The Asian Platform for Global Sustainability & Transcultural Studies
Kyoto University

AGST Newsletter

Featured in this issue:- International Collaborative Courses at the GSE“International Human Resource Management” & “Inclusive Rural Development”- Workshop Report from the GSL- International Collaborative Courses at the GSA“Sustainable Food Systems: A View from Eastern Europe” &“Introduction to Machine Learning for Agricultural and Food Economics”- AGST Spotlight Interview
Dr. Bálint Balázs, Senior Research Fellow and Managing Director

Environmental Social Science Research Group (ESSRG), Budapest, Hungary

Published by The Asian Platform for Global Sustainability & Transcultural Studies (AGST)
Edited by AGST Head Office (Graduate School of Economics)

AGST Newsletter | Autumn/Winter 2023

Graduate School of

Economics: International Collaborative Courses

P

rof. Jie Li (Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Associate Professor)
offered the course "International Human Resource Management(IHRM)" in May and June 2023 on invitation of Prof. Tomoki Sekiguchi.
As class supervisor this year, we have Prof. Miyako Imamura. In the same way
as the past two years, this year the classes were delivered through Zoom, andwith the pandemic passes, we will hopefully have classes on site next year.
This seminar-style class will cover key concepts concerning human resource
management in an international context.

International Human Resource
Management
by Dr. Li Jie
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

With three years of running, the course becomes quite mature with its structure. The students havethe opportunity to read, present, and discuss a variety of articles related to IHRM, such as globalization, culture, language, expatriate, talent acquisition, performance management, labour unions, andtraining. After that, Prof. Li will give helpful comments to sum up the presentation and discussion.
In addition, Prof. Li will introduce some useful theories, and provide some typical practical cases toread and discuss. In the last session, students will present their own research proposal and receive
feedback from professors and other students. In light of Prof. Li's focus on quantitative studies, Prof.
Imamura could be an invaluable resource for those who wish to conduct qualitative studies. Having
studied Human Science and worked in Thailand for years, she has an understanding of working cultures and regional studies, which can provide a unique perspective on HRM.
In addition to the course title, the class itself is diverse and international. Students from GSE as well as Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES) and Graduate School of Agriculture (GSA), and also an exchange student from Peking University enriched our discussion greatly. Furthermore, this year's students are from China, Africa, and Vietnam, so everyone has a good international perspective.
Throughout the course, we have been introduced to cross-cultural thoughts, which should help us in our future research and personal lives.
Xing Li
Master’s student, Graduate School of Economics

Inclusive Rural Development
by Prof. Maria Fonte
The American University of Rome
& Dr. Chizu Sato
Wageningen UniversityT

he first segment of the Inclusive Rural Development course commenced in
May 2023, facilitated by Professor Maria Fonte from the American University of Rome and hosted by Professor Shuji Hisano. Professor Fonte has
extensive research and teaching experience on topics in the field of Rural Sociology and Agricultural Economics; with her own research activities mainly focusing
on agriculture, agro-food systems and rural development in industrial and postindustrial economies.
With an attendance of twelve (12) students (research, master’s and doctoral),along with two assistant professors across various disciplines and backgrounds,
the course engendered an atmosphere that critically assessed the meanings we

assign to the terminologies of “Rural” and “Urban”.
Professor Fonte approached the presentation of her lectures with the method of historicising how academia and practitioners of development conceptualise rurality and its relation to the urban. By doing so, her approach required us as students to map and contextualise thetheoretical foundations of rurality and the ascension of the urban sphere in academic discourses; also evident in her approach was how
these discussions were grounded in real-life across different nation-states, inspired by global events.
Students were tasked with reading prescribed articles for the course, after which they were expected to present an analytical summary basedon what they had learnt. An observation I made during these presentations was that either before or after presenting some students would
express doubt in their interpretation of these articles. However, in every event that they did, they were met with grace and understanding
by Professor Fonte. Professor Fonte’s actions served as a reminder that we were in a learning environment that was meant to educate andfoster the principle of continuous learning; even in the face of uncertainty, a valuable lesson communicated was that it was better to try
rather than to concede defeat without effort.
At the end of this first segment of the course, what became evident was that Professor Fonte’s aim
was communicated clearly. It was for us as students and researchers to employ self-reflexivity
when we encounter the rurality and how it is positioned in discourses of modernity and urbanity;
to look beyond the statistical nature of how these terms are defined and understand that socialand spatial understandings of these concepts exist. Thus, we need to question and critically assess
how they are used and defined in our various disciplines.
It was a pleasure to have Professor Fonte as an instructor for this course, among her brilliance andher extensive experience on the topic, her kindness and openness to understanding others resonated with the participants of the course.
Samantha Nelson
Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Economics
AGST Newsletter | Autumn/Winter 2023

