Kobe University
E-newsletter, December 2022

Kobe University Newsletter
12th KUBEC Symposium-Record audience shares insights into Ocean Research-Contents

Green Horizons: EU-Japan Research for
Healthy, Sustainable Seas and Oceans”.

technology and innovation, andsocial sciences.

 NEWS

Jointly organized with the Vrije
Universiteit Brussel, the symposiumprovided a high-level forum to discuss
key issues and present the latest
developments in Ocean research in theEU and Japan, from the interconnected
angles of economics and governance,

The first fully in-person event inthree years, it was an exciting
success in terms of attendance (arecord 130 participants), speaker
participation (also a record 42presenters) and quality ofexchanges.

-NewsResearch at Kobe
Social MediaEnglish website feedback
Notice from Institute for
Promoting International
Partnerships

The 12th Kobe University
Brussels European Centre
Symposium

On 18 October, the 12th Kobe University
Brussels Symposium took place on thehighly topical theme of “Blue Economy,

Kobe University
E-newsletter, December 2022

Chaired by Professor YOSHIDA Kenichi, Director of KUBEC, the opening
session featured Kobe University
President FUJISAWA Masato, VUB
Rector Jan Danckaert, JapaneseAmbassador to the EU MASAKI
Yasushi, and EC Director General(Acting) for Research and Innovation
Ms. Signe Ratso. Speakers outlined theopportunities offered by ocean researchin strengthening EU-Japan cooperation,
as well as the breakthrough which apossible Association of Japan to
Horizon Europe, now under discussion,
may represent for EU and Japanese
researchers.
They were joined by senior experts fromuniversities and research organizations,industry and the innovation community,
think-tanks and the media from Japan,
Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany,Italy, Norway, Sweden and the UK.
Parallel sessions covered
key topics such as ‘Blue
economy’: Global Trade
Flows, Environmental
Issues and Governanceof the Seas; Oceans ofthe Future: Advances inMarine and Maritime
Sciences: NewTechnologies for New
Horizons; and Seas,
Science and Societies: Building
Awareness, Engaging Communities.
Corresponding workshops in theafternoon allowed fruitful dialogue on
key issues like green shipping, ‘bluegreen’ hydrogen energy, marine
robotics, fight against marine pollution,and security in the East China Sea.
Highlights included, for the first time,
two keynotes, introduced by Kobe
University Executive Vice President
NAKAMURA Tamotsu. Awardwinning film-maker Michael Pitiot’s
inspiring presentation, illustrated bystunning footage from his
documentaries, outlined the key role ofmedia in engaging audiences with
scientific and environmental issues.
Pascal Lamy, Former WTO Director

General, and Chairmanof the Horizon Europe
Mission Board Restore
our Seas and Waters
by 2030 gave a broad
overview of the needfor global cooperationin protecting ocean
environments, andpresented the Digital
Twin of the Ocean – anexciting new tool forinternational research on oceans.
This 12th symposium confirmed the keyrole of Kobe University and its Brussels
European Centre in promoting highlevel policy dialogue and fosteringstronger academic and researchcollaborations between Japan andEurope.

Related article: https://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2022_11_02_01.html

Kobe University Liaison
Office in Seattle holds its
Opening Ceremony and2nd Symposium

On October 31, an opening ceremony for
the Kobe University Liaison Office inSeattle (KULOS) was held in Seattle.
KULOS is Kobe University’s new North
American office, established thanks tothe cooperation of Hyogo Prefecture

and the Hyogo InternationalAssociation.
Attendees at this celebratory event
included HBCC Director
KOBAYASHI Junko, Kobe
University Executive Vice President
NAKAMURA Tamotsu, Director
SHIRAI Yasuhito (of the American
Division of the Institute for
Promoting InternationalPartnerships), Director KAWAINaruo (of the Global Education
Center), Project Professor KAWAI
Hiroshi (Research Center for Inland
Seas, Kobe University) and Director
IMURA Takashi (of theInternational Division).
On the day after
the opening
ceremony, the 2nd
KULOS
Symposium “Ocean
Research and its
Application for a
Sustainable
Society” was heldat the Graduate
Hotel Seattle. Thesymposium was preceded by anetworking lunch, which wasattended by over 50 people,including the Consul General ofJapan in Seattle INAGAKI Hisao,
Kobe City Mayor HISAMOTO Kizo.
The symposium was chaired by
Director SHIRAI, with opening
remarks from Executive VicePresident NAKAMURA andProfessor Mari Ostendorf (Vice
Provost for Research, University ofWashington), followed by apresentation on the title given by 4speakers.

