The QS-APPLE 2019 conference and exhibition under the theme of Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Ageing Societies: The Changing Roles of Universities in the Asia-Pacific took place over a three-day period from 26 to 28 November 2019 in Fukuoka, Japan.

The conference gathered a total of 669 academics from 247 institutions in 38 countries. A total of 79 papers were presented during the plenary and parallel sessions. Representatives from the USRN, Dr Fernando Palacio, Program-Specific Senior Lecturer at the International Strategy Office Kyoto University and Ms Miranda Choy, Senior Manager of the USRN Secretariat at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University gave a presentation on “Building a Responsible Brand in Higher Education Underpinned by University Social Responsibility”. The presentation shared a USRN initiative currently in progress being the joint development of a MOOC between The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Kyoto University in an endeavour to exchange ideas, and practices of university social responsibility. This collaborative MOOC aims to leverage the ability of this educational strategy to provide access and scalability in raising awareness about this important concept.