Peking University, January 29, 2020: On January 27, the 2021 International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) Presidents' Meeting took place online. Hao Ping, president of Peking University, attended this year’s annual meeting and made a speech. Other university leaders from PKU were also in attendance, including Wang Bo, vice president of PKU, Sun Qingwei, assistant to president of PKU, and Xia Hongwei, director of PKU Office of International Relations.
President Hao reflected on the work and achievements of PKU in the past year. In 2020, Peking University dispatched medical workers to aid Wuhan, mobilized teachers and students from PKU and staff from affiliated hospitals to participate in epidemic prevention and control, implemented hybrid education models (online and offline classes), and held the Beijing Forum, among others. Moreover, Peking University Center for Public Health and Epidemic Preparedness and Response and PKU Institute for Global Health and Development were set up in the same year. President Hao also noted that IARU Virtual Museum Tours, initiated by Peking University, will be held in 2021.
In addition, leaders from other universities also joined the meeting, including Makoto Gonokami, president of the University of Tokyo, Louise Richardson, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, Joël Mesot, president of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Mamokgethi Phakeng, vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town. They talked about the challenges faced by the universities and the countermeasures that were taken in 2020, as well as exchanging views on the future development of higher education amidst the challenges posed by COVID-19.
Established in 2006, IARU is a network of 11 international research-intensive universities from nine countries across the globe. The 11 members share similar values, a global vision and a commitment to educating future world leaders. Central to these values is the importance of academic diversity and international collaboration as reflected in IARU's principles.
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
