2015

English Listening/E-mail Writing Course -- 2015 Osaka University Staff Training

On Monday, August 31 and Tuesday, September 8, English Listening and E-mail Writing Training Courses were held at Osaka University.

During this training, participants acquired necessary skills for listening and writing e-mails in English, with 82 staff members participating in the English Listening Course and 20 staff members participating in the E-mail Writing Course with the goal of improving their own practical ability in English.

In the English Listening Course, led by TSUNEYUKI Mayumi from ALC Education, Inc., participants practiced listening using teaching materials such as CDs, as well as the semantic process, which involves comprehension through natural English word order. Through this practice, participants acquired their own learning methods going forward by analyzing the cause of their difficulties in English listening comprehension.

In the E-mail Writing Course led by YOSHINAKA Masakuni, also from ALC Education, Inc., participants developed an understanding of the gap in the meanings of words between Japanese and English through lectures and exercises, and performed English writing practice in order to acquire business expressions more geared toward the culture of native English speakers.

We've received positive feedback from a number of participants stating that this training was extremely meaningful as it involved practice that would be useful in actual work assignments.

English Listening Course

E-mail Writing Course

University of Indonesia, Republic of Indonesia and Osaka University signed an Inter-University Exchange Agreement

On Sunday, June 28, Dr. Muhammad ANIS, the president of University of Indonesia (UI), Republic of Indonesia, in Osaka for the annual meeting of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities hosted by Osaka University, paid a visit to Osaka University. This visit resulted in the signing of  a university exchange agreement.

UI is one of the best universities in Indonesia and is the third Indonesian university to have a university-to-university exchange agreement with OU following the Institute of Technology Bandung and Gadjah Mada University.

This agreement was reached through active exchange between OU and UI through the coupling international program sponsored by Osaka University's Graduate School of Language and Culture and Joining and Welding Research Institute.

President HIRANO and President Muhammad ANIS signed with Vice Executive Presidents OKAMURA, HIGASHIJIMA, AIMOTO, and BABA from Osaka University in attendance.

The ceremony was conducted in a friendly atmosphere and the importance of cooperation between the two universities was recognized. It is hoped that this agreement will promote mutual exchange in research.

President HIRANO and President ANIS
shake hands while holding their agreements

A scene from the dialogue between the two universities

Osaka University European Alumni Reunion

On Saturday, April 25, the Osaka University Europe Alumni Association event was held in a superb London city hotel, The Montague on the Gardens with approximately 40 alumni members including Osaka University faculty members.

A warm greeting was given by Master of Ceremonies Mr OKITA Toshimichi followed by a presentation by Executive Vice President OKAMURA Yasuyuki to introduce the recent activities of the University.

Several Osaka University alumni members who have been active overseas were awarded the title of Global Alumni Fellow by Executive Vice President OKAMURA for their selfless efforts for the betterment of the University. On this occasion, this honor was awarded to Professor OTSU Kinya (King's College London), Professor SUZUKI Ken (Queen Mary University of London) and Dr. NARITA Masashi (University of Cambridge).

Guests were seen interacting and having fun during the whole evening and the event ended in great success!

A commemorative photo with the proud recipients of the Global Alumni Fellow title	A scene from the event

4th Six Japanese-German University Presidents' Conference ( HeKKSaGOn University Consortium )

On April 16 and April 17, HeKKSaGOn University Consortium: The 4th German-Japanese University Presidents’ Conference was held at Tohoku University under the topic of “Building venues for the creation of new knowledge and values.”
At the presentation on the first day, President Toshio HIRANO spoke about the concept behind World Tekijuku, "creating harmonious diversity," while introducing approaches at Osaka University such as efforts in accepting international students, doubling the number of students who study abroad, increasing international joint labs under the project for promoting international joint research as well as facilitating the project of next-generation global university organization, "World Tekijuku."
On the morning of the second day, comprehensive discussions were conducted by presidents and vice presidents regarding collaboration in education and research within the consortium, promotion of human exchange, securing of financing for supporting these activities, and the role of public relations.
From Osaka University, in addition to President Hirano, Executive Vice Presidents Saburo AIMOTO and Yasuyuki OKAMURA, 15 faculty members and graduate students split into eight work groups to discuss pertinent topics in life science, energy, and social and natural sciences. In each group, they held discussions in order to promote collaboration among 6 universities from professional viewpoints. In the general meeting in the afternoon, following reports made by each group, a joint statement was signed by the six presidents.
Upcoming meetings will be held at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in the autumn of 2016 and at Osaka University in the spring of 2018.

