Whether exploring how to reduce the potentially harmful impact of air discharged from makeshift hospitals treating Covid-19 patients, or offering drive-through testing facilities, universities across Asia have been at the forefront of innovative efforts to mitigate the effects of the current pandemic.

The efficacy of emergency responses from these institutions has become a key indicator of their ability to adapt in the face of global challenges.

How well they adjust to potentially long-term remote and socially distanced learning remains to be seen, and is a topic that will be examined at the inaugural virtual event on 3?June.

Starting at 11:30am CST (Beijing) (4:30am BST), the webinar will feature panel-style discussions with various university leaders and industry experts, as well as the exclusive launch of Times Higher Education¡¯s Asia University Rankings 2020.

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¡°I have been saying for some time now that Asia is the most exciting and dynamic continent on earth right now in terms of higher education and research,¡± said Phil Baty, THE¡¯s chief knowledge officer.

¡°So I am very pleased that this new virtual event not only provides us with the ideal platform to monitor the progress of the continent¡¯s leading research universities, with the exclusive release and analysis of the 2020 THE?Asia University Rankings, but that it also provides an opportunity for leading figures across Asia to explore the implications of a dramatically changing global landscape as we all seek to overcome the global coronavirus pandemic, and ensure that the world¡¯s great universities emerge stronger.¡±

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The first panel will include Qiu Yong, president of Tsinghua University, and Subra Suresh, president of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in conversation with Anthony Salcito, vice-president of worldwide education at Microsoft, exploring how the operations of Asian universities have been fundamentally transformed by the pandemic.

After that, Fanny Cheung, pro vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and YS Chi, chairman of Elsevier, will contribute to a discussion investigating how carefully determined actions during this crisis can provide a template on which to build a more resilient institutional model, thus better preparing Asian universities for future setbacks.

As students face mounting anxiety about their career prospects in a global recession, Raghav Gupta, managing director of Coursera, a leader in online competency-based learning, will illustrate how blended learning models can enrich the skills valued in today¡¯s job market and support student employability.

Karl Song, vice-president of corporate communications at Huawei, will deliver a keynote speech emphasising 5G as an effective tool in combating Covid-19 through research and collaboration.

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The live launch of the Asia University Rankings 2020 will be accompanied by a masterclass hosted by Billy Wong, THE¡¯s lead data scientist, revealing the methodology behind the rankings.

¡°This session will go beyond the headline result to present trends and insights on how higher education in Asia is evolving to meet global challenges, dissecting the country-level performance to try to understand their drivers for change, and highlighting specific strengths and weaknesses,¡± said Mr Wong.

In addition to the rankings reveal, the shortlist for the THE Awards Asia, which will be held virtually in October, will be unveiled, honouring the efforts of administrative teams keeping their institutions afloat in such an unprecedented crisis.

leah.reitman@timeshighereducation.com

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