T

his summer, Dr. Chizu Sato from Wageningen University conducted the second
module on Comparative Rural Development Studies, which provided students withan insight into responsible research and explored how different analytical frameworks could be used to improve rural development. Rural development profoundly impacts the livelihoods and well-being of people worldwide. However, traditional approaches often fail to capture the complexity of rural communities, leading to the exclusion of
marginalized groups and perpetuating inequalities. Thus, students were encouraged toself-reflect throughout the course to critically analyze their ontological and epistemological assumptions about rural development research. By understanding the lens throughwhich they view the world, Dr. Sato hoped students could acknowledge their biases and embrace more inclusive and empathetic approaches.
Each session started with a pre-session activity, a short lecture, and an interactive workshop. Afterward, we engaged in collective and individual post-session reflections. The sessions were designed to shed light on what remains hidden in traditional rural development studies
and equip students with the tools to challenge conventional methodologies by exploring analytical frameworks from poststructuralist, postcapitalist, more-than-human, and feminist political ecology traditions.
The interactive class allowed students to explore alternative approaches to frame sustainable rural development, challenge essentialisms,
and recognize intersectionality. By acknowledging the agency and interconnectedness of non-human entities, students gained insights into
holistic and eco-centric perspectives.
This module challenged students to adopt responsible research practices and integrate
diverse analytical frameworks. Through group activities and individual reflections, theygained the ability to explore innovative solutions for rural development collectively.
Throughout the class discussions, students better understood power dynamics, economic
systems, ecological interdependence, and gender dynamics.
In general, Dr. Sato's class has been thought-provoking. As a way to pursue a more empathetic and inclusive world, she encouraged everyone to self-reflect, challenge the statusquo, and incorporate different perspectives.
Renee Grace Salditos Tila
Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Economics

Report from GSE
Global Course certificate
In March 2023, two undergraduate students received the Global Course certificate. The Global Course is an undergraduate certificate
programme offered at the Faculty of Economics that aims to train the next generation of active global citizens.
To get the Global Course certificate, students must complete their bachelor’s degree, study abroad for at least one semester and obtain
credits from a university that has a student exchange agreement with Kyoto University, earn credits with high grades from courses
taught in foreign languages at Kyoto University, and have an adequate level of English.
For more information about the Global Course, please visit this page https://agst.jgp.kyoto-u.ac.jp/global-course

AGST Top Global Course
It is a pleasure to announce that six students completed the AGST Top Global Course on September 25, 2023.
They come from the Graduate School of Letters and the Graduate School of Agriculture. This brings the total
number of students that have completed the programme to 70 since it was launched in March 2017 . Moreinformation about this programme can be found here.

AGST Newsletter | Autumn/Winter 2023

Graduate School ofLetters: Workshop ReportThe 16th Next-Generation Global Workshop (NGGW), under thetheme of “Migration and Quality of Life: Harnessing the Potential
for Social Prosperity”, took place on 29-30 September. Held annually by the Kyoto University Asian Studies Unit (KUASU), the NGGW has
been serving as a stage for early career scholars to share their researchfindings and receive professional comments from experienced experts,
both from all over the world. After 3 years of online Zoom meetings, theworkshop this year took place offline at department of letters, Kyoto University.

The 16th Next-Generation Global
Workshop(2023/9/29-30)

As a symbolic feature of modern life, the phenomenon of increasing mobility has impact on a wide range of issues regarding social transformation and people’s well-being. Focusing on the issue of migration, the workshop this year received around 80 applications from all over theworld. During the two days’ workshop, 26 of them presented their research in 8
sessions, simultaneously proceeded in two lecture rooms. The presenters are fromcountries including India, the Philippines, Singapore, Germany, U.S., Japan, etc.
Research topics covered diverse dimensions of issues regarding the migration,such as war, labor, marriage, law, ethnicity, religion, identity, etc.
14 veteran scholars participated the workshop as advisors. They were assigned into
the 8 sessions according to their research field. During the workshop, advisors
gave comments based on the paper submitted by presenters. The advisors are fromvarious universities and research institutes of Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Italy and other countries or areas.

At the Walking Tour to Yoshida Shrine

After the first 4 sessions on the first day ended, the participants set out together
for a walk out site the campus. They first climbed up the Yoshida Mountain to the
Yoshida Shrine, and then visit the Mausoleum of Emperor Go-Nijō near the northgate. After the walking, participants went back to the building of department ofletters to join in the welcome banquet provided by the organizing committee.

