Asia-Pacific University-Community Engagement Network (APUCEN)

Market driven priorities increasingly dominate the thrust of universities throughout the world, resulting in the generation of knowledge and labour for the capitalist enterprise instead of developing capacities of and for the bottom billion especially people in need and the disadvantaged.

Revisiting the roles of universities, vis-a-vis the ways and kinds of knowledge being produced, is vital to building the kind of world we desire. If universities are to achieve their mission to develop and apply knowledge with society in mind, then their core functions have to be built not only on an academic base but also upon an intellectual civil base that can offer solutions to societal problems.

Various endeavours in different parts of the world have started to address these concerns. An effective and high impact approach is the engagement of universities with communities. Engagement goes beyond outreach and extension or service as universities seek mutually beneficial relationships and partnerships with communities to address communities’ issues and needs; with a commitment to share and reciprocate with mutual respect among the partners.

Engagement brings mutual learning and discovery in the application of knowledge with partners. Engaging in and with communities will help faculty, students and administrators develop citizenship with good values and integrity. Engagement in its various forms, be it through collaborative health-care provisions, micro-credit, heritage, cultural and environmental preservations, service learning, participatory research or community-based research, should be aimed at serving the marginalised two-thirds of the world’s population and to upgrade their socio-economic status.

The APUCEN Secretariat is currently in the process of setting up the APUCEN Foundation. The foundation will support the operations of APUCEN and a wide variety of humanitarian and educational activities/projects in the communities of the Asia-Pacific region. The secretariat greatly appreciates contributions and sponsorships for the Foundation from APUCEN members and other agencies.