AJCU-AP leaders meet in Beijing City

The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in Asia Pacific (AJCU-AP) convened from 25 – 27 August 2024 in China for the AJCU-AP Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Meeting 2024. Representing 15 member institutions from 8 countries, 28 meeting participants composed of CEOs, senior leaders, and international networking officers (INOs) travelled to Beijing City to chart the way forward for the network. This August 2024 gathering was hosted by The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies, University of International Business and Economics.

The AJCU-AP is composed of a highly diverse group of Jesuit institutions, with members belonging to 3 different organization types: 9 comprehensive universities, 8 specialist colleges, and 4 residence institutes. At least 7 national languages are spoken by the members from across the region.

AJCU-AP CEOs, Senior Leaders, INOs, and Secretariat.

Fr. Roberto C. Yap SJ, President of the AJCU-AP, and Dr. Simon Koo, Executive Director of the Beijing Center, exchange tokens in Beijing, China.

The CEOs meeting agenda covered important areas of focus and work of the AJCU-AP, including updates about various network initiatives such as the regular AJCU-AP programs, special initiatives in development, and specific Jesuit concerns. Artificial Intelligence, as well as mental health and well-being, were front and center among the special Jesuit concerns discussed during the CEOs meeting. The CEOs received inputs about AI and its impact on education and formation from Fr. Johnny Go SJ of Ateneo de Manila University, and engaged in breakout group reflections on how best to respond to AI in pursuit of the Jesuit mission of education and formation. Select AJCU-AP members then shared the challenges they face with caring for mental health in their respective institutions as well as their best practices in response to mental illnesses. Numerous meeting participants found these discussions very relevant to their work, and the group agreed to continue the exchange of expertise, and explore innovative capacity-building activities among AJCU-AP members.

Fr. Mars P. Tan SJ, President of Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan de Oro, along with other meeting participants, discussing mental health concerns in their respective communities.

Meeting participants discussing the impact of AI on the Jesuit mission of education and formation.

Mr. Romulo Vinci Bueza provided a report on the Service Learning Program (SLP) 2024 which was hosted and organized by Ateneo de Davao University in the Philippines around the theme “Democracy Under Siege: An AJCU-AP SLP on Democratic Resilience”. Fr. Bagus Laksana SJ, Rector of Sanata Dharma University, likewise shared updates regarding the 14th Global Leadership Program (GLP) for Jesuit Universities in East Asia with the theme “Youth Empowerment in Intercultural Society: Towards A Rooted Global Citizenship”, held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from 12 – 19 August 2024. The GLP 2024 had a total of 47 delegates composed of students and staff from 9 AJCU-AP institutions, and featured lectures on youth and lifestyle, belief systems, and social economy, as well as field trips to various sites around Yogyakarta to feature the theme of the program. The GLP initiative has completed another hosting cycle, with each of the 5 core members having already taken their turn in hosting for a third time. The core members have agreed to begin another hosting cycle, with GLP 2025 to be hosted by Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. SLP 2025 will be hosted by Ateneo de Naga University, in Naga City, Philippines.

Fr. Bagus Laksana SJ, Rector of Sanata Dharma University, reportingo on the recently concluded Global Leadership Program 2024.

The CEOs also received updates about special projects that have been undertaken or are in development since the 2023 CEOs meeting. These special projects include:

• the Beijing Center’s Leadership and Friendship Retreat, an introductory retreat experience for non-denominational, non-religious audiences,
• the Building Bridges Initiative across Asia Pacific, an encounter with Pope Francis for students across Asia Pacific, held on 20 June 2024,
• the Democracy Observatory, the Asia-Pacific offshoot of the International Association of Jesuit Universities’ (IAJU) Task Force for the Promotion of Democracy and Human Rights,
• the Ignatian Leadership in Education Program, which seeks to provide an opportunity for formation-for-mission to leaders of Jesuit higher education institutions (HEIs) in Asia-Pacific,
• the Collaborative Online International Learning partnerships within AJCU-AP, and
• Magis Microcredentials, which seeks to broaden the impact of Jesuit HEIs by leveraging digital technology and offering selected, fully online degree programs.

Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific President Fr. Primitivo E. Viray Jr. SJ and other meeting participants examining the collections of The Beijing Center.

Based on these updates, AJCU-AP CEOs agreed on various next steps to further the progress of these initiatives.

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to preparations for the Jesuit Higher Education Assembly to be held in Bogota, Colombia, in June – July 2025. In particular, the group discussed the IAJU’s Draft Strategic Plan, highlights of which were presented to the participants by Fr. Yap. Paying particular attention to the four strategic objectives in the draft plan, Fr. Yap requested participants to break out into discussion groups and provide feedback on each strategic objective, with the goal of formulating specific action plans that AJCU-AP members, individually and as a network, can commit to undertake in pursuit of the IAJU’s goals. The highlights of the discussions will be formally relayed to the IAJU Board in upcoming meetings.

Toward the end of the meeting, the CEOs gave instructions to their respective INOs to prepare for the AJCU-AP INOs Meeting to be hosted by Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei, Taiwan, in November 2024. They also agreed that the next CEOs meeting will be hosted by the Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima, Japan, the specific schedule for which will be determined once all AJCU-AP members have been able to confirm their respective schedules. The meeting ended with a brief trip to the Great Wall of China and a farewell dinner.

First published in the AJCU-AP website.