Honolulu Office of Kobe University
E-newsletter, April 2019

Honolulu Office of Kobe University
Newsletter

The Third HOKU Symposium heldINDEX- News & Events- Kobe University AY2018
Research- HOKU Facilities- Social Media- Feedback about our English
website◆ NEWST

hird HOKU (Honolulu
Office of Kobe University)
Symposium held

On November 16, 2018, Kobe
University held the 3rd HOKU
(Honolulu Office of Kobe University)
Symposium “Agricultural Science for
Sustainable Global Development andHealthy Society”. The event took
place at JAIMS (Japan-America
Institute of Management Science),
where the Honolulu Office is located,
and was organized in collaboration
with the University of NebraskaLincoln (UNL).
Chaired by Professor Yasuhito Shirai(a member of the Kobe University
Office of the Americas and theGraduate School of AgriculturalScience), the opening greetings were
given by Professor Ken-Ichi

Shimomura (Director of the Office ofthe Americas) and Professor Steve
Goddard (Former Vice Chancellor
and member of the Department ofComputer Science & Engineering,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln).
Professor Shimomura and Professor
Goddard spoke on universities in theAmericas and pan-Pacific region
establishing cooperative
relationships based on mutualinterests, and expressed their wishesthat this symposium would
contribute to more in-depth, active
research for all participants. Tofollow, UNL members Mr. Josh Davis(Assistant Vice Chancellor for GlobalEngagement) and Dr. Tala Awada(Associate Dean of the Agricultural

Honolulu Office of Kobe University
E-newsletter, April 2019

Research Division for the Institute ofAgriculture and Natural Resources)
introduced UNL’sinternationalization initiatives andthe agricultural research division.
The symposium was composed ofthree sessions: human health science,
agricultural economics, and plant
pathology. Academics from theUniversity of Nebrasaka-Lincoln, theUniversity of California San Diego,
the University of Hawaii at Manoaand Nankai University joined faculty
members from the Kobe University
Graduate School of Agricultural
Science to present their researchfindings. The event had a lively
atmosphere from start to finish: every
session was full of active discussions,and the knowledge shared in eachpresentation was also debated during
the coffee breaks and lunch period.

Professor Toshinori Kawabata (Deanof the Faculty of AgriculturalScience) gave the closing remarks,
expressing his gratitude to everyone
who participated, and stating Kobe
University’s intentions for further
collaboration to develop academicexchange with universities in theAmericas and the pan-Pacific region.
The Honolulu Office of Kobe
University will continue to host
symposia and workshops to connect
researchers from Japan, the Americas
and the pan-Pacific region.
http://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2018_11_29_05.
html

Academic Exchange
Agreement concluded
with the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln

researcher exchange between our
institutions in preparation for theNovember symposium at our
Honolulu Office.
Following the lunch meeting, Vice
President Yoshii received a tour of
the research facilities at the Nebraska
Innovation Campus. The Universityof Nebraska-Lincoln is located on theCorn Belt, and as such it is engaged inadvanced research related toagriculture and forestry, theenvironment, wildlife and vegetation,and food science.

On September 7, 2018, Professor
Masahiko Yoshii (Vice President at
the time of visitation) visited theUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln. A
delegation from University
Nebraska-Lincoln led by Professor
Steve Goddard (Associate Vice
Chancellor at the time of visitation)
had visited Kobe University in
February 2018, during which bothsides agreed to conclude an interuniversity academic exchange
agreement. The September visit
provided an opportunity to hold asigning ceremony and officiallyexchange the agreements signed byboth institutions. Dr. Sonia
Feigenbaum (Associate Vice
Chancellor for International
Engagement and Global Strategies)
exchanged the documents with
Executive Vice President Yoshii, andthey shared a handshake.
The subsequent meeting wasattended by Josh Davis (AssistantVice Chancellor for GlobalEngagement), Maegan Stevens-Liska(Director of the Office of GlobalStrategies), other members of theOffice of Global Strategies, and Ms.
Hisami Imagawa (Business Manager,Nebraska Center Japan). Both sidesconfirmed their mutual pledge tostrengthen our collaborative ties.
They discussed the progress of

http://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2018_10_03_02.
html

Visit from University ofSouthern California

Kobe University and theUniversity of SouthernCalifornia (USC) have made anagreement this year to jointly
implement USC's "Business Japanese
Course."For two weeks from May 28 to June11, 2018, Master Lecturer Ms. Yuka
Kumagai, (The Department of East
Asian Languages and Cultures at theUSC Dornsife College of Letters, Artsand Sciences), along with eightundergraduate students, visited KobeUniversity.