Kobe University
E-newsletter, December 2022

During their visit to the U.S., Executive
Vice President NAKAMURA, DirectorSHIRAI, Director KAWAI Naruo andDirector IMURA also visited theUniversity of Washington to confirm
mutual intentions to expand academicexchange agreements and promotestudent and faculty exchange. We willcontinue to actively utilize the Seattle
base to further strengthen its ties withuniversities in North America.
Related article: https://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2022_11_16_01.ht
mlK

obe Opportunities for
EU-Japan Research
CollaborationT

he 7th Kobe UniversityBeijing Foreign Studies
University Joint Symposium

On December 2, the 7th Kobe
University – Beijing Foreign Studies
University Joint Symposium was held asa hybrid in-person/online event. The
theme of this year’s symposium was“Japanese Studies in the Post-PandemicEra".
This symposium series began in the2015 academic year as one of theactivities of the Kobe University andBeijing Foreign Studies University
International Collaborative ResearchBase.

On July 5, the event “KobeOpportunities for EU-Japan ResearchCollaboration”, jointly hosted by
RIKEN and Kobe University, was heldin Brussels, Belgium. Over 40 people
attended this international event.

The program consisted of two sessions:“Kobe as a leading base forcomputational sciences” and “Placebased innovation through internationalcooperation”.
This event was thefirst face-to-face event
held by Kobe
University’s Institutefor PromotingInternationalPartnerships since thestart of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Related article: https://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2022_07_29_01.htm
lThe symposium began with opening
remarks given by Prof. ZHOU Yifu
(Director of the Beijing Center forJapanese Studies at Beijing Foreign
Studies University) and Prof.
NAKAMURA Tamotsu (Executive Vice
President in Charge of International
Affairs, Kobe University). Next, fiveresearchers from Japan and China gave
presentations and answered questions
from a wide range of perspectives in thehumanities and social sciences.

Former EuropeanCouncil Presidentdelivers special lectureat Kobe University

On July 14, Mr. Herman VanRompuy, a former president of theEuropean Council who has anhonorary doctorate from Kobe
University, visited our university togive a one-hour special lecture forthe students. He spoke on the themeof “The Japan-EU relations after
Ukraine: common destiny?” at theuniversity’s Rokko Hall. Due to theongoing COVID-19 pandemic, thelecture was held as a hybrid eventwith a total of almost 100
participants.
In his lecture, he emphasized that‘trust’ has become even more
important in this changed world,
and that we must continue efforts toavoid the worst case scenario andnot lose hope.

This symposium covered a topicaltheme of great interest to theparticipants, leading to active
exchanges of research. We hope thissymposium will further develop thecooperative relationship between thetwo universities.

Afterward, Mr. Van Rompuy visited
President FUJISAWA Masato. They
discussed the state of thecoronavirus pandemic in Japan andEurope, as well as future plans forcooperation between the EU andKobe University.

Related article: https://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2022_12_13_01.ht
mlRelated article: https://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2022_07_28_
01.htmlKobe University
E-newsletter, December 2022

Everything you need to know about our research is featured on the Research at Kobe website, including the latest
press releases as well as articles on our researchers, facilities and collaborations.
If you have any questions about research news, please contact us at:

intl-plan (a)office.kobe-u.ac.jp

 Social Media
Keep up to date with Kobe University on the following platforms:

KobeU_Global

KobeUniversityGlobal

Kobe University

kobe_university

 Let us know what you think about our English website
Feedback is always welcome. Please let us know your thoughts on our English-language website: Link to questionnaire Kobe University’s 120th Anniversary

In 2022, Kobe University celebrated its 120th anniversary!
We were honored to receive congratulatory messages from many universities,
which can be viewed via the link below.
CONGRATULATORY VIDEO MESSAGESKobe University
E-newsletter, December 2022

 Notice from Institute for Promoting International Partnerships
In order to improve our capacity to develop international collaboration, we restructured our organization by establishing thefollowing new offices in April 2022. The ‘Office for International Strategic Planning’ will formulate Kobe University’s
international strategy and supervise our activities in each region, and the ‘Office for Promoting Cross-campus Collaboration’will be in charge of strengthening the connectivity between each University department’s international activities.
In addition, the ‘Europe & Africa Division’, the ‘Asia & Oceania Division’ and the ‘Americas Division’, established under the‘Office for International Strategic Planning’, will promote our international exchange activities and strengthen our overseas
network based upon our international strategy, cooperating with each other across regional borders.
Each division’s overseas offices are as follows. We aim to utilize these divisions and offices to enhance international
collaborations.
[Europe & Africa Division]

Kobe University Brussels European Centre
Pleinlaan 2 (Visitors: 5), 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Email : intl-kobe_u_bxl(a)office.kobe-u.ac.jp[Asia & Oceania Division]

Kobe University China Office
No 2 Xisanhuan North Road, Haidian District, Beijing
Email : opie-chinaoffice(a)office.kobe-u.ac.jp[Americas Division]

Kobe University Liaison Office in Seattle
1001, 4th Ave, Suite 4310, Seattle, WA 98154(Safeco Plaza, on the 43rd floor)
Email : intl-relations(a)office.kobe-u. ac.jp

Thank you very much for reading this newsletter. We wish you all a pleasant winter holiday!