A4U Strengthens Its Presence in Asia Through Its Institutional Mission to India During the APAIE 2025 Conference

Internationalization continues to be one of the fundamental strategic pillars of the Alliance 4 Universities (A4U). In line with its commitment to strengthening its global outreach, A4U carried out an institutional mission to India to coincide with the Asia Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE 2025) conference, held in New Delhi.

This mission, framed within A4U’s joint internationalization strategy, had as its main objective the strengthening and deepening of already established relationships with strategic partners in India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. In addition, it aimed to expand A4U’s network of collaboration with key institutions in the region, such as the Instituto Cervantes and the Embassy of Spain in India.

The overlap with APAIE 2025 allowed A4U to maximize the impact of the visit by facilitating bilateral meetings with a large number of Asian institutions attending the event. As a result, existing partnerships were reinforced, and new opportunities were explored in areas such as academic mobility, joint research, and institutional cooperation.

Among the institutions visited and engaged with during the mission were some of the most prestigious universities in Asia—longstanding partners of A4U—such as Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Thammasat University, and Universiti Sains Malaysia. Meetings were also held with Delhi Technological University, as part of an activity organized by the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE), as well as with the Instituto Cervantes in Delhi and the Embassy of Spain in India.

Furthermore, the mission aimed to promote the participation of Southeast Asian universities in the Erasmus+ KA171 programme, particularly in strategic areas such as sustainability and artificial intelligence. Throughout the meetings, a common need was identified among many partner institutions: the need to improve internal dissemination of information regarding the Erasmus+ calls. In response, A4U will develop specific support materials and maintain direct communication with interested departments to ensure more effective information flow.

Ultimately, the institutional mission to India has reinforced A4U’s position as a key player in building knowledge networks between Europe and Asia, reaffirming its commitment to effective, sustainable internationalization with real impact on the global academic community.