The President and founder of the MAAUN Group of Universities, Professor Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo, has led a delegation to the 2024 International Association of Universities (IAU) conference in Tokyo, Japan.
The event for global university leaders was held at Sophia University in Tokyo, from November 22 to 24.
Accompanying Professor Gwarzo at the conference were members of the MAAUN management team that include the Vice President MAAUN Nigeria, Dr. Habib Awais Abubakar, and Vice President MAAUN Niger Republic, Dr Shu’aibu Usman Tanko.
There are also the Director, Institute of Africa Higher Education Research and Innovation (IAHERI), Prof. Abubakar Sadiq Haruna; and Dean, Medical College, MAAUN Niger Republic, Prof. Muhammad Rayyan Garba.
Prof. Gwarzo’s attendance at the IAU conference clearly demonstrates his unwavering commitment to developing the MAAUN Group of Universities through international networking and collaborations.
The 3-day conference, which is exclusively for IAU members, higher education leaders, and experts, serves as a unique global platform for these leaders to meet, network, and exchange ideas on the development of higher education.
Established in 1950, under the auspices of UNESCO, the IAU is the leading global association of higher education institutions and organisations, with over 600 members from more than 120 countries across the globe.
The 2024 conference aimed to engage participants in exchanging ideas and addressing higher education issues beyond all boundaries and political agenda.
In a joint welcome address, the AIU President and Vice Chancellor of Murdoch University, Australia, Andrew Deeks and President of the host University, Sophia University, Japan, Yoshiaki Terumichi said this year’s conference was themed “University Values in a Changing World”.
“We convene here at a time when universities are more than before expected by their stakeholders to define and assert their social, moral, and political role in society.
They said universities are increasingly affected by politics, tensions, and conflicts at national and regional levels in an increasingly multipolar world.
The leaders emphasized that global interconnectedness provides participants with the opportunity to discover new perspectives, build partnerships, and develop their ideas on how to further their key missions: to educate citizens, pursue knowledge, and foster mutual understanding in order to confront the grand challenges of our time.
