The 4th ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM ME4) held on 13-14 May 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia highlighted the engagement of business and industry as one of the key policy areas in which to achieve better understanding of and greater comparability between the different education systems of ASEM.

In this regard, existing ASEM mechanisms such as the ASEM Rectors’ Conference (ARC), ASEM Education and Research Hub for Lifelong Learning (ASEM LLL Hub), ASEM University-Business Forum (UBF) and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) are valuable platforms in helping to advance this policy area. As universities are motors for economic growth and development, there is a need to continue combining study with work-based learning to prepare students of ASEM with entrepreneurial skills to enhance their productivity and employability.

This initiative is therefore designed to assist ASEM students to undergo a smooth transition into the labour market and entrepreneurship as a key enabler to self-sustainability. Through exchanges of information and best practices on higher education policies and practices that support the generation of knowledge and innovation towards entrepreneurship in Asia and Europe, ASEM economic vitality will be further strengthened.