News in Press-centre

Nikita Anisimov, President of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), has been elected to the Steering Committee of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU). The decision was made at the annual meeting of university presidents, who are members of the international organization - the Annual Presidents’ Meeting held at the University of California, Los Angeles on June 23-25.

“I am particularly honored to be elected to the Steering Committee of the Association. I consider it both a special success of my team and an additional confirmation of the strengthening of our country’s influence in the international arena in science and higher education,” said FEFU President Nikita Anisimov.

The 23rd annual meeting of APRU members in 2019 was dedicated to the development of universities in the era of globalization when human potential can be realized almost anywhere in the world and prospective students do not necessarily choose universities in their hometowns, which increases competition between educational institutions in different countries.

The business program of the meeting included 20 thematic sections, one of which was conducted by Nikita Anisimov. FEFU President moderated a discussion on the topic “Overcoming barriers to academic mobility of faculty members and students. Geopolitical environment”. The experts discussed three key issues: what factors hinder international exchange between universities, how APRU members can influence the solution of these problems, and what special opportunities exist in the Asia-Pacific region for the development of joint educational programs between universities from different countries.

“In 2019, we gathered at one of the world’s best universities, the University of California, Los Angeles, which celebrates its 100th anniversary. During the two days of work, the presidents and their teams discussed the impact of migration on the development of the content of our work, developed joint projects and programs. We agreed to offer a number of positions in FEFU for representatives of APRU universities, and this will be another step towards building a world-class research and educational center as part of the university,” added Nikita Anisimov.

FEFU President added that the University’s participation in APRU is not just a mechanism for building bilateral and multilateral relations, but also an opportunity to create a space of trust and cooperation between leading universities in the Asia-Pacific region, build shared plans, develop common views on the development of technology, science, and higher education.

It should be noted that FEFU actively participates in the activities of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. For example, in 2013 the campus on Russky Island hosted the same annual meeting, which was attended by representatives of educational institutions from China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Australia, and in the autumn of 2020 FEFU will host the APRU Senior International Leaders’ Meeting.

The Association of Pacific Rim Universities was founded in 1997, and Far Eastern State University (now FEFU) became one of its founders. Today, APRU brings together 50 leading science-based universities from Australia, Canada, Chile, China and Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the USA. For 20 years FEFU has remained the only representative of Russia in this prestigious Association.