Representatives from six universities from Asia and the Americas discussed security, trade and culture at a conference between Thursday and Friday.
The second annual Six University Conference sought to "strengthen partnerships and point the universities in a direction that could help their governments and countries," according to a press release.
Professors and administrators from AU, Fudan University in Shanghai, China, Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico, Korea University in Seoul, Korea, Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan and University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada participated.
Another conference goal is to produce a paper that outlines a unified North American and East Asian approach to international issues.
In discussing North Korea, participants agreed that it would be difficult to detect whether it was continuing to proliferate nuclear weapons. They said the United States should engage in negotiations with North Korea and expressed concern over how to increase security in northeast Asia if North Korea developed nuclear technology.
"The discussions we had on North Korea and global trade were on the cutting edge of knowledge," said Dr. Robert Pastor, AU's vice president of International Affairs.
It was fortunate that North Korea was covered in the presidential debates, Pastor said. Professors were able to get a better look into the arguments after having done their research on the concerns of North Korea.
According to Andew Eungi Kim of Korea University, his country is divided on who they want in the U.S. presidency.
"The participants were thrilled with AU's hospitality, the ability to involve D.C. figures in the program, and the quality of the intellectual exchange," said School of International Service Dean Louis Goodman.
In addition the North Korea panel discussion and forums on economic integration, immigration and culture, there was also a keynote address given by former Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark.
Clark, a distinguished-statesman-in-residence, said that rock stars seemed more credible than public officials.
"Modern times erode old institutions that depend on traditions simply because people are asking more questions," Clark said. See a full story on Clark's speech on Page 2.
Student response has been very positive, with a large turnout for Clark's speech in particular, according to Pastor. One speaker said the most wonderful thing about the two-day conference was the hospitality of AU's students.
The universities conferences began 15 years ago when AU held discussions with Ritsumeikan University. Korea University joined five years later, with last year being the first time all six universities were in discussion.
Fudan University will host next year's conference. The tentative discussion topic is the rise of China and its implications as seen by the six countries.
Plans are underway to incorporate an undergraduate and a graduate student in next year's conference, as well as any students studying abroad in Beijing.