During the Professor Pitch Talk session in the afternoon on the second day, the advisors provided short talks on their own studies. Youngscholars as the audience in the session found themselves getting inspiration from the cutting-edge researches of the Professors.
In the wrap up session at the end of the second day, many participants left positive feedbacks. One of the advisors listed 10 strengths of
NGGW, including ‘the impressive arrangement work’, ‘efficient international exchange of knowledge’ and its ‘international and particularly
Asia impact to the academic society’. Some presenters regard the ‘mode of knowledge exchange’ carried out by the workshop as ‘really helps
us to think more clearly of our own topic as well as allow us to engage withothers’ work and collaborate across oceans’. Participants also provided many
precious advices for an even more success workshop in the future.

After the workshop taken place, presenters will revise their papers based on
the comments they received from the advisors. Submitted papers will be registered as proceedings in KURENAI, an open access platform to Kyoto University’s research and educational achievements.
NGGW has annually provided generations of young scholars with a series ofskill development opportunities, from preparing presentations, participating
in international conferences, to submitting papers to English-language journals. The organizers hope that these experiences will help participants learn
to harness their full potential and build successful academic careers.

Group Photo of the 16th NGGW participants

JI Chenjia
Researcher of Kyoto University Asian Studies Unit (KUASU)

AGST Newsletter | Autumn/Winter 2023

Graduate School of

Agriculture: International Collaborative Courses

In May the division of Natural Resource Economics held a special
lecture by Dr. Bálint Balázs, the Managing Director and SeniorResearch Fellow of the Environmental Social Science ResearchGroup (ESSRG) in Budapest. Divided into eight sessions, Dr. Balázs
provided those participating with an in-depth look at the various typesof sustainability transitions (within the agriculture sector) taking placein Eastern Europe, as well as how the current systems in place were
derived from the region's long-standing history and relationship with
its agricultural produce.

Sustainable Food Systems: A View
from Eastern Europe
by Dr. Bálint Balázs
Environmental Social Science
Research Group

Styled as more of an engaging discussion versus an intensive pen-topaper lecture, the key themes raised throughout the course branched
into many different aspects; all of which held equal weight and relevance to the topic at hand. Some examples include: modern food systems,
traditional food systems, various biodiversity strategies, food relocalisation, food sovereignty, and food citizen science. Transitional networks
around seed distribution and underutilized crops were also a key recurring topic of conversation. Most sessions often concluded with new waysof creating more strategies for a holistic food biodiversity.
For the last session, participants were tasked with a short presentation on the readings they had each personally selected. This was a refreshing
way of interacting with the material because in addition to having the space to review the readings critically, most participants also cited examples from their home country that they felt were relevant. Dr. Balázs' passion for a sustainable future, his home country Hungary and Eastern
Europe, and open dialogues, made for an extremely enjoyable intensive lecture.
Personally, the most important takeaway from this experience was that there are indeed far more similarities than differences between our continents. While naturally the implementation of these sustainable transitions requires time and its effects will not be felt overnight, there are infact various systems and strategies that can be adopted to tackle the issues at hand. Furthermore, having these discussions also allowed theparticipants (and myself) to reflect on the existing efforts made as well as the areas for improvement within our own countries’ policies andefforts.
Ryhan Binte Mohd Yazid
Master’s Student, Graduate School of Agriculture

Introduction to Machine
Learning for Agriculturaland Food Economics
by Prof. Xiaohua Yu
University of GöttingenIn July, Prof. Xiaohua Yu, a Chair Professor in Department ofAgricultural Economics and Rural Development at University
of Göttingen, taught a fruitful course on Machine Learning.
The lecture was attended by half Japanese students and half international students. For the first time in several years since the coronavirus pandemic, the lecture was held in a face-to-face format, andthere was a lively atmosphere with active exchanges of opinions
among professor and students.

The main purpose of the lecture was an introduction to machinelearning. Some of the students who attended the lecture had studied machine learning to some extent from the beginning and had a basic knowledge of the subject, but the majority of the students, including
myself, were not familiar with machine learning. Since the end of last year, the emergence of Chat GPT provided by OpenAI has brought abouta significant change in daily learning and research. Coding to perform data analysis in now no longer personal skill, and it is keenly awarded
that how to utilize AI is an urgent issue. This lecture was an apt opportunity to learn about machine learning. I was very impressed that Professor Yu clear statement at the beginning of the class that if we do not master machine learning, we will be left behind.
In the class, Professor Yu first introduced the fundamental meaning of using machine learning and how machine learning is applied in research.
In the remainder of the class, we actually conducted machine learning using Python. First, Professor Yu instructed the way to analyze data in
Python using conventional econometric methods such as the OLS, and then were taught how to analyze the data using machine learning models. We did analyses using Ridge regression, Lasso regression, random forest regression, and ANN model, and learned how to interpret the results. It was a little complicated to fully understand what the results stands for, because there were many words that we had never heard before,such as specificity and sensitivity. I would like to spend more time studying and deepening my understanding of machine learning.
I would like to appreciate Professor Yu for opening the door to learn more about machine learning and making me eager to understand it better. I would like to make use of what I learned in this lecture to my research.
Meishi Koh
Master’s Student, Graduate School of Agriculture

