UTokyo Hosts the AUA Summit 2025
The University of Tokyo (UTokyo) hosted the Asian Universities Alliance’s (AUA) annual summit, the AUA Summit 2025, at the Sanjo Hall on Hongo Campus from 17-18 April 2025. UTokyo is one of the Founding Members of AUA, which was established in 2017, and this was the first occasion for UTokyo to host one of AUA’s official meetings. Professor HAYASHI Kaori, Executive Vice President of UTokyo, gave the welcome speech as the host while Professor KITAMURA Yuto, Special Adviser to the President and Professor in the Graduate School of Education, acted as Master of Ceremonies for the Summit.
The AUA Board Meeting, the official high-level meeting of the AUA member universities, was held on the afternoon of 17 April, during which the Board Members focused on reviewing the Alliance’s achievements over the last year and deliberated critical issues such as funding, membership expansion, forthcoming activities and the theme that will determine the nature of AUA activities for the period from 2026 through to 2029.
On 18 April, the AUA Presidents Forum, consisting of three themed sessions, took place as part of the AUA Summit. In Session 1, Professor FUJII Teruo, President of the University of Tokyo, along with Professor LI Luming, President of Tsinghua University, and four other delegation heads of member universities took part in the panel discussion “Promise and Risk of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Higher Education”, moderated by Associate Professor EMA Arisa of Tokyo College, UTokyo. This session on AI was recorded by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) to create a program that will be broadcast later in the year.
The second session, “Ten Years of SDGs: Universities’ Role in Achievements and Challenges”, was moderated by Professor KAMEYAMA Yasuko of the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, UTokyo, while Session 3, “From Campus to Startup: How Universities Drive Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, was moderated by Professor KAGAMI Shigeo, a Senior Professor of the University of Tokyo. Delegation heads from the AUA member universities took part in the panel discussions, each of which had a very lively discussion.
After the AUA Presidents Forum, the participants partook in a tour of Hongo Campus, which was preceded by a short presentation on the history of UTokyo and Hongo Campus from Special Adviser to the President / Associate Professor MATSUDA Akira of the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology.
On 19 April, an optional tour was conducted at the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in Kasukabe City, Saitama Prefecture. The tour included a lecture by Special Assistant to the President / Professor OKI Taikan of the Graduate School of Engineering, UTokyo, and a visit to the pressure-adjusting water tank of the discharge channel.
The AUA Summit takes place each year, and this year 14 out of the 16 member universities of AUA attended the AUA Summit 2025.
About AUA
Established in 2017 with 16 member universities, AUA aims to foster global leaders, provide an innovative platform for industry-government-academia cooperation, and develop a multicultural learning environment to address a variety of global issues. Except for China, only one university, from among the country's leading universities, is selected from each of the Asian countries.
The AUA Board Meeting, the official high-level meeting of the AUA member universities, was held on the afternoon of 17 April, during which the Board Members focused on reviewing the Alliance’s achievements over the last year and deliberated critical issues such as funding, membership expansion, forthcoming activities and the theme that will determine the nature of AUA activities for the period from 2026 through to 2029.
On 18 April, the AUA Presidents Forum, consisting of three themed sessions, took place as part of the AUA Summit. In Session 1, Professor FUJII Teruo, President of the University of Tokyo, along with Professor LI Luming, President of Tsinghua University, and four other delegation heads of member universities took part in the panel discussion “Promise and Risk of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Higher Education”, moderated by Associate Professor EMA Arisa of Tokyo College, UTokyo. This session on AI was recorded by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) to create a program that will be broadcast later in the year.
The second session, “Ten Years of SDGs: Universities’ Role in Achievements and Challenges”, was moderated by Professor KAMEYAMA Yasuko of the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, UTokyo, while Session 3, “From Campus to Startup: How Universities Drive Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, was moderated by Professor KAGAMI Shigeo, a Senior Professor of the University of Tokyo. Delegation heads from the AUA member universities took part in the panel discussions, each of which had a very lively discussion.
After the AUA Presidents Forum, the participants partook in a tour of Hongo Campus, which was preceded by a short presentation on the history of UTokyo and Hongo Campus from Special Adviser to the President / Associate Professor MATSUDA Akira of the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology.
On 19 April, an optional tour was conducted at the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in Kasukabe City, Saitama Prefecture. The tour included a lecture by Special Assistant to the President / Professor OKI Taikan of the Graduate School of Engineering, UTokyo, and a visit to the pressure-adjusting water tank of the discharge channel.
The AUA Summit takes place each year, and this year 14 out of the 16 member universities of AUA attended the AUA Summit 2025.
About AUA
Established in 2017 with 16 member universities, AUA aims to foster global leaders, provide an innovative platform for industry-government-academia cooperation, and develop a multicultural learning environment to address a variety of global issues. Except for China, only one university, from among the country's leading universities, is selected from each of the Asian countries.
