Archives of Peking University News - PKU English - 北京大学

北京大学英语新闻网/Peking University News
President Zhou's speech. For example, Prof. Pan Wenshi, known as "the Father of
Panda", has been leading his students to observe and study pandas in their natural
habitat for years and advocating the idea of preserving the ecological environment,
which has aroused extensive social concern.
On the afternoon of April 14, some of the presidents from universities of IARU would
attend the Roundtable on Higher Education held by Peking University Center for
International Higher Education (CIHE). Issues for discussion include: university
internationalization, undergraduate education, allocation of educational resources,
balancing of disciplines, etc.
Extended reading:
International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU):
The International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) was launched in January
2006 as a co-operative network of 10 leading, international research-intensive
universities. The Alliance was initially proposed by the presidents of Australian
National University and National University of Singapore. ETH Zurich, National
University of Singapore, Peking University, University of California, Berkeley,
University of Cambridge, University of Copenhagen, University of Oxford, the
University of Tokyo and Yale University are also members of this Alliance. Professor
Tan Chorh Chuan, President of the National University of Singapore, is the current
chair of IARU.
IARU has the feature of a much smaller scale than regular universities alliances. It
thus effectively enhances the substantiality of cooperation among members. IARU is
committed to promoting communication and joint training of teaching and research
staff members and students, advancing discussions of ideas and experiences in
universities management and applying for research projects of global influence from
world-renowned enterprises in the name of the Alliance.
As for researches, members of IARU combine their own interests with global focuses
to determine research topics, each led by two or three universities. Ongoing/planned
research topics include: "Ageing, Longevity and Health," "Career Development
Network," "Global Internships," "Global Energy, Environment, Food and Water,"
"University Management Benchmarking," "International and Regional Security,"
"Globalized Education Reform," "Global View of Women's Studies," etc.
Peking University and IARU:
As a member of IARU, Peking University plays an active role in IARU activities and
has hosted several discussion forums. The Population Research Institute of Peking
University has taken part in the project of "Ageing, Longevity and Health"; Prof. Zhu
74