As part of an international exchange project by the Japan Committee of Universities for International Exchange (JACUIE), the Japan Association of National Universities (JANU) cohosted a German-Japanese Symposium at the Japanese-German Center Berlin in Germany on June 28 and 29. The other cohosts were the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), an association of German universities, and the Japanese-German Center Berlin. Symposium participants from Japan comprised 90 officials from 45 national, public and private universities, of whom 50 officials were from 29 national universities.

　Under the theme “Education, Research and Innovation–The Universities’ Mission between Academic Core Values and Societal Expectations,” lively discussions were held on challenges faced by both Japan and Germany amid growing societal expectations for universities to foster innovation –how universities should define true innovation, and how universities should integrate their own values with societal expectations.

　This symposium included keynote lectures with viewpoints from engineering sciences, life sciences and natural sciences, and humanities and social sciences, parallel sessions, reporting from the parallel sessions, a plenary session focused on policy, business and academia viewpoints, and a closing panel discussion.

　Bilateral exchanges between Japan and Germany are expected to further increase in the future. JANU will make even more efforts to promote bilateral exchanges between the two countries in collaboration with our German counterparts.

■German-Japanese Symposium
Date: June 28 and 29, 2016
Venue: Japanese-German Center Berlin (Berlin, Germany)
（Program）

Presenters and Presentation Materials:HRK’s website

Joint Declaration：HRK’s website

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Ambassador Professor Dr. Takahiro Shinyo,
President of the Japanese-German Center Berlin giving his opening speech

 

Professor Dr. Kyosuke Nagata, Chairperson of JACUIE and
President of the University of Tsukuba giving his opening speech

 

His Excellency Takeshi Yagi, Ambassador of Japan to Germany
delivering his opening speech

 

Reporters from parallel sessions: Professor Dr. Sugata Takahashi, President of Niigata University (far left), and Professor Dr. Yoshinao Mishima, President of Tokyo Institute of Technology (far right)

 

Lecturer: Mr. Hideto Matsumoto, Director of Office for International Planning, Higher Education Policy Planning Division, Higher Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan

 

Lecturer: Professor Dr. Koetsu Yamazaki, President of Kanazawa University

 

Closing panel discussion
(Professor Dr. Takashi Onishi, President of Toyohashi University of Technology [second from left]; Professor Michael Calmano, President of Nanzan University [second from right])