2022NEWSLETTERTMU TIMESA N O F F I C A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F T O K Y O M E T R O P O L I TA N U N I V E R S I T YVol.7
TMU International Affairs OfficeCONTENTS
TMU GLOBAL LECTURE SERIESMEET A TOKYO HUMAN RESOURCES FUND FOR CITY DIPLOMACY ALUMNUS
A NEW SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM LAUNCHED FOR THE 2022/23 ADMISSIONS!
JLCP VIRTUAL SUMMER PROGRAMTOKYO METROPOLITAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY CORPORATION’S CLIMATE EMERGENCY DECLARATIONTMU Global Lecture SeriesLast September, Tokyo Metropolitan
University (TMU) launched the first
TMU Global Lecture Series entitled:
The Future of/with the Earth. The
series brings distinguished speakers
from various industries and academic disciplines across the world to ourcampus to share their expertise. The
series is open to the TMU community. It is offered as a credit-bearing
course for undergraduate students
to trigger their interest in global
issues and studying abroad.

TMU Global Lecture Series Program

The first season of the lecture series
included experts in the fields of philosophy, astrophysics, business
investment, economics, power electronics, architecture, and anthropology from Japan and abroad (see theProgram below).
Each lecture was reflected upon byPrologue

TMU faculty members who had contacts with the speakers and/or
taught the same disciplines as thespeakers. Furthermore, Professor
Ayabe, Vice-President for International Affairs, recaptured the intangible ideas that encompass a broadarray of topics through the entire
course as a threefold message:
Revisit what is considered “normal”
and join the endless intellectual
game called “learning;” seek thecommon ground between scienceand contemporary philosophy andgrasp your guiding principles;
understand and seize the power oflanguage. The speakers and TMU
faculty members provided the TMU
community with an intellectuallyunique and valuable opportunity toexplore how we shape our future,and that of the Earth.

Masao Ayabe Vice-President for International Affairs

1st Speaker 1st period 8:50 10:20

Markus Gabriel Professor, Bonn University
Towards a New Enlightenment - Transdisciplinary and Transcultural Cooperationin the Post-Pandemic Era
Coordinator Yuji Nishiyama Professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, theseries was offered online. It waswell-attended and well-received by
the TMU students and staff.
Some comments and feedback fromthe students are as follows.
The series gave meaning to mylife. It was the most enjoyable
class I have ever taken at theuniversity.
The lectures provided me withthe opportunity to revisit theways we tackle issues surrounding the world.
I was excited to study these
spectacular topics from different perspectives.
TMU has already started planningfor the next season of the seriesscheduled for this summer.

5th Speaker 1st period 8:50 10:20

Frede Blaabjerg Professor, Aalborg University
Power Electronics - the Key Technology for Grid Integration of Renewable Energy
Coordinator Toshihisa Shimizu Specially Appointed Professor, Graduate School of Systems Design

6th Speaker 2nd period 10:30 12:00

Fuhito Kojima Professor, Tokyo University

2nd Speaker 2nd period 10:30 12:00

Market Design for Improving Real-Life Systems

Investor/Specially Appointed Associate Professor,
Yasumasa Yamamoto Startup
Kyoto University Graduate School

Coordinator Takahiro Watanabe Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration

How Tech Business is Changing the WorldVice President for Public Affairs and Institutional AssessmentCoordinator Hideaki Yamashita Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration

7th Speaker 3rd period 13:00 14:30

Markus Gabriel Professor, Bonn University

3rd Speaker 3rd period 13:00 14:30

Will the Metropolitan-Oriented Society Change after the Pandemic?

Yasuo Kobayashi Professor Emeritus, Tokyo University

Coordinator Tohru Yoshikawa Dean, Faculty of Urban Environmental Sciences

How To Be ‘With the Earth’-a Philosophical Trial
Coordinator Yuji Nishiyama Professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

4th Speaker 4th period 14:40 16:10

Megan Urry Professor, Yale University
The Earth’s Place in the UniverseCoordinator Takaya Ohashi President, Tokyo Metropolitan University

8th Lecture 4th period 14:40 16:10

Sayaka Ogawa Professor, Ritsumeikan University
The Power of Narratives: What Words Can Carry (TBD)
Coordinator Masao Ayabe Professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Epilogue

Masao Ayabe Vice-President for International Affairs

Meet A Tokyo Human Resources Fund forCity Diplomacy Alumnus
The Tokyo Human Resources Fundfor City Diplomacy is a fund established by the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government in 2015 to financially
support students who undertake
graduate studies at TMU. It aims toprovide them with opportunities tojoin the TMU community andengage in networking conducive tothe development of their careers aswell as that of Tokyo and beyond.
In the seven years since its launch,dozens of students have earned
Master’s and Ph.D. degrees andnow play active roles in various
fields around the world. One of ouralumni has shared his experience
with us.
If you are interested in applying forthe new Tokyo Global Partner Scholarship Program, read this article andlearn how the education we provide
may help you advance your career.

