UK’s Hull University has launched a new network to help launch research-based partnerships between East and Southeast Asia with Europe. The network – known as The East Asian Research Collaborations Network – was unveiled last month at a conference organized by the Society for Research into Higher Education.
At the conference, academics from around Asia and UK discussed issues of positive Asian economic growth in the UK. Indeed, as Professional of International Higher Education at the UCL Institute of Education, Simon Marginson noted:
“East Asia is on the margins in the UK, despite its overwhelming importance at the world level. We must push it into the centre of everyone’s consciousness…Building a broad highway between the UK and East and Southeast Asia is of great historical importance. In this, higher education must move out ahead of British society, government and business.”
This has to be good for UK-Asian business. As it is, historically, relations between the two regions have been good, and there is in existence EU bilateral and region-to-region agreements with several Asian and Pacific countries. As well, the UK participates in trade cooperation and contacts with the EU, for example via: ASEAN, the Asia-Europe meeting, the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC).