Kobe University Brussels European Centre
E-newsletter, December 2018

Kobe University Brussels European Centre
Newsletter

9th KUBEC Symposium:
A Great Success.

 NEWSINDEX-News
Research at Kobe University(2nd half of 2018)
Past Events in 2018
In-house seminars and workshop
at KUBEC
Social MediaLet us know what you think
about our English website

T

he 9th Kobe University
Brussels European Centre
Symposium was held

On October 24 the 9th Kobe
University Brussels European Centre
Symposium was held in Brussels,
Belgium, under the title “Smart Cities,
Secure Societies: Breakthroughs in EU
and Japan Research Cooperation”. Thesymposium was attended by over 120
people including Japanese and EU
government officials, researchers,students and businesspeople.
Forty speakers representing leading
universities from Belgium, France,

Germany, Georgia, Poland, and theUK, as well as officials from theEuropean Commission and theJapanese government, sharedexperiences, presented projects anddiscussed initiatives to strengthen
research cooperation. In total, arecord 110 participants attended thesymposium, including Japanese andEU officials, researchers, students,and representatives from embassies
and industry.
Chaired by Prof. Ken-ichi Yoshida(Executive Director of KUBEC), thesymposium opened with greetingsfrom Professor Hiroshi Takeda(Kobe University President),

Kobe University Brussels European Centre
E-newsletter, June 2018expressing his expectations forenhancing research collaboration on thetopics of common societal challenges
and technological innovation taking
place in the EU and Japan. After his
remarks, Prof. Dr. Romain Meeusen(Vrije Universiteit Brussel Vice-Rector),
H.E. Mr. Kazuo Kodama (Ambassadorof Japan to the EU), and Mr. Patrick
Child (Deputy Director-General, DG
RTD, European Commission)
highlighted key opportunities forstrengthening collaboration underHorizon 2020 and the EU-Japan
Strategic Partnership Agreement
concluded on 17 July 2018.

Parallel sessions presented examples ofsuccessful cooperation in highly topicalareas, including ‘Security challenges in achanging world’ and ‘Disaster-resilient
societies’; ‘Smart Cities’ focusing onsustainable energy, robotics andintelligent mobility; and ‘Between
Orient and Occident’ covering issues ofcultural memory and cultural transfer.

for in-depth discussions between EUand Japanese partners, with the aim ofshaping joint research projects inresponse to Horizon2020 calls.
This symposium illustrated, once again,
Kobe University’s active presence inBrussels, in partnership with the VUB
and provided a meaningful opportunity
for academic dialogue between
participants from the EU and Japan.
After the symposium, on October 31, adelegation led by Patrick Child (DeputyDirector-General for Research andInnovation at the EuropeanCommission) visited Professor Matsuto
Ogawa (Executive Vice President inCharge of Research and IndustryUniversity Cooperation) in Kobe.
Following discussion among them
about participation in European
research funding scheme, Mr. Child wasintroduced a 3-year initiative to developan airflow control system based on AIsensors that detect the movement ofpeople and air currents. During his visit,
he showed great interest in Kobe
University international collaboration
initiatives and joint research projects
with Europe.

We are looking forward to yourparticipation in the 10th anniversary
symposium in autumn 2019.
http://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2018_11_02_02.ht
mlThe afternoon was devoted to threeworkshops and brokerage events on‘Evidence-based disaster medicine’;‘Rethinking mobility for smarter andmore liveable cities’; and ‘Food, culture
and history: a cultural anthropology of
East-West exchanges’. These highly
focused events provided opportunities

http://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2018_11_06_01.ht
mlP

resident Takeda visits
University of Oxford

On October 22, Kobe University
President Hiroshi Takeda led adelegation to the University ofOxford. The delegation comprised
Kobe University members Professor
Kiyomitsu Yui (Executive Assistantto the President in Charge ofInternational Collaboration),
Professor Hiroshi Okumura (Deanof the Graduate School ofHumanities) and Professor Hiroko
Masumoto (former Dean of theGraduate School of Humanities).
Kobe University and the Universityof Oxford have strong connections
in research and student exchange. In
2011 both sides established the Kobe
Oxford Japanese Studies
Programme, under which the Kobe
University Faculty of Letters
accepts all second-year
undergraduate students from theJapanese Studies Department,
Faculty of Oriental Studies at theUniversity of Oxford for a one-year
program.

This was followed by a meeting in
Hertford College with Mr. Will
Hutton (Principal of Hertford
College). A signing ceremony thentook place to renew an agreement
for academic exchange between
Hertford College and Kobe
University.
http://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2018_11_09_01.
html

Kobe University Brussels European Centre
E-newsletter, June 2018

Kobe University
Overseas Advisory
Board meeting held inBrussels

On October 23 Kobe University held an
Overseas Advisory Board meeting atKUBEC. The meeting was attended by
Board members His Excellency Mr.
Herman Van Rompuy (former Presidentof the European Council), Professor
Roger Goodman (Warden of St
Antony’s College, University of Oxford)
and Professor Jiří Drahoš (formerPresident of the Czech Academy ofSciences).
The meeting was chaired by Professor
Ken-ichi Yoshida (Executive Director ofKUBEC) and followed by presentations
on Kobe University’s SDGs initiatives
and international exchange activities
during this academic year fromProfessor Matsuto Ogawa (ExecutiveVice President in Charge of Researchand Industry-University Cooperation)
and Professor Noriyuki Inoue(Executive Vice President in Charge ofInternational Exchange) respectively.
Kobe University Brussels European
Centre Advisor Patrick Vittet-Philippethen reported on the Brussels officeactivities for this academic year.

The three Board members offered theiropinions on the establishment andmanagement of overseas offices,international student numbers at Kobe
University, initiatives to increase theamount of international co-authoredpapers and performance evaluation offaculty members. Their thoughtful
evaluations included comparisons with
their own institutions.
http://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2018_11_02_01.ht
mlVorkshop on cultural
memory and culturaltransfer held inBrussels

http://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2018_11_22_02.html

Joint seminar on"Technological change
and its impact on thelabour market"

On November 15, an academic
seminar on "Technological change
and its impact on the labour market"
was held at Kobe University. This
event was jointly organised with theEuropean Economic and Social
Committee (EESC).

On October 25 and 26 a workshop washeld at the Kobe University Brussels
European Centre (KUBEC) on thetheme of “Japan – Georgia – Western
Europe: Cultural Memory and CulturalTransfer”.

In September 2017 Kobe University
concluded an academic exchange
agreement with Ivane Javakhishvili
Tbilisi State University (TSU) inGeorgia. Kobe University was the firstJapanese partner university of TSU andthis enabled us to bring together TSU
and other universities in Europe that arealready involved in active exchangewith Kobe University.
The workshop was organised byProfessor Hiroko Masumoto (GraduateSchool of Humanities). From Georgia,
five academics and government
representatives for education, science,
culture and foreign affairs attended,with researchers from other European
partner universities including
University of Trier.

The seminar introduced AI
technologies and the impact on
labour markets, with comparisons
between Japan and Europe. From
Kobe University, Professor
Kazufumi Yugami (Social Science
Department, Organisation ofAdvanced Science and Technology)
and Professor Zhi-Wei Luo(Graduate School of System
Informatics) gave talks on theirresearch in the areas of labour
economics and robotics.
Kobe University has beenstrengthening cooperation with theEESC since the 2005 founding of the
EU Institute in Japan, Kansai (EUIJKansai), an EU-funded consortium
headed by Kobe University.
This year’s seminar marks the nextstage for collaboration between
Kobe University and the EESC.
http://www.kobeu.ac.jp/en/NEWS/info/2018_11_22_0
1.htmlKobe University Brussels European Centre
E-newsletter, June 2018

 Research at
Kobe University(2nd half of 2018)-Neural inflammation plays critical role in stress-induced depression

Epidemiology, Public Health- The stick insects that survive being eaten by birds
Biology, Plant Sciences, Entomology- Balloon-borne telescope looks for cosmic gamma rays

Astronomy, Material Science- How rice plants cope with flooding
Earth Science/ Geography

All you need to know about our research is now on thewebsite including news, spotlight, researchers, facilities andcollaboration.
If you have any questions about research news, please contact us at

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

Kobe University Brussels European Centre
E-newsletter, June 2018

 Past Events in 2017-2018
5-26 International Workshop on Humanities "Japan-Georgia-Western Europe: Cultural Memory and CulturalOct. Transfer"
3 Oct. The 6th Bruegel - Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University conference
Europe and Japan: Monetary policies in the age of uncertainty
14 Mar. International Seminar on Integration of Spatial Computable General Equilibrium and Transport Modelling
5 Dec. The CRIL-Kobe-Louvain Collaborative Workshop on Constraint Programming and SAT
24 Nov. Brussels Student Workshop 2017
'What are students interested in? Europe and Japan Similarity and Difference'
18 Nov. New Perspectives in Japanese Studies Part 2

 In-house seminars and workshop at KUBEC
Information on academic seminars and workshops at KUBEC can be found at:
http://www.office.kobe-u.ac.jp/ipiep/kubec/index_en.html
If you are interested in participating in those events, please contact us at

intl-kobe_u_bxl(a)office.kobe-u.ac.jp
for further information.

 Social Media
Kobe University is now on Social Media!

KobeU_Global

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Kobe University Photo Contest –Winners Announced!!
“#kobeuniversity” “#神戸大学” and “#神大うりぼー”

Kobe University Brussels European Centre
E-newsletter, June 2018

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