The QS WORLDWIDE 2019 conference and exhibition took place over a two-day period from 19 to 20 September 2019 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The conference gathered a total of 211 academics from 108 institutions in 36 countries, allowing participants to gain a better understanding of the higher education sector inside and outside of the Central Asia and provided them with the chance to share some of their best practices, network and establish partnerships between universities.

Representatives from the USRN member institutions hosted a panel session on “Embedding social responsibility in higher education through fostering youth engagement” – Prof. Sholpan Jamanbalayeva, Vice-Rector of al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Prof. Zhou Zuoyu, Vice President of Beijing Normal University and Dr Alison E. Lloyd, Director of International Affairs and Director of Institutional Research and Planning at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University shared examples of how social responsibility can be embedded into learning and co-curricular activities that blend cross-disciplinary knowledge with youth leadership. The sharing focused on the design and outcomes of selected activities that tackle sustainable development, ageing as well as the design of student-initiative community engagement projects.