this year's meeting was Partnering on Education, Research and Innovation for Pacific Rim Challenges, and the first day of the meeting comprised three sessions focusing on specific relevant areas. The first session A Russian Transformation -- a session on provincial and Russian growth and higher education strategy, was chaired by President Sergey Ivanets of Far Eastern Federal University, and featured keynote speeches by five prominent figures in the Russian political world, including Dr. Dmitry Livanov, the minister of education and science of the Russian Federation and Dr. Viktor Ishayev, the minister for the development of the Russian Far East and plenipotentiary representative of the Russian president in the Russian Far East. The second session, titled The Future of Northeast Asia and the Pacific Rim -- prospects for growth and prosperity: perspectives from Russia, China, Japan and Korea, was chaired by President Yeon-Cheon Oh of Seoul National University, and also featured five keynote speakers, including Executive Vice-President Toshiya Ueki of Tohoku University, who spoke on Disaster Impacts on National Growth and Disaster Risk Reduction Initiatives at the International and Regional Level. Session Three: Connecting Knowledge to Policy -- how should APRU universities collectively engage with APEC, governments and communities on Pacific Rim challenges? was chaired by Chancellor Gene Block of the University of California, Los Angeles, and featured four presentations offering different perspectives on APRU's role and potential in shaping international policy.
The first day also featured a report by the participants of the APRU Student Leaders Forum (SLF), which was held in conjunction with the Annual Presidents Meeting on June 24--28. The SLF is a five-day event that aims to promote cooperation and friendship amongst undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from APRU member universities. From Kyoto University, Yusuke Miyazaki, a fourth year student in the Faculty of Engineering attended the event.
The second day of the Annual Presidents Meeting began with a session to discuss the progress and implementation of APRU's Strategic Plan to address the three core themes of Shaping Asia Pacific Higher Education and Research, Creating Asia-Pacific Global Leaders, and Partnering on Solutions to Asia-Pacific Challenges. That session was followed by the APRU Business Meeting, which was led by APRU chairperson Chancellor Henry T. Yang of the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Business Meeting included a discussion on the possible expansion of the APRU Membership, and the association's annual financial report. A vote to elect members to the association's Steering Committee was also on the agenda, and the members elected President Toshio Hirano of Osaka University to succeed Kyoto University president Dr. Hiroshi Matsumoto as the Steering Committee member for Japan. President Matsumoto's two-year term on the Steering Committee ended in June 2013. The two day meeting was then brought to a close with the Presidents Open Forum, chaired by Vice-Chancellor Stuart McCutcheon of the University of Auckland.
The next APRU Annual Presidents Meeting is scheduled to be held in June 2014 at Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.
 The meeting participants |  Prof. Kunio Takeyasu (left)、Vice-President Junichi Mori(right) |
 The Student Leaders Forum participants | |