5th ASEM Rectors' Conference and Students' Forum (ARC5)
4 - 8 April 2016
4 - 8 April 2016
Prague, Czech Republic
The
ASEM Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum (ARC) is a bi-annual
conference series that has been recognised as an Official Dialogue
Partner of the ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM ME). The past
editions of ARC have brought together hundreds of Asian and European
student, university and business leaders for solution-oriented
discussions on emerging higher education issues concerning both regions. ARC is also one of the initial commitments to the Global Action
Programme on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which is the
successor to the United Nations Decade of ESD (2005-2014).
Themed “Employability: Asia and Europe Prepare the New Generation”, the 5th ASEM Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum (ARC5) focuses on employability skills. With
increased demands from the labour market, young people need to be
equipped with a more flexible, innovative and specialist skillset.
Cooperation between universities and businesses can provide students
with the necessary skills and competences, and help them better prepare
for the labour market.
The
significance of the topic of youth employment and employability skills
is emphasised by the importance put on it by the policy makers in Asia
and Europe. At the 5th ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM ME5)
the need for “HEIs and entrepreneurs […] to collaborate closely at
different levels and formats in order to improve employability of
graduates, to cultivate entrepreneurship, and to innovate learning
environment through information and communication technologies” was
stressed.
The Ministers also stated that employability of students needs to be
improved “through work placements and work-based learning and to embed
those instruments in the curriculum.” Furthermore, the topic of employability corresponds with the United
Nations’ (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals to substantially increase
the number of youth and adults with access to quality tertiary education
and relevant technical and vocational skills for employment.
ARC5
will consist of plenary and working group sessions, all under the theme
of employability. In addition, there will be special sessions for
networking between rectors, students and businesses through
unconventional concepts such as a human library. An Online Preparatory Phase will precede the Students’ Forum for in-depth preparation and understanding of the selected topic.
To
ensure close linkages between the Rectors’ Conference and the Students’
Forum, 4 Rectors will attend the Students’ Forum as Mentors to the
design sessions, and 4 student participants will participate in the
Rectors’ Conference to report on the outcome of the Students’ Forum.
Specifically, ARC5 aims to:
- Develop and contribute with Policy Recommendations to the 6th ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM ME6) (2017, Korea)
- Propose and implement ASEM perspectives on higher education’s responsibilities in advancing socio-economic development
- Promote ASEM education cooperation among civil society stakeholders and reinforce their role in the official ASEM Education Process
- Strengthen the dialogue among ASEM education stakeholders by creating linkages between universities, the business and industry sector, governments and local communities
- Stimulate partnerships among universities across ASEM countries
The Open Call for Application for the ARC5 Students' Forum is now open:
