Le Meridian, Chiang Mai, Thailand | 13 January 2012

The 2nd APUCEN Council Meeting was held on 13 January 2012 in Le Méridien Chiang Mai, Thailand. The meeting involved the national and regional council members and was chaired by Prof Dato’ Omar Osman, the President of APUCEN, also the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia. Associate Professor Michael Cuthill from University of Queensland, Australia was confirmed and appointed as the Vice-President of APUCEN. The setup of University-Community Engagement Foundation (UCEF) was agreed in the meeting. UCEF will support the fund for national and regional community engagement projects in the Asia-pacific region. In the meeting, it was also agreed that membership contribution of USD 3000 will be imposed on new APUCEN members. The meeting ended with the closing remarks from the President of APUCEN.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak | 6 November 2012

The 3rd APUCEN Council Meeting which was held on the 6th October was also hosted by Universiti Sarawak Malaysia. The meeting chaired by the president of APUCEN, Prof. Dato’ Omar Osman, welcomed two new council members: University of Southern Queensland and Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. The council was represented by 14 delegates from 10 universities. In making its commitment to long term engagement, the council deliberated on the way forward for APUCEN including the recruitment drive for new members. One of the initiatives includes making the membership fee more attractive. The meeting also saw the setting up of the APUCEN Trust Fund and capacity building initiatives. The council also explored various funding options that can be tapped in order to drive valuable university-community engagement projects in the region. Throughout the meeting, it is evident that the determination among APUCEN members in bringing community renewal, economic development, social and education change transcends individual institutional interests. 

Grand Inna Muara Hotel, Padang, Indonesia  |  13 November 2013

The 4th Regional APUCEN Council Meeting was held on 13th November 2013 in Grand Inna Muara Hotel, Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia. The meeting was attended by a total of 23 members comprising 8 council members from seven institutions. The attendees included 11 APUCEN members as observers and 4 prospective members. The meeting was chaired by the president of APUCEN, Prof. Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman.

The Regional Council Meeting provided an ideal platform for members in the Asia Pacific Region to share and exchange knowledge on community engagement projects. The Council also acknowledged that volunteerism and community service are the building blocks for developing a broader strategy for university-community engagement. These two elements should drive the implementation of community engagement project in the region.

With the foundation in place, the Council envisaged that at least one flagship project will take off in the coming year. In light of the positive development, the Council also felt that with the increasing number and the commitment of its members, APUCEN is ready to make its presence felt in the Asia-Pacific region. A number of publicity initiatives will also be carried out to increase the membership and visibility of APUCEN. This meeting also endorsed three key documents: membership exemption criteria, trust fund working paper, and guidelines for flagship project.

Hotel Royal Penang, Malaysia | 23 September 2014

The 5th Regional APUCEN Council Meeting was held on 23rd September 2014 at the Penang Royal Hotel following the 2nd APUCEN Summit. The Meeting was chaired by the President of APUCEN, Professor Dato' Dr. Omar Osman and was attended by the newly elected Council Members. The way forward and potential projects led by the respective council members were discussed during the meeting.

Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand  |  17 June 2015

The 6^th Regional APUCEN Council Meeting was held on 17^th June 2015 in Chiang Mai University, Thailand. The meeting was attended by a total of 23 delegates from 11 institutions of higher learning. The meeting was chaired by the President of APUCEN, Prof. Dato' Dr. Omar Osman. The Council Members of  APUCEN agreed to establish APUCEN Student Chapter@University at each of its member universities. 

The various agendas discussed are to chart the direction of APUCEN and to enhance international collaboration in community engagement among members. The meeting was attended by representatives from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Thammasat University, Chiang Mai University, Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan, Australian College of Applied Pyschology, Universitas Andalas Indonesia and Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. A total of 12 agendas and community engagement projects, which included community-based research, service learning, empowering youth drug-free community and rebuild Nepal.

Mantra on View Hotel, Gold Coast, Australia  |  04 November 2015

The 7^th Regional APUCEN Council Meeting was held on 4^th November 2015 in Mantra on View Hotel, Australia. The meeting was attended by a total of 23 delegates from 12 institutions of higher learning. The meeting was chaired by the President of APUCEN, Prof. Dato' Dr. Omar Osman. Griffith University has been appointed as the new Council Member replacing University of Southern Queensland, Australia. 