The USC students obtained practicalknowledge of Japanese business andsociety, as well as learning about thedifferences in the culture andbusiness customs through companyvisits. They experienced various

Honolulu Office of Kobe University
E-newsletter, April 2019Japanese industries, ranging from thetraditional to the high-tech, alongwith immersion in Japanese culture
and sport through museum visits andwatching a baseball game. These
activities made for a fruitful twoweek stay in Japan.
During their stay, the USC students
had opportunities to interact with
Kobe University students. Theyattended a cultural exchange meeting
where they interviewed Kobe
University students. Facilitating suchcollaboration is one of the purposesof the course, and it helped the USC
students to complete their researchon their topics.
At the end of the course, each USC
student organized their research
results from the various course
activities to deliver a presentation inJapanese.
This program is expected to continue
and facilitate greater academic
exchange between the twouniversities.
http://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2018_06_18_02.
html

Joint symposium
strengthens ties with
University of Southern
California and Universityof California, San Diego
On March 8-9, 2019, the Kobe
University Graduate School of
System Informatics held a joint
symposium at HOKU with theUniversity of Southern California(USC) and the University ofCalifornia, San Diego. Thiscollaboration is founded on an
academic exchange agreement
concluded in January 2016 between
USC and Kobe University’s Graduate

School of System Informatics,
Graduate School of Engineering andEducation Center on Computational
Science and Engineering (ECCSE).

On the first day, specialists incomputational science and relatedscience and engineering fields
gathered from each institution topresent their research and holddiscussions aimed at promoting
research collaboration andencouraging international coauthorship of papers. This wasfollowed on March 9 by splintermeetings in space physics,
computational fluid dynamics,
molecular simulations and structuralengineering. The splinter meetings
provided participants with a further
chance to engage in focused
discussions in their specialized fields.
This event has contributed todeveloping and expanding theacademic research network between
our institutions.

Workshop on Super
Aging Societies,
Technology Innovation
and Trade Friction

On November 11, 2018, the Kobe
University Graduate School ofBusiness Administration hosted aworkshop at HOKU under the themeof “Approaches for Advanced Issues
in Japan, the United States andChina: Super Aging Society,
Technology Innovation and TradeFriction”.
The workshop was organized byProfessor Lin Huang (GraduateSchool of Business Administration)
and attended by professors andbusinesspeople from organizations inJapan and the University of Hawaii atManoa. The participants presented
their research on societal issues
shared by Japan, the US and China.
https://www.b.kobe-u.ac.jp/4084/

E

lementary school students
attached to KU visit Hawaii
accompanied by KU students

The elementary school attached toKobe University is implementing the"Kobe University Elementary School
GCP (Global Challenge Program)",based on their educational goals tofoster the fundamental qualities ofglobal citizenship. From October 1419, 2018, a group of elementary school
students and teachers visited
Honolulu in Hawaii on the HOKU
Program accompanied by Kobe
University students from theDepartment of Child Education,
Faculty of Global Human Sciences.
They visited Hahaione Elementary
School located near the Honolulu
Office of Kobe University for oneweek exchange, and spent a portionof the program with host families.

Honolulu Office of Kobe University
E-newsletter, April 2019

◆ Upcoming eventsWe are excited to announce that a Joint Program with Georgia Institute of Technology, "Japan Summer
Program in Sustainable Development 2019" will be held!
More info (Japanese): http://www.office.kobe-u.ac.jp/intl-prg/short-term/event/2019/03/14/943.html◆ Research at
Kobe University

Our research highlights are showcased at Research at Kobe.
The diverse spectrum of research at Kobe University attracts
students, academics, industry and business interests from across theworld. Please visit the research news site and see some of ourongoing research. We hope you will be enlightened.
Contact: intl-relations(at)office.kobe-u.ac.jp- The stick insects that survive being eaten by birds
http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/research_at_kobe_en/NEWS/news/2018_05_28_01.html
Science- Giant pattern discovered in the clouds of planet Venus
http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/research_at_kobe_en/NEWS/news/2019_01_09_01.html
Space Science- Vitamin D and immune cells stimulate bone marrow disease
http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/research_at_kobe_en/NEWS/news/2019_02_08_01.html
Medicine- Drying without dying: how resurrection plants survive without water
http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/research_at_kobe_en/NEWS/news/2019_03_01_02.html
Plant Biology

Honolulu Office of Kobe University
E-newsletter, April 2019

◆HOKU Facilities

HOKU has a meeting room with space for 15-20 people, Wi-Fi access, and standard equipment such as a screen, projectorand whiteboard. It is used for holding seminars and workshops with Kobe University researchers.
Address: JAIMS (Japan-America Institute of Management Science)
6660 Hawaii Kai Drive, Honolulu, Hawaii 96825-1192◆Social Media

Connect to find news, events, and more!

KobeU_Global◆

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Feedback is always welcome. Please let us know your opinion by filling in a 3-minute questionnaire about the newwebsite: Link to questionnaire

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Honolulu Office of Kobe University
6660 Hawaii Kai Drive, Honolulu, Hawaii 96825-1192
Email: intl-relations (at) office.kobe-u.ac.jp.
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