Varsities' talks give knowledge economy regional slant

By Dita de Boni

If you think just five steps towards the knowledge economy are not enough, you could be accused of being APRU-d.

The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) is meeting alongside Apec in Auckland this week - 34 university heads who consider themselves "CEOs" of the largest research facilities in their respective economies and vehement supporters of the development of an integrated Pacific Rim knowledge economy.

Auckland University is the only New Zealand participant and a wildly enthusiastic founding member.

The aim of the association is to use its pivotal role as trainer of graduates to look at the "growing role of science and technology in promoting economic growth" within the Apec community.

In combination, member universities commit nearly $4 billion to pure and applied research each year and churn out more than 500,000 graduates for the benefit of the Apec job market.

APRU chairman Professor Steven Sample is the president of the University of Southern California and says although the association is not yet formally linked to Apec, the group does aim eventually to become an advisory group.

"The United States' economic intercourse with the Pacific Rim is now twice that of its trade with Europe - it continues to grow," he says.

"The movement of people and capital within the region, with California as the nexus, means we have to look at ways of moving information and people more easily between centres."

APRU was convened in 1997 by four Californian tertiary institutions and recognised by leaders at the summit that year in Vancouver.

Professor Sample is adamant that the group operates independently of Apec political agendas but agrees the focus is related - namely, the bringing together of divergent economies with varying degrees of government involvement to develop networks, break down barriers to the sharing and commercialisation of technology development, and addressing "big science" needs of the region, such as environmental tracking systems.

Professor Sample says Government input into technology will become more commonplace as a commonality of purpose for industry and economies is found.

A perception of New Zealand universities as "a research void" caused by a Government retreating from state-funded education, is contradicted by the vice-chancellor of Auckland University, John Hood. He says the 980 new research contracts signed in 1998 - a large number with local or offshore private enterprises - are "not properly understood or appreciated" by knowledge industry commentators.

Dr Hood says the importance of APRU lies in more than funding. It has the ability to look at the whole Apec region and particularly its employment trends. Students can then be trained to meet demands, especially in the science/technology area.

"There is no question that in New Zealand what we have to do is build better linkages between research facilities, firms and industries to promote innovation - and APRU will help us generate more region-wide insights."