At this moment we stand at the threshold of an exciting and historic time for international education in Asia. We are introducing today, both a new association of international educators and also launching its first-ever conference and exhibition under the title of “Trends and Changes in Asia-Pacific Higher Education.”

The initial plans for APAIE were developed over three years ago when I was first charged with the development of a number of internationalization initiatives in response to Korea University’s plans for globalization. Attending NAFSA, EAIE and also making personal trips to individual universities was the only way, at the time, to connect with other institutions and learn something about their plans and programs.

What I found was that generally the level of cooperation between Asia-Pacific universities both within the region and with North American and European institutions was low. And, if we wanted to develop relationships with individual organizations we would have to make separate trips investing many resources to -- in a sense --- “re-invent the wheel” over and over again.

Because this situation was often difficult, after consultation with representatives from many universitie, it seemed that the time had now come to think about developing an organization solely devoted to the needs of institutions in the Asia-Pacific region, and those universities from other continents with an interest in partnering with us. To become the third prong, as it were, that is currently holding up the world-wide project of international education.

At my initiative 13 universities met, representing all areas of the region, to discuss the possibility of starting an association. After two days of talks we agreed unanimously to form a founding committee to begin APAIE. I am very proud of the teamwork that was demonstrated later on and the level of voluntary commitment shown by these founding members. Together we worked to promote APAIE throughout the world and to garner support for this conference and exhibition.

I would now like to acknowledge their participation. So I ask that the following representatives from the founding universities please stand up and be recognized:

Dr. Christoper Tremewan from the University of Auckland in New Zealand
Dr. Liew Ah Choy from the National University of Singapore
Mr. Thomas Wu from the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Dr. Edgar Porter from the University of Hawaii in Manoa and Ritsmeikan APU
Dr. Hikota Koguchi from Waseda University in Japan
Dr. Jun Feng from Renmin University in China

Mr. Christopher Madden from Griffith University in Australia
Dr. Jason Huang from Sun Yat-sen University in Chinese Taipei
Dr. Umar Nimran from Brawijaya University in Indonesia
And finally Dr. Florina Merca from the University of the Philippines in Los Banos

And of course I cannot forget to recognize the involvement of my own institution - Korea University. Korea University offered exceptional support in terms of guidance from its leadership, the use of staff resources as well as university facilities. I am indebted to President EUH and to Provost and Chairman of Planning committee AHN for their support and encouragement over the past years.

And now I would like to say something about what I believe APAIE has to offer. Among the key goals of APAIE I believe that three stand out as the most relevant, and the ones that seem to me, to be of most benefit to members:

The first is communication. By bringing together, on an annual basis, representatives from all over the Asia-Pacific region, educators, administrators and others in the industry will be able to meet and exchange ideas. This will provide beneficial opportunities to share practical information that can be applied in the day to day operations of their international programs. I see this communication as complimentary to that which is afforded participation in organizations like NAFSA and EAIE.

Secondly, APAIE will promote collaboration. With the quality of university education continuing to improve throughout the Asia-Pacific region, member institutions of APAIE will be able to focus efforts to increase the number of intra and inter-region student exchanges. In particular I would like to propose that APAIE consider the feasibility of developing a Student Exchange program similar to the ERASMUS currently offered in Europe.

And lastly, another key goal of APAIE is the sharing of best practices. By focusing discussions on issues relevant to the region, we will begin to learn from each other, discovering both the “do’s” and the “don’t’s” in the field.

And now that I have briefly described what APAIE has to offer its members, I would like to comment on what I would like to see you contribute to APAIE. What APAIE expects from you ? its membership -- to be a success:

I would like to summurize this call to action for members of APAIE to correspond to the letters A - P - A - I - E.

The A in APAIE represents ASPIRE. I would like members of APAIE to collectively aspire to develop a wide-range of relevant programs and projects for their mutual benefit.

The P in APAIE represents PARTICIPATE. I call on members to participate with one another in initiatives developed by APAIE and to work towards the common goals of the association.

The second A in APAIE means ACHIEVE. I desire that all APAIE members commit themselves to achieve a high level of professionalism. And to pledge themselves to ongoing professional development as the field continues to grow and mature.

The I in APAIE represents INNOVATE. APAIE members are to be innovative in developing in a wide-range of creative and useful projects with a variety of universities. Taking advantage of the number of avenues of communication that APAIE makes available.

And finally, the E in APAIE is for EDUCATE. I call upon members of APAIE to help educate each other in good practice and policy and to work towards making effective use of the views of its membership with regard to international education.

And so today, as we begin to move forward together in the pursuit of our mutual goals for international education, I ask you all to ASPIRE, PARTICIPATE ACHIEVE, INNOVATE and EDUCATE in APAIE. Let’s take advantage of this new opportunity --- let’s seize the moment --- and fully realize the potential that now lies before us.

Thank you ….