Tokyo Tech News
Tokyo Tech News
Tokyo Tech welcomes deans, staff, and students of 12 member universities in Asia-Oceania region
Published: January 27, 2020
The Asia-Oceania Top University League on Engineering (AOTULE), founded in 2007, consists of 13 member universities in the Asia-Oceania region. The league promotes inter-university cooperation through joint programs, including workshops and student and staff exchanges, and holds a conference for member university staff and students annually. From November 25 to 27, 2019, eighty-two participants from member universities gathered at Tokyo Tech for the 14th AOTULE Conference.
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After an evening reception on Day One, the conference resumed on Day Two with an opening ceremony on Ookayama Campus. Tokyo Tech Provost and Executive Vice President for Institute Strategy Isao Satoh and Dean Yuji Wada from the School of Materials and Chemical Technology gave welcome addresses. Professor Ashok Kumar Mishra from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras also gave opening remarks in place of IIT Madras Dean of International Relations Mahesh Panchagnula, the current executive chair of AOTULE.
At the student conference, students were divided into four groups to discuss and present their research achievements at sessions on the morning of November 26. They also discussed the main theme of this year's conference, “Actions towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia and Oceania.” Based on these discussions, group work presentations evaluated by faculty members were held on November 27.
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The deans' meeting, held on November 26, was facilitated by Professor Jeffrey S. Cross from Tokyo Tech's School of Environment and Society. During the session, deans of member universities reflected on the evolution of AOTULE and discussed future possibilities, including consortium-oriented and bilateral exchanges and new educational programs. Expanding the number of member universities was also proposed.
The session also included an invited presentation, Society 5.0 - Seeking for the future Industry-Academia cooperation in Japan, by Dr. Jinichi Igarashi. Igarashi is currently the representative director and president of JX Nippon Research Institute, Ltd., and serves as the chair of the Sub-Committee on Industry-Academia-Government Cooperation, Committee on Innovation, at the Japan Business Federation, Keidanren.
Professor David Shallcross, AOTULE steering committee chair and professor at The University of Melbourne, led the steering committee meeting on November 27. The session included the unveiling of the new AOTULE homepage, accounting reports for the current academic year, and discussions regarding future plans. Professor Takaaki Manaka from Tokyo Tech's School of Engineering was elected as the new steering committee chair. The committee also decided to hold the next AOTULE Conference at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.