Asian Knowledge Institute, new centre for Asian leaders

AKI is aimed at creating the next generation of leaders in the Asian community in the belief the continent will soon become a destination for business people the world over.

After the economic crisis passes, global trends will change to focus more on Asia, where the combined population is more than two-thirds of the world's total, Apirak said.

"As we are a part of it, I created AKI to provide insightful information, reflecting how the Asian community is evolving to become 'Asians of the World'. Our next generation should be not only business leaders, but also socially based entrepreneurs," he said.

AKI's vision sees Asia in 2020. The challenge for doing business will be understanding the demands of "Generation Asia", or Gen A, which will become a powerful group in the near future.

A recent study of ideal careers for Gen A around the world found the most important characteristics for the new generation of Asian were a balance of work and life, job stability, self empowerment and "no-boss" freedom.

"This is really different from the previous generations, whose goals were work achievement in terms of high salary and high position," Apirak said. "Therefore, we must prepare ourselves to handle the changes of the new generation."

A greater understanding of Gen A will help today's organisations and societies adapt in the right directions, he said.

One big idea making AKI different from other MBA institutes is its creation of an Asian network by boosting cooperation with universities in more than 10 countries. As well, it has already created its own online communities on Twitter and Facebook.

"Everyone will be connected by the online media in the new era," Apirak said. "This will shape up our creation of the Asian community more easily."

AKI will open its first city campus in next year's third quarter and organise its first leadership forum under the theme "Vision of Asia 2020: The Power of Gen A" next January.

The forum is committed to providing fresh perspectives, new thinking and challenging ideas from the world's best business thinkers and highlighting "significant knowledge" for Gen A.