Advancing APEC Cooperation in Higher Education

Abstract

The importance of education in preparing a population equipped with the skills needed for development and growth is generally recognized. However, primary education was previously the main priority since a greater number of students could be achieved with the money invested. Today, greater emphasis is given to tertiary education since the skills needed to promote an innovation-led economy are best produced by higher education institutions, including technical, vocational education and training (TVET) institutes. Asia Pacific Cooperation (APEC) began focusing on higher education in 2012 when its agenda was expanded to cover cross-border trade in education services and deepening educational cooperation.1 This subsequently led to the endorsement of an APEC Education Strategy at the 6th Ministerial Meeting in Lima, Peru in 2016. An Action Plan of this Strategy was put forth in 2017 to encourage APEC economies to collaborate further in this filed. This article examines the main cross cutting issues that have emerged from trade in higher education services. It then examines previous efforts in APEC cooperation that have addressed these issues and the direction for advancing future cooperation.