The ASEF Regional Conference on Higher Education (ARC) is the “Official Dialogue Partner of the ASEM Education Ministers Meeting (ASEMME)” and the only bi-regional multi-stakeholder dialogue platform for university and student leaders, policymakers and ministers to discuss higher education issues and shape the education landscape in Asia and Europe.
What is the ARC programme?
For the past 15 years, ARC has continuously evolved and contributed with various outputs (policy recommendations, research, and events) to the ASEM Education Process, and created opportunities for key Asian and European stakeholders to connect. ARC’s role as a valuable dialogue partner has been reiterated in all ASEMMEs, and its outcomes and outputs helped to sustain a dynamic ASEM Education Process. Take a look at the past editions here.
The ARC programme cycle covers two years and is aligned with the timeline of the ASEMMEs. Its results, including research, and policy recommendations, feed into the preparations for ASEM Education Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOMs) and the ASEM Education Ministers’ Meetings (MEs), which ARC experts are invited to attend.
Now running on its tenth cycle, ARC’s objectives are ►
Knowledge Exchange
Inform Policy
Background of ARC10
ARC10 revolves around the future of higher education in Asia and Europe, given the trends and developments that higher education must cope with. Climate change, geopolitical disruptions, inequalities and disparities on various fronts, digital transformation, and the possibility of failing to meet the SDGs. Guided by ASEM’s directives and priorities on Education that stand as ASEF’s guideposts, our work in ARC10 answers the call to explore substantive changes to reinvent higher education given its key role in transforming our collective future.
Under the theme “[Un]debated Ways of Rethinking Higher Education”, the two-year project concluded its 2024 activities with a series of policy dialogue and debate webinars, and released three narrative reports on pressing topics of digital transformation, equity & access, and recognition & balanced mobility.
ARC10, guided by our programme objectives, hopes to provide spaces at various levels where higher education stakeholders and partners can come together to build a collective vision of the future.
As we concluded the project’s first year, we have made progress in achieving the project’s intended outcomes and impacts. See our highlights below or read more about ARC10 Year 1 here.
ARC10 in 2025: Year 2
Which global topics in education will ARC10 tackle?
► With the UN Agenda 2030 behind the corner, can we still reshape education around the SDGs?
► How do we make higher education more inclusive and equitable for all learners?
► Can Learning Cities provide a comprehensive lifelong learning ecosystem?
► How can the next global education agenda address emerging challenges?