Mr. Veersamy Nimelan

Q1 Please tell us about your current job responsibilities.
I am currently working as a researcher at the Department of Radioecology, Institute for Environmental Sciences (IES), Aomori, Japan. My research mainly focuses on the measurement of natural and artificial radionuclides and the associatedhealth risks in different environmental and biological samples.
Q2 Please tell us about your research topic at TMU and provide specificexamples, if any, of how your learning experiences at TMU prepared you for yourcurrent position.
My research topic at TMU was measuring the gamma radiation and associatedhealth risks from the natural high background radiation areas in India. I useddifferent techniques to measure radionuclides, such as radiometric and mass
spectrometry. I collaborated with my supervisor, Prof. Kazumasa Inoue, from thebeginning of my research. Through this project, I learned and developed skills tomeasure artificial radionuclides (Cs-137 and Cs-134) from the Fukushima nuclear accident samples. In addition, I have been conducting gadolinium measurements in different water samples from Japan.
The highly facilitated laboratories and good academic environment at TMU gaveme an opportunity to develop my research skills and knowledge on different
topics, which eventually helped me pursue my career as a researcher.
Q3 Please share your memories of your time (happy days and difficult
times at TMU and/or in Tokyo).
For me, TMU was my first exposure to an international academic environment. I
was overwhelmed in the beginning because of the language gap and laboratory
atmosphere where students were expected to participate and contribute. I
enjoyed meeting people from diverse backgrounds. Eventually, I made goodfriends at the university and in the neighborhood. It was always amazing to see
Tokyo’s urban beauty and experience the superior technology. Every day, you
are surprised by hidden gems in Tokyo.
In addition to the urban settings, Tokyo has a mesmerizing natural beauty where
you can relax and focus on yourself.
Q4 Who would you recommend this scholarship program to?
Students who are inquisitive, self-motivated, open-minded, and willing to learn a
new culture can really benefit from this scholarship program.

A New Scholarship Program Launched
for the 2022/23 Admissions!
Tokyo Metropolitan University isproud to announce that it is launching a new scholarship program, theTokyo Global Partner Scholarship,
starting with academic year 2022/23
admissions. Like its preceding program, the Tokyo Human Resources
Fund for City Diplomacy, the Tokyo
Global Partner Scholarship provides
scholarships to students who wish topursue graduate studies at TMU.
The scholarship covers tuition, international airfare, and a monthly
stipend of 150,000 JPY. Eligibility

criteria for the scholarship include abachelor’s degree (master’s applicants) or a master’s degree (Ph.D.
applicants) from higher education
institutions in Tokyo’s sister cities,
countries and regions of Asia, orTokyo Metropolitan University’s partners, among others.
This scholarship aims to provide students with unique learning opportunities generated by TMU faculty’s
high-quality, cutting-edge researchand prepare them for work and life

across international boundaries.
Simultaneously, TMU builds networks and partnerships for university
innovation, allowing it to contributeeven more to Tokyo and beyond.
Please visit our website for moredetails.

Tokyo Global Partner
Scholarship

JLCP Virtual Summer Program
Tokyo Metropolitan University offered
the Virtual Summer Program, anexclusive program for students frompartner universities, in the summer of2021 (28th June – 7th July).
It was our first online academic activity to interact with our partner universities.
The Japanese Language & Culture
Program (JLCP) was a 10-day virtual
program where international students
studied Japanese language and culture, and interacted online with TMU
students.

Courses Offeredconvenient for them.

Japanese Language Courses-Courses include synchronous instruction, including live virtual activities withinstructors and three individual tutoring sessions.
-Students can select the optimum
course level based on the result of theJapanese language placement test.

Multi-Cultural Environment-Befriending TMU students andengaging in cultural exchange activities such as guided virtual tours ofTMU Campus and Labs.

Lectures on Japanese Culture andSociety-Synchronous special lectures about
Japanese culture and society inEnglish.
E-Learning for Japanese Language-Asynchronous self-study using ane-learning system. Students canreview the points that they find difficult to understand in class wheneverFor the 2021 JLCP Virtual Summer
Program, we had 13 participantsfrom nine universities across eightcountries and regions.
The program provided an opportunity
for the participants to learn the Japanese language as well as the culture
and society, and interact with TMU
students, which led to close friendships even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

TOPICSTokyo Metropolitan Public University
Corporation’s Climate Emergency Declaration
On July 16, 2021, the Tokyo Metropolitan Public University Corporation(TMPUC), an umbrella organization
representing Tokyo Metropolitan
University, Advanced Institute ofIndustrial Technology, and Tokyo
Metropolitan College of Industrial
Technology, declared a climate
emergency. In doing so, we officiallyjoined Tokyo, Japan, and other
2,000 local and national authorities
as well as more than 300 fellow uni-The declaration

versities around the world in an effort
to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas
emissions by 2050. This declaration
requires the TMPUC community at
all levels to work together to shapeand contribute to a more sustainable
future for Tokyo and beyond. It
requires that all actions by the community consider climate change mitigation and other sustainable development goals. Recently, TMPUC
announced the launch of the Tokyo

Research Initiative for Sustainability(TRIS) to bring together researchfrom a broad range of disciplines totackle global challenges, including
the climate crisis, and promote
Tokyo’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals athome and abroad.
Please visit TMPUC’s website formore information on the declaration
and TRIS.

TRIS

TMU at a Glance

Academic Divisions• 9,059 students(6,803 undergraduate and 2,246 graduate)• 647 faculty staff and 503 administrative staff• 568 international students from 26 countries• International Partner Universities/Institutions (Institutional-level
Agreements): 96
International Partner Universities/Institutions (Faculty-levelAgreements):114

TMU International Affairs Office

Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Programs• Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences• Graduate School of Humanities• Faculty of Law• Graduate School of Law and Politics• Faculty of Economics and Business Administration• Graduate School of Management• Faculty of Science• Graduate School of Science• Faculty of Urban Environmental Sciences• Graduate School of Urban Environmental Sciences• Faculty of Systems Design• Graduate School of Systems Design• Faculty of Health Sciences• Graduate School of Human Health sciences

Email: info-kokusai@jmj.tmu.ac.jp Web: http://www.ic.tmu.ac.jp/english