HKUST hosted the inaugural Higher Education Planning in Asia (HEPA) Forum on March 27-28. The 2-day Forum provided a platform for university planners across Asia to interact, share best practices and network. The theme of the Forum was: Building a World-class University – The Role of Planning Professionals.

There were 50 participants coming from Australia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, UK and US. On two morning sessions, the HEPA Forum in Hong Kong and the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) Pacific Region Conference (held concurrently in Stanford University in the US) were linked up via live video conference. Participants in HK and the US were highly appreciative of the interactivity across the continents. During the presentations and joint panel sessions, it almost felt like the Hong Kong and US speakers and audiences were interacting from the same location!

There were altogether 17 presentation sessions, with 23 speakers sharing different perspectives about common challenges and issues faced by university planners. Through the insightful presentations, engagement of participants in the interactive workshop, and the networking during the lunches and dinner, participants felt that they had benefited a great deal from attending the Forum. They appreciated HKUST’s efforts to initiate and organize the forum, which is possibly the first Asian region Forum dedicated to university planning. From feedback gathered from the participants, they were very supportive of establishing an Asian network of planners, to facilitate further experience sharing and peer exchange. The Forum has successfully achieved its objectives to strengthen the strategic development and planning capabilities of participating universities, and also enhance HKUST reputation and leadership in Asia.