Tokyo Tech president attends AEARU 21st Annual General Meeting

President Mishima gives a presentation

President Yoshinao Mishima and Vice President for International Affairs Hidetoshi Sekiguchi attended the Association of East Asian Research Universities (AEARU) 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM), held December 4 and 5 at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Established in 1996 to provide a forum for exchange between East Asia's leading research-oriented universities, the consortium is comprised of 18 member universities from Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The AGM was attended by 55 participants from these universities.

At the Board of Directors meeting held before the AGM, Seoul National University was selected to chair AEARU for 2016-2017, with the University of Tsukuba serving as vice-chair. Tokyo Tech was selected to serve as a new board member for two years.

At the AGM, member universities presented activity reports, including updates on workshops and the student camp conducted in 2015. The AEARU Secretariat introduced activities for 2016 and announced the Board's approval of Tokyo Tech's proposal to host the 6th Energy and Environmental Workshop in August 2016.

During the Member University Presentation Session at the AGM, President Mishima spoke on "Enhancing undergraduate education for AEARU universities" and described the new education system to be implemented at Tokyo Tech in April 2016. The numerous questions and comments in response to Mishima's presentation evidenced a high level of interest by representatives of the member universities.