ProSPER.Net, an alliance of renowned higher education institutions in the Asia-Pacific region, was officially launched on 21 June 2008, in Sapporo, Japan, in conjunction with Hokkaido University’s Sustainability Weeks 2008 – G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit Round celebratory activities leading to the G8 Summit in July this year.

ProSPER.Net, short for the Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education and Research Network, comprises leading universities in the Asia-Pacific region who have committed to work together to integrate sustainable development into postgraduate courses and curricula.

“Higher education institutions play an important role in sustainability education. These institutions are knowledge providers and their role in bringing about societal changes can be immense. Other school systems can potentially reach out to higher education institutions for inspiration and guidance in building learning spaces to move towards a sustainable future,” said Mr. Yoshihiro Natori from UNU-IAS, the organisation responsible for initiating the network. On the occasion of the launch, Prof. Zakri, Director of UNU-IAS, stressed the importance of the role of higher education institutions in promoting sustainability.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Shinichi Goto, Ministry of the Environment of Japan, emphasised the significance of university networks for developing future leaders in business, government and technology in the Asia-Pacific region and stated the determination of the Ministry of the Environment to support ProsperNet. Prof. Hiroshi Saeki, President of Hokkaido University, the host institution of ProSPER.Net’s board meeting and general assembly this month, attached great importance to the collaboration of universities in the region and pledged the active participation of Hokkaido University in Prosper.Net.

Since the network’s first meeting in November 2007, the number of member universities has grown from eleven to eighteen. Sixteen universities from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and the Republic of Korea are members of ProSPER.Net as of now, in addition to two regional universities in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Eight of the eighteen universities are Japanese.

ProSPER.Net will serve as a platform of collaboration for members to pursue postgraduate education and research on sustainable development and, specifically, on education for sustainable development. Activities of the network may include:

– annual colloquia to discuss experiences in postgraduate education and research on sustainable development,

– a summer school on sustainable development,

– faculty exchange schemes to provide an impetus for resource- and knowledge-sharing,

– development of common basic sustainable development courses,

– collaboration in developing courses on sustainable development at individual member institutions,

– creation of a consortium of business schools to mainstream sustainable development in business and management curricula,

– creation of a facility for joint research activities, and

– the building of alliances with business and industry.

The first joint projects of the network, funded by the Ministry of Environment of Japan, are

– integrating sustainable development in business school curricula,

– training, education and awareness programme for research and education for sustainable development, and

– leadership programmes in public policy schools.

ProSPER.Net is expected to expand to include more institutions; it will be governed and managed by a Board comprising representatives from member institutions. The “glue that binds” is a collective commitment to uphold the vision and aspiration of creating a sustainable world — for all societies and for all generations.

For more information about ProSPER.Net, please contact Nami Akimoto (Tel.: +81-45-2212334; e-mail: akimoto@ias.unu.edu).

Member universities of ProSPER.Net:

– RMIT University, Australia
– Tongji University, China
– TERI University, India
– Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
– Hokkaido University, Japan
– Iwate University, Japan
– Miyagi University of Education, Japan
– Nagoya University, Japan
– Okayama University, Japan
– Rikkyo University, Japan
– Shinshu University, Japan
– University of Tokyo, Japan
– Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
– University of the Philippines, Philippines
– Yonsei University, Republic of Korea
– Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
– Asian Institute of Technology
– University of South Pacific