The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in Asia Pacific (AJCU-AP) convened from 27 – 30 August 2023 at the Mirador Jesuit Villa and Retreat House, Baguio City, Philippines, for the AJCU-AP Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Meeting 2023. Representing 18 member institutions from 9 countries were 28 meeting participants composed of CEOs or their representatives, and International Networking Officers (INOs) of their respective institutions. This August 2023 gathering was the largest ever and most well-attended CEOs Meeting of the AJCU-AP and was hosted by Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.
The CEOs meeting agenda covered important areas of focus and work of the AJCU-AP, including regular AJCU-AP programs and proposals for new AJCU-AP programs. In its desire to deepen learning and formation, and increase its impact, the AJCU-AP CEOs also considered proposals for new areas of work, including a training program on Ignatian Leadership in Higher Education, and on Collaborative Online International Learning, and a potential partnership with The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies.
The CEOs heard updates as well from the IAJU (International Association of Jesuit Univeristies) Task Force, namely the Peace and Reconciliation Task Force, shared by Dr. Simon Koo of The Beijing Center. Dr. Koo requested the AJCU-AP members to continuously exchange information about peace-building activities in their respective institutions. The AJCU-AP approved the formation of working committees to ensure progress on both initiatives. Amber Wang, TBC’s Assistant Dean, was also in attendance.
Simon and Amber (right)
Toward the end of the meeting, the AJCU-AP agreed to expand its membership to newly recognized Jesuit educational institutions in the region. TBC is excited to announce that the annual CEO meeting will be held at The Beijing Center in 2024. The meeting ended with a farewell dinner and fellowship. Although the weather was dreary and rainy, everyone felt a renewed eagerness towards our work and our unique community.
The past few weekends have been some of the most exciting of the entire semester, full of trips to the zoo, mountain hikes, ancient parks, and more! Our first trip out of many was a visit to the Beijing Zoo. I had mentioned earlier in the semester that I wanted to see some pandas, since I was in China after all, and our TBC friend Andy made it happen.
Spending a whole semester in Beijing, I knew I had to make the trip down south and check out Shanghai, and the city certainly lived up to the expectations. Everyone describes Shanghai as this super futuristic metropolis, and after spending a weekend there I understand why it has this reputation.