Under the theme of “Future Universities in The Asia-Pacific: The Changing Face of Higher Education”, the annual QS higher education conference, took place November 21-23, 2018, in Seoul, South Korea, followed by Ranking Forum at KAIST University. Dr. Raghu Raman, Chairman and Professor of Amrita School of Business, Coimbatore and Director, Global Rankings & Accreditation, represented Amrita at the event.

During the event, Amrita had the opportunity to share the international efforts of the university, specifically focusing on faculty-led research engagement. Prof. Raman had detailed discussions with Ms. Mandy Mok, CEO QS Asia, Dr. Kim Chang Soo, President of Chung-Ang University, Korea and Prof Euiho Suh, President of University Ranking Forum of Korea (URFK) about dynamic transformation and rise of young universities in the Asia region in Global Rankings.

The conference was attended by a total of 475 academics from 209 institutions in 40 countries. A total of 85 papers were presented during plenary and parallel sessions. Two keynotes were delivered by speakers from Singapore: Professor Steven Miller, Provost (Research), Singapore Management University and Professor Subra Suresh, President, Nanyang Technological University. Another keynote address was delivered by Dr. Daniel Donghoon Ko, Vice-President, Pyongyang University of Science & Technology, DPR Korea. Dr. Ko’s presentation addressed the “Higher Education System of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: The Case of Pyongyang University of Science & Technology” and pointed out that PUST was established with the objective of not only conducting high-quality research and education, but also to promote peace on the Korean peninsula through education.