The President welcomed two new members to APUCEN, namely MMICare Association and Naresuan University (Thailand), which bring APUCEN membership to 78 members from 18 countries. APUCEN is very keen to implement 'low_cost projects' with high impact to benefit the underprivileged.

In the meeting, all council members presented their progress on their current Community-Engagement (CE) projects, which related to APUCEN in their respective country. Among the important matters that was raised to the council members was the launching of the APUCEN Trust Fund in year 2016. APUCEN is moving towards getting corporate members to involve in CE activities in the region. APUCEN has highlighted its support for the projects in the Philippines, Cambodia, Nepal and all members were urged to be partners of these activities.

Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, Malaysia   I  05 June 2016

The 8th Regional APUCEN Council Meeting was held at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Kedah on 5th June 2016.  Various agendas pertaining to the direction of APUCEN, along with its cooperation in community involvement at the international level, were discussed at the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman, the President of APUCEN, the 8th Regional APUCEN Council Meeting was attended by 13 delegates from 9 Education Institutions including Prof. Dato’ Seri Dr. Mohamed Mustafa Ishak, the Vice-Chancellor of UUM.  Among the other delegates present were representatives from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Thammasat University (Thailand), Australian College of Applied Psychology (ACAP), Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan (Brunei), and Kyoto University of Foreign Studies (Japan).

Among the issues discussed was APUCEN Trust Fund, where the council members mutually agreed to place such fund under USM Bursary and to be managed by the APUCEN Secretariat.  In addition, the President emphasized on the importance of community-based research (CBR) and proposed a workshop on CBR to be held with the help of facilitators from Chiang Mai University (Thailand).  The workshop was proposed to be held in September 2016.

Before commencing of the meeting, the delegates were taken to a site visit around UUM Sintok campus, in conjunction with”2016 Discover UUM Year”. The host also shared its Corporate Social Responsibility programme, entitled Junior Golf Programme, where primary school students are being exposed to the game of golf, coached by a group Golf Association Golfers, UUM partner.

Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan, Brunei  I  08 December 2016

The 9^th Regional APUCEN Council Meeting was held on 8^th December 2016 in Bilik Taqwa, Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan (KUPUSB), Brunei Darussalam.  The meeting was attended by a total of 15 delegates from 10 institutions of higher learning.  The meeting was chaired by the new president of APUCEN, Prof. Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail. 

The key issues discussed in the meeting were creating a balance between knowledge and character among the youth through service learning and incorporating volunteerism and service learning as part of the university curriculum.  The involvement of students and young lecturers in the university-community needs to be focused because they will be future champions in community engagement. The President had emphasized on working closely with APUCEN partners/members in multi-disciplinary fields to mould the communities as well as to co-learn among the members.  The meeting were attended by representatives from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Chiang Mai University, Thammasat University, Australian College of Applied Psychology, Universiti Utara Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

The members were taken for a site visit to the community engagement project at the water villages of Brunei, highlighting the effort of providing facilities support such as treated water and electricity supply to the village

Virtual Meeting   I  16 December 2022

 The 17th Regional APUCEN Council Meeting was held by virtual meeting (WEBEX) on 16th December 2022.  Various agendas pertaining to the direction of APUCEN, along with its cooperation in community involvement at the international level, were discussed at the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by Professor Dato' Dr. Narimah Binti Samad, Exercising the Function of the Vice Chancellor, the 17th Regional APUCEN Council Meeting was attended by 19 delegates from 12 Education Institutions including Prof. Dato' Ir. Dr. Abdul Rahman Mohamed, the Chairperson of  APUCEN@Malaysia.  Among the other delegates present were representatives from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Thammasat University (Thailand), Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan (Brunei), Kyoto University of Foreign Studies (Japan), San Pedro College (Philippines), Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (Indonesia), Chiang Mai University (Thailand), University of Suraya (Indonesia), Andalas University (Indonesia) and National University of Sciences and Technology (Pakistan).

