Chuo’s Vice President and the Director of International Center Attend the 2018 Japanese-German Symposium

The 2018 Japanese-German Symposium was held at the Hitotsubashi Hall at Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, from April 26 to 27, where Chuo’s Vice President, Toshikazu Kato and the Director of the International Center, Hiroshi Shirai attended.
The symposium was hosted by the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) and the Japan Committee of Universities for International Exchange (JACUIE).  68 universities and relevant organizations from Japan and 22 from Germany participated in the symposium, with a total of 160 participants such as university presidents and heads of organizations gathering together.

The symposium was held under the main theme of “Education, Research and Innovation - The Universities’ Way Forward in Collaboration with Society, Business and Industry while Enhancing Academic Core Values,” with four subtopics listed below.

Collaboration between Universities and Society, Business & Industry in Education
Collaboration between Universities and Society, Business & Industry in Doctoral Training
Collaboration between Universities and Society, Business & Industry in Research and Innovation
Advancing Institutional Performance and Ways of Institutional Performance Measurement and Funding

The first day started with opening remarks by the Chairperson of JACUIE and President of the University of Tsukuba, Prof. Dr. Kyosuke Nagata, the President of HRK, Prof. Dr. Horst Hippler, and others, followed by the keynote presentations, parallel sessions, and a panel discussion, where participants from both Japan and Germany had a lively exchange of views.
In the evening, a reception was held at the ambassador’s residence, under the auspices of Dr. Stephan Grabherr, Minister of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, with many of the presidents of universities from Japan and Germany as well as relevant parties joining to develop their relationships.

The second day was comprised of keynote presentations and parallel sessions, which were looked into more deeply than on the first day.  The symposium ended with a closing panel discussion as well as a joint statement, with a proposal made on future exchanges between Japan and Germany.

Chuo has partnership agreements with eight universities in Germany, and student and research exchange has been actively promoted.  It is expected that the exchange at the symposium will help to promote exchanges with universities and organizations in Germany.