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Osaka University North American Alumni Association 10th Anniversary Event
2016.9.21 Wed
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Osaka University North American Alumni Association 10th Anniversary Event

On Saturday, September 10, 2016, the Osaka University North American Alumni Association 10th Anniversary Event was held in Silicon Valley at the Double Tree by Hilton in Campbell, California. This event consisted of two parts, an open lecture in Part 1, and the Alumni Dinner in Part 2 for members of the North American Alumni Association and those with strong ties to the North American Center for Academic Initiatives ("Osaka Friends"). 91 individuals were in attendance for the lecture in Part 1, while 66 joined the Alumni Dinner in Part 2.

Among those in attendance were UCEAP Director Vivian-Lee Nyitray, UCEAP (University of California Education Abroad Program), UC San Francisco Professor Emeritus John Ino, who holds special lectures monthly at the UC/UCEAP Osaka Office, and Stanford University Professor Gary Mukai, who is currently involved in distance learning at the North American Center for Academic Initiatives, which allowed us to express the openness and diversity of our North American network.

The topic of the open lectures in Part 1 was "AI and Innovation," and with the support of the Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco and the Osaka University Federation of Alumni Associations, lectures were given by 4 members of the OU Family, including professional Shogi player and former Ryuoh ITODANI Tetsuro (graduate student, Graduate School of Letters), Japan Biodesign Program Director YAGI Masakazu (Visiting Academic Staff, Graduate School of Medicine) and TANIGUCHI Tatsunori (graduate student, Graduate School of Medicine/fellow, Japan Biodesign), and conference interpreter Tomoko Lumpkin from SAKUYAKAI (Osaka University School of Foreign Studies/ Osaka University of Foreign Studies alumni association). For more details on these lectures, please visit the webpage for the Osaka University North American Center for Academic Initiatives .

In the Annual Dinner, President NISHIO Shojiro gave an opening address on the recent state of affairs at Osaka University, which was followed by congratulatory speeches celebrating 10 years of the North American Alumni Association by Osaka University Federation of Alumni Associations President KUMAGAI Nobuaki and SAKUYAKAI President and former Vice President of Panasonic Corporation SHOTOKU Yukio. Later, the North American Alumni Association held their usual "OU Quiz" which saw a lot of friendly competition among the attendees.

Even after the event had ended, undergraduate and graduate students currently studying in the US enjoyed friendly conversation with President Nishio, closing the event on a lively note.

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