Among the issues discussed was about the activities for year 2023 since many activities could not be done before this due to pandemic. One of the activities that will be done at the beginning of the year is 18th Regional APUCEN Council Meeting and Community Engagement International Conference that will be hosted by Universitas Surabaya, Indonesia at the end of May 2023. Besides that, follow up with some other activities such as 5th APUCEN SUMMIT & 12th Anniversary of APUCEN, APUCEN Annual General Meeting & Election of New Council Member (term 2023-2025). In addition, APUCEN also will continue with BRACE Project at Bangladesh which is coorperation with Bangladesh Agriculture University.

Before commencing of the meeting,  the president took the opportunity to thank all Council members for the continuous support and hope there will be a stronger bonds between all members, can meet again thru face to face to continue the discussion, working towards similiar goals and making difference in the live of others trough community-engagement.

• The 1st APUCEN@Malaysia Meeting was held on 5 October 2012.
• The national meeting was hosted by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UniMAS).
• It was chaired by the newly elected Chairman,  Prof. Dato’ See Ching Mey, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Division of Industry and Community Engagement, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
• The meeting was attended by 16 delegates from 15  Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia.

Several fruitful outcomes were achieved, APUCEN@Malaysia:

1. Renewed its commitment to promote the culture of university-community engagement in a proactive, inclusive, holistic and participatory way.
2. Proposed the implementation of university-community engagement project that involves its APUCEN members in Malaysia.
3. Aimed to align with the Ministry of Higher Education to ensure that all its regional networking initiatives would benefit Malaysian higher education.
4. Issues concerned with students volunteerism in Malaysian universities were also explored and given due attention.

• The 2^nd APUCEN@Malaysia Meeting was held on 21October 2013.
• The national meeting was hosted by University Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM).
• The meeting was attended by 26 delegates from 17 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia

• The 3^rd APUCEN@Malaysia Meeting was hosted by AIMST University, Malaysia, on the 21^st April 2014.
• It was attended by 23 delegates from 17 Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and organization.
• The meeting was chaired by the APUCEN@Malaysia Chairman, Prof. Dato’ Dr. See Ching May.
• Members engaged in active discussion to share their experiences on community engagement projects and activities during the meeting. Seven members have presented their CE projects and interested partners for the respective projects have been identified.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur  |  29 January 2015

The 4th APUCEN@Malaysia Meeting was hosted by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia on 29th January 2015 at the Board Meeting Room, Level 17 Menara Razak, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur Campus. The meeting was attended by 23 delegates from 16 Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The meeting was chaired by the APUCEN@Malaysia Chairperson, Prof. Dato' Dr. See Ching Mey, who is also the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Division of Industry and Community Network (DCIN), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Prof. Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid Omar welcomed all the delegates and gave his welcoming speech before the meeting started. 

During the 4th APUCEN@Malaysia meeting, the nomination and election of APUCEN@Malaysia Chairperson for the new term of 2014-2017 was conducted. Delegates reelected Prof. Dato' Dr. See Ching Mey to continue as chairperson. Members engaged in active discussion, shared their experiences on community engagement projects and activities carried out by their institutions. Issues were discussed during the meeting and key decisions were made. The meeting ended and lunch was served with the mesmerising skyscrapers view of Kuala Lumpur. 

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu  |  18 August 2015

The 5^th APUCEN@Malaysia Meeting was hosted by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Malaysia on 18^th August 2015 at the Senate Hall UMT, College Academic Building, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu. The meeting was attended by 18 delegates from 15 Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The meeting was chaired by the APUCEN@Malaysia Chairperson, Prof. Dato' Dr. See Ching Mey, who is also the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Division of Industry and Community Network (DICN), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Prof. Dr. Mohd Effendy Abd Wahid welcomed all the delegates and give his welcoming speech before the meeting started.

Three proposals were shortlisted, namely Empowering Youth for Drug-Free Community 2015 by Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Community Project at "Sekolah Sulu Budiman" in Cambodia by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) and Rural Single Mother Entrepreneurship Programme by Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). Members were engaged in active discussion, shared their experiences on community engagement projects and activities carried out by their institutions.