Building upon its long history of Asian Studies, partnership with many institutions, foundational work by the Office of China Programs, and on-going research collaborations with faculty in many countries in Asia, MSU has entered a new phase of collaboration motion; moving beyond individual effort to a coordinated, leadership and holistic system endeavor, which is required to solve those emerging challenges in the new era of globalization.

Motivation

Over the last two decades, thanks to MSU’s strategic investments, the Office of China Programs (OCP) has spearheaded, facilitated and promoted MSU’s collaborations with China in a number of fronts. This including faculty research and exchange, student recruitment, business in China, and partnership relations with organizations and government agencies. Building upon its successes and reflecting lessons learned, the OCP intends to enter a new era and new strategies to promote and facilitate MSU’s “World Grant” University vision, by:

1. Aligning and streamlining individual effort to strike at bigger and higher visible endeavors,
2. Enabling operational accessibility to funding opportunities both in and around China,
3. Strengthening leadership role in translational science to address regional issues,
4. Engaging strategically with regional partners in and around China. 

Background

Initially started with four key partners in China, Brazil, Malawi and Tanzania, MSU established a Global Change Science consortium with regional nodes in Africa, Asia and South America. This new partnership enables MSU’s collective capacity to address complex global change issues and direct access to intellectual and funding resources in these regions. With new partners from Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) and many institutions in Southeast Asia, an Asia Hub has been proposed and endorsed. Initially Asia Hub was dedicated to address emerging complex Water Energy and Food (WEF) Nexus issues in Monsoon Asia, supported by various international programs, including the Future Earth in Asia (Japan), Future Earth Core Project MAIRS, Global Land Project (GLP) North America Nodal Office, and regional networks in Asia. NAU has endorsed initial $2.4M to support the establishment of Asia Hub and initiated a number of activities to address emerging WEF Nexus issues facing Asian communities. 

Mission, Structure, Activities, and Partners

The Mission of the Asia Hub is to co-generate knowledge and solutions for societal resilience to emerging global change challenges in climate, water, energy, food and land use.

The Asia Hub Structure consists of the following organizational arrangements:

• International Advisory Board;
• Co-Directors (MSU, NAU, and other institutions);
• An IPO (International Project Office – at NAU); and
• Regional offices or regional project offices.

Asia Hub Initial Activities include:

• Asia WEF initiative;
• Collaborative research and education ventures with NAU, including the MSU-NAU Joint Institute; and
• Seed funding for MSU-NAU joint research.