4-5 November 2016
Co-hosted by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Peking University, the International USR Summit 2016 took place in Beijing on 4-5 November.
As a key initiative of the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN), the two-day USR Summit was held as a sub-forum of the Beijing Forum in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and the Peking University campus. The Summit has attracted over 100 academia from around the world to gather together for a fruitful exchange on an important agenda: “Nurturing a Culture for University Social Responsibility”.
Officiated by Professor Lin Jianhua, President of Peking University, and Professor Timothy W. Tong, President of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Summit was kicked off on 4 November 2016 in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, PolyU President Professor Timothy W. Tong said, “Over the last few decades, global challenges such as economic development, environmental protection and technological innovation have driven universities worldwide to redefine their roles and responsibilities beyond traditional education and research in order to bolster their impact on society. Consequently, social responsibility has become a subject high on the agenda.”
Professor Tong added, “The USR Network member universities sharing the same vision of making our world increasingly just, inclusive, peaceful and sustainable. With an emphasis on collaboration among members and with other networks and alliances, the Network has vigorously promoted USR by organizing a number of projects including this University Social Responsibility Summit.”
The Summit has also brought together more than 50 speakers who are higher education leaders and scholars from over 10 countries and regions. They exchanged views at three Presidents’ Roundtable sessions respectively themed “Social Responsibility: A Core Mission of Universities in 21st Century?”, “USR: Translating Vision into Action and Impact”, and “USR in Asia: Challenges and Opportunities”.
More sharing of practices and insights took place in the Plenary Sessions in Peking University on 5 November. The themes included:
- Community Engagement in Higher Education: Policy and Practice
- Building Disaster Response Capacity – University Students as Community First Responders
- Nurturing Future Leaders through Service-Learning: Strategies and Learning Outcomes
- University Social Responsibility: Views and Practical Experience of the Students in China
This was the first time that the Summit has a separate Student Forum. The Forum attracted more than 100 students, many of them are delegates from the USRN member universities. Four teams of students from PolyU, PekingU, Sichuan University and Beijing Normal University conducted presentations to share the views and practical experience of USR from the students’ perspective. Their presence and contribution at the Summit are evidence of the USRN commitment to engaging the university community to address world challenges and shape a better future.