President Hirano speaks at the Presidents Meeting	A joint statement is signed

United Nations 70th Anniversary Symposium

On Monday, March 16, the United Nations 70th Anniversary Symposium was held under the sponsorship of the Japanese government and United Nations University. As a panelist, HOSHINO Toshiya (Vice president and Professor, Osaka University) attended the symposium at U Thant Hall in the United Nations University Headquarters.
The symposium was held under the theme of "The UN at a Critical Juncture: Looking Toward a Year of Reform and Renovation" with Prime Minister Shinzo ABE and Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon in attendance. Vice president Hoshino took part in the panel discussion in the second part of the symposium and made a proposal on challenges in the UN reform including what role the UN Security Council should play.

(From left to right) Einsiedel (Director, UNU Centre for Policy Research), Nakayama (Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs), Chaponda (Minister, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Malawi), Tanaka (Director, JICA), Osotimehin (Director, UNFPA), Hoshino (Vice President, OU)
Photo courtesy of: Christophersen / UNU

For more information, please visit this page .

Joint Workshop with Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research

Executive Vice President OKAMURA attended a joint workshop with the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) at the Embassy of India, Tokyo.

At this workshop, the presidents of the five IISER seized the opportunity to come to Japan and hold a joint workshop with the Embassy of India, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), while inviting representatives, primarily Vice Presidents, from seven national Japanese universities.

IISER, the most prominent science education and research institutes in India, have been established in Kolkata, Ajitgarh, Pune, Bhopal, and Thiruvananthapuram since 2006. This workshop was held with the aim of driving exchange in education and research while building and sustaining partnerships.

After receiving greetings from both Ambassador of India to Japan Deepa Gopalan WADHWA and Deputy Minister of Education, Sports, Science and Technology TSUCHIYA Sadayuki, an explanation of measures and policies was given by officers from the MEXT Science and Technology Policy Bureau and the Higher Education Bureau, as well as the JST Corporate Planning Division and the JSPS International Business Division.

Last, the IISER and six national Japanese Universities gave presentations on the framework of their universities and their efforts in academic exchange.

The social gathering provided a friendly environment for mutual networking.

Executive Vice President OKAMURA gives a presentation

University Exchange Agreements with Qatar University Signed

Qatar University (QU) and Osaka University signed an Inter-University Exchange Agreement on Friday, February 20, 2015. Executive Vice President OKAMURA of Osaka University and President Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad of Qatar University attended the signing ceremony.

This agreement was reached through active exchange between OU and QU, such as the coupling internships by the Graduate School of Language and Culture and the Joining and Welding Research Institute.

This agreement reaffirmed the importance of the cooperation between the two universities, and will lead to more active mutual exchange in research and education.

Executive Vice President OKAMURA and QU President Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad sign the agreement

Representatives from OU and QU

Osaka University Thailand Alumni Reunion

On Saturday, February 7, 2015, the Osaka University Thailand Alumni Reunion was held at the Grand Millennium Sukhumvit hotel in Bangkok. Some 80 alumni, faculty and staff members participated in the alumni reunion, i ncluding Executive Vice President Yasuyuki OKAMURA, Professor Emeritus Isao SHIRAKAWA, Professor Emeritus Norio FURUSHIRO, and Professor Emeritus Tatsuji SEKI .
Following greetings from the Thailand Alumni Reunion president and the Sakuyakai Bangkok Branch director, a presentation on recent activities at OU by Executive Vice President OKAMURA  as well as the Global Alumni Fellow ceremony were held. Participants enjoyed reuniting and renewing their friendships.

Executive Vice President OKAMURA

JUNBA2015

On January 8 and January 9, 2015, HOSHINO Toshiya (Vice president) and KABASAWA Satoshi (Director, North American Center for Academic Initiatives) and 9 other persons participated in JUNBA2015 in which some major Japanese universities possessing an overseas center in the U.S. participated. The Japanese Universities Network in the Bay Area (JUNBA) was established in 2006 and has held symposiums every year.
On January 8, two lectures were delivered: Aimee Dorr (Provost and Executive Vice President, University of California) talked about the role of provost at University of California and C. Judson King (Director, Center for the the Studies of Higher Education, University of California, Berkeley) the role of Academic Senate, a governing body made up of members of faculty at University of California.
Following their lectures, the Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science jointly held the Japan-U.S. Learning Exchange Association at which various American and Japanese officials exchanged opinions.
On the morning of January 9, OTAWA Yoshiyuki (Counselor for International Strategies, Higher Education Policy Planning Division, Higher Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) delivered a keynote speech. Following his speech, a poster session was held by participating universities and KABASAWA Satoshi (Director, North American Center for Academic Initiatives) introduced activities and challenges at the center. In the afternoon discussions with participation from 20 Japanese universities, Vice President Hoshino talked about approaches at Osaka University. More than 100 people participated in JUNBA2015 over the two days.

Vice President Hoshino