AGST Newsletter | Autumn/Winter 2023

AGST Spotlight Interview
Dr. Bálint Balázs
Senior Research Fellow and Managing Director
Environmental Social Science Research Group (ESSRG),
Budapest, Hungary+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In the Spring semester of 2023, the Division of Natural
Resource Economics in the GSA invited Dr. Bálint Balázs to come to Kyoto to teach an intensive lecture
course entitled “Sustainable Food Systems: A View from
Eastern Europe.” This was his first time teaching in person at
the GSA, although he taught the same course online in the
Spring semester of 2021.
Q1: Briefly describe your organisation, the Environmental Social Science Research Group (ESSRG), andyour current research activities there.
Dr. Balázs: The Environmental Social Science ResearchGroup (ESSRG) is a non-profit
organisation I co-own withmy two senior researcher
teammates working in Hungary to foster transdisciplinary
multi-actor research on several disciplinary interfaces andknowledge systems for the
past 15 years. Our three main
research streams extend toagri-food studies, biodiversity
and nature connectedness(https://www.essrg.hu/en/
projects/). To achieve our social justice and ecological sustainability goals, we foster a collaborative and cooperative
research methodology that includes many communities andstakeholder groups while paying special attention to thoseoften overlooked. Action research, community building, participatory planning, and conflict management are among the
primary skills we need in our research work at the intersections of science, policy, and society. We believe in increasingsociety's potential for transformative learning by making
space in the current systems of knowledge generation forparticipatory action research, responsible research and innovation, and citizen science.
Q2: Please let us know how you became acquainted
with Prof. Motoki Akitsu at the GSA.
Dr. Balázs: I got to know Motoki Akitsu from international rural sociology conferences, and I learned about his research for a few months from 2001 to 2004. Soon, I realisedthat my agri-food research interests and his enthusiasm forcurrent Hungarian issues match very well. In 2014, as a JapanFoundation scholar, I came for one month to study local

food system developments in Kyoto. Akitsu kindly hosted
me at the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University.
Q3: How was your experience teaching Kyoto University students? What impressions did you get fromthem?
Dr. Balázs: This was an excellent intensive course on sustainable food from an Eastern European perspective. I felt solucky that my daughter, Juli, accompanied me on this trip.
We examined dominant concepts and ideas generated in a
Western setting in reverse, for example, how these scholarly
concepts (local food, sustainable food) might be challenged,
broadened, and applied critically and more meaningfully
elsewhere, using Eastern European or non-Western perspectives. Students have done an incredible job of deciphering
the significance of such translation, and they have alreadyestablished a learning community across the Graduate
School of Agriculture (Natural Resource Economics) and the
Graduate School of Economics (East Asia Sustainable Development Studies Programme). During this course, they provided perspectives from Thailand, the Philippines, Nigeria,
Singapore, Peru, and Japan, which were contested with Central and Eastern European past, present, and future. The primary question is how we may live a prosperous life without
growth and produce and eat food more in harmony withnature and our true human nature. I am incredibly gratefulto the staff and students working on this topic and exploring
various food practices from Central and Eastern Europe.
Q4: Do you have any advice for Kyoto University students interested in building more sustainable food systems?
Dr. Balázs: As a father of three kids, I often feel desperate
about the unprecedented challenges food systems faceworldwide and how vulnerable consumers and producers areat both ends of the value chain. The transformation will require facing and navigating even more challenging complexities to rebuild food systems more sustainably. Most importantly, anyone seeking tobuild sustainable food systems
locally or globally must gain
insights into policy pathways
and enabling conditions underpinning the implementation.
Food systems development is abalancing act, and we should
never lose our footing to findbetter ways to incentivise
agroecological farming systems
and make healthy diets the most accessible and affordable
choice simultaneously.

AGST Newsletter | Autumn/Winter 2023

Makoto Kuroda
Assistant Teaching Staff,
Graduate School of Agriculture