DPR News
7th ASEF Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum (ARC7)
The Deputy President and Registrar addressed the 7th ASEF Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum (ARC7) in Bucharest on 13th April 2019. The conference theme was “Higher Education Taking Action Towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Perspectives from Asia and Europe” and Professor O’Halloran was invited to present at a working group on “Taking Action at Home: SDGs as Core Pillars of University Governance”.
Professor O’Halloran’s presentation covered the Green Campus programme in UCC, our STARS Gold accreditation and the rollout of UCC’s Academic Strategy, which incorporates sustainability as a key component of a connected curriculum.
Senior administrators from 58 countries across Europe, Asia, and Australia were present at the conference. Highlights included a keynote address from Mr Ramu Damodaran, Chief of United Nations Academic Impact and a debate session on incorporating the SDGs into university rankings. UCC’s President Emeritus (and EUA President) Professor Michael Murphy was a panel member on the opening morning. The conference, co-organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration of Romania and the Romanian Ministry of Education is the Official Dialogue Partner of the ASEM Education Ministers Meeting (ASEM ME). Its results, including policy recommendations and research, feed into the preparation of ASEM MEs, which ARC rectors and student representatives are invited to attend, and were presented to the Education ministers of Europe and Asia at the 7th ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting (https://arc.asef.org/rectors-policy-recommendations). As part of the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development (GAP), ARC contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
ARC takes place biennially, with locations alternating between Asia and Europe. The conference aims to address 3 key areas in higher education:
- Quality and inclusive education
- University governance
- University-business partnerships
To date, over 650 university leaders representing 226 universities from 51 Asian and European countries have participated in the conferences.
For more on this story contact:
Dr. Sandra Irwin, Deputy President & Registrar's Office, 021 4904874 or s.irwin@ucc.ie