ECNU president Qian Xuhong led a delegation to visit Japanese universities from January 22 to 26, during which he attended the inaugural meeting of ECNU Alumni Association in Japan.
Exchanging views with his Japanese counterparts, about expanding on intercollegiate exchanges and cooperation, president Qian visited Kyushu University, the University of Tokyo, Waseda University and Chiba University.
The delegation also paid a visit to the innovation and entrepreneurship center of The University of Tokyo, the future robot R&D institute of the science and engineering department of Waseda University and the AI R&D institute of Chiba University. At the Chinese Embassy in Japan, they met with heads of the Overseas Chinese PhDs Association in Japan, witnessed the inauguration of ECNU Alumni Association in Japan and attended a welcome meeting held by sister Japanese universities in The University of Tokyo.
Qian and other members of the ECNU delegation visit Kyushu University.
Upon arrival to Kyushu University on Jan. 22, a meeting between president Qian and his counterpart Chiharu Kubo was held, where it was expressed that Kyushu was the first Japanese university that the ECNU president had visited since assuming office. He hoped that ECNU and Kyushu would advance in co-operation for the future, in fields such as basic education, PE education,psychology, special education, software engineering, basic medicine and precision spectroscopy.
President Kubo applauded his counterparts remarks, saying the two universities should continue to improve upon its collaboration in academic affairs.
The ECNU delegation was deeply impressed by the beautiful campus of the university. Officially declared as one of the largest and well-equipped universities in Japan, it’s campus development is a great example for ECNU’s own campus construction.
Founded in 1903, Kyushu University is a national Japanese university located in Fukuoka. It is considered as one of the prestigious research-oriented universities in Japan, and it has been chosen for the Top Global University Project initiated by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
So far, ECNU's Education Faculty, School of Foreign Languages and Department of History, have reached academic and student exchange agreements with the School of Education, School of Comparative Social Culture and Faculty of Literature.
The delegation led by Qian visits to The University of Tokyo.
After leaving Kyushu University, the ECNU delegation then made a stop at The University of Tokyo on Jan. 23, where president Makoto Gonokami welcomed the delegation to Tokyo. President Gonokmi noted that his university is considering a mechanism to coordinate between schools and teachers on both sides. He also advised ECNU that, in order to attract more students from Tokyo University, more courses oriented towards Japanese students should be opened for enrollment.
Later on, the ECNU delegation was shown around the biggest innovation and entrepreneurship center in the university, with 200 employees, known as the industry-university joint collaborative innovation promotion center. The center was launched in 2004 to assist teachers and students of Tokyo University for setting up startups and encourage mass innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization. One of the initial goals was to establish a system for sharing patents among schools, departments and researchers.Since then, Tokyo University has developed valuable experiences in IPR management, patent ownership and transfer income distribution.
The delegation attends a welcome meeting held by Japanese university presidents in The University of Tokyo.
The delegation also toured two startups, NExT-e Solutions and BionicM. Engaged in research and development, production, sales and service of advanced battery control technologies, NExT-e Solutions also specializes in the research and development of bionic mechanical arms. President Qian inquired about the details of these companies, including capital composition and operation modes, in hopes that it could serve as a model for growth by ECNU.
The University of Tokyo is a public research university located in Bunkyo District of Tokyo. Since it was established as the first imperial university in 1877, it is one of Japan's most recognizable universities with a world renowned reputation as a comprehensive research university.
ECNU inked a cooperation agreement with Tokoy University in 2015.
Qian meets with Aiji Tanaka, president of Waseda University.
At the welcoming meeting for the ECNU delegation on Feb. 24, president of Waseda University Aiji Tanaka introduced briefly the latest developments of the university, focusing on its achievements in research, education and social contributions. In addition, he provided updates on the the Waseda Vision 150 program - an initiative to transform Waseda into a leading university on a global stage.
He hoped Waseda and ECNU would conduct exchanges and cooperation for teaching and research, playing to the advantageous characteristics of the two universities. President Qian also said the two universities should explore more opportunities for collaboration in education, economics, physics and big data.
Prior to the meeting, the ECNU delegation had made a tour of the future robot research institute at Waseda University; they were able to gain a fundamental understanding of the creative practice and developments in the field of artificial intelligence.
The ECNU delegation visits Waseda University.
Waseda University is a Japanese private research university in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District. Founded in 1882, the university is part of the Top Global University Project (TGU) funded by MEXT, Japan. As early as 2000, ECNU and Tokyo University had signed deals on academic research and student exchange programs in which there has been an annual flow of student exchanges, high-level leadership visits and teacher exchanges between the two universities ever since.
After wrapping up the visit, the delegation attended the inauguration ceremony of the ECNU Alumni Association. President Qian shared his regards to the alumni and the establishment of the alumni association, stating it as a landmark in the development of alumni organizations in Japan. In the future, the alumni association would be able to offer services in support of the development of ECNU while carrying forward the ECNU spirit of unconditional love.
Qian poses a photo with members of the board of directors of ECNU Alumni Association in Japan at its inaugural meeting.
On the same day, the ECNU delegation visited the education section of the Chinese Embassy in Japan. During a meeting with minister counselor Hu Zhiping, president Qian asked for support from the embassy for increased exchanges between ECNU and its counterparts in Japan. Minister counselor Hu confirmed his approval, encouraging ECNU to enhance cooperation with Japanese universities as a way to promote friendship and harmony between the two countries.
Qian during a visit to Chiba University.
On Jan. 25, the delegation was invited to visit Chiba University for president Qian to meet with his counterpart, president Takeshi Tokuhisa, where he said that the university's internationalization impressed him the most.
Chiba University, a national Japanese univeristy, has been growing into a well-known research institute since it was founded in 1949. ECNU and Chiba University signed an academic exchange deal in 2018.
Edited by Linlan Zhang Proofread by Joshua Mayfield Reviewed by Wenjun Guo
