Moroccan Ambassador Visits Chuo

The Kingdom of Morocco’s Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Mohammed Rachad Bouhlal, visited the Korakuen Campus on May 19, joining Chuo faculty to further promote academic and research exchange between Morocco and Chuo University.

Chancellor and President, Shozaburo Sakai, Vice President, Toshikazu Kato, and the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Yasushi Ishii, welcomed the Moroccan Ambassador. Chancellor and President Sakai began remarks with an introductory overview of Chuo, followed by Vice President Kato who introduced Chuo’s approach to research with a focus on the fields of science and engineering. Ambassador Bouhlal then outlined the current situation in Morocco, introduced local universities, and spoke of prospective agreements between Chuo and Moroccan universities. A question and answer session followed, with an active exchange of thoughts on students studying in Morocco and their research fields.

The presentations and discussion were followed by a tour of the Coastal Engineering Laboratory (CEL) and the Sustainable Water Metabolic System Engineering Laboratory at the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

At the CEL, a hydraulic model experiment was demonstrated, using a plane water tank and a cross sectional tank, and Professor Taro Arikawa, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, introduced the mechanism of overtopping waves. At the Sustainable Water Metabolic System Engineering Laboratory, Associate Professor Hiroshi Yamamura, Department of Integrated Science and Engineering for Sustainable Society, introduced membrane water filtration with materials used in experiments and panel illustrations. Ambassador Bouhlal showed great interest in the research, noting that the Government of Morocco has been struggling to overcome water shortages in African countries and taking measures for the development of risk management.

Chuo’s Faculty of Science and Engineering has worked with Mohammed I University and Mohammed V University, and it is expected that Ambassador Bouhlal visit to Chuo will stimulate further development of academic and research exchange between Morocco and Chuo University.