28
January
2015
|
16:00
Asia/Singapore

NUS at Davos

The WEF Annual Meeting 2015 focused on "The New Global Context (Photos: World Economic Forum)

NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan and NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Dean Professor Kishore Mahbubani were among the invited attendees at the 45th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting at Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. Held from 21 to 24 January 2015, the high-profile event with the theme "The New Global Context focused on major global challenges the world faces today.

Prof Tan has been attending the annual meeting since 2008 as a member of the WEF Global University Leaders Forum (GULF). This year, he co-chaired the Governor's Session for the GULF Community, covering topics such as how universities should address the rapid changes in technology; operating model of the university of the future; university-industry collaboration in the 21st century; and transnational university partnerships to drive economic growth.

Prominent figures leading the discussion were Grace Fu Hai Yien, Singapore's Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, and Second Minister of Foreign Affairs; Susan Hockfield, President Emerita and Professor of Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, State Secretary, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland; and Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google. In addition, Presidents of member universities gave their views on the various subjects.

Prof Tan also moderated at the session on "Reshaping Education, which examined the changes needed to enhance the quality, relevance and accessibility of education worldwide. Among the areas addressed were understanding learning and skills in a digital age; boosting quality of teaching profession; and financing schools and universities.

Prof Mahbubani, who has participated at the WEF since 2005, was a keynote speaker for WEF Latin America's Regional Business Council, giving his views on "The Future of Latin America in the Global Context – Practical Learnings from Asia. A panellist at the lively Forum Debate on "A Multipolar World?, he supported the motion that strong global governance requires strong international leadership.

At the session on "Rebuilding Trust in Asia, Prof Mahbubani facilitated a distinguished panel that comprised Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, now President of Asia Society Policy Institute, Australia; Prof Wu Xinbo, Executive Dean at the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University, China; Akihiko Tanaka, President of Japan International Cooperation Agency; and Kil Jeong-Woo, South Korea's Member of Parliament. The panellists shared their opinions on how China can prevent a vicious cycle of rising nationalism and geopolitical tensions from impeding its future growth.