The 2nd Kyoto-Bristol Symposium was held at the Clock Tower Centennial Hall on Kyoto University's Yoshida Campus. The symposium builds on the work of the 1st Bristol-Kyoto Symposium, which was held in January 2013 at the University of Bristol in the U.K. The first symposium was attended by approximately ninety delegates from Kyoto University, including President Hiroshi Matsumoto and other members of the university's executive staff and faculty. On this occasion, over sixty delegates from the University of Bristol, including the institution's vice-chancellor, Prof. Sir Eric Thomas, visited Kyoto to participate in the 2nd symposium.
The symposium exemplifies one aspect of Kyoto University's internationalization efforts under a new international strategy, which was launched in June 2013. Through the symposium, the university seeks to further enhance its international presence through the dissemination of research achievements, exchange of personnel, and the promotion of international collaborative research. Including researchers who participated in the academic sessions of the 1st Bristol-Kyoto symposium, over 240 members from the two institutions attended in the symposium, and several new academic sessions were established for researchers seeking to forge new international collaborations.
The first day of the symposium opened with part one of the symposium's plenary session, which was chaired by Prof. Kiyoshi Yoshikawa, Kyoto University's executive vice-president for research. The session began with welcome addresses by President Matsumoto and Vice-Chancellor Thomas. Those greetings were followed by addresses by the guests of honor: Deputy Minister Ms. Kumiko Bando of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan and Mr. Jeff Streeter, director of the British Council Japan. The plenary session concluded with the presentation of an honorary doctorate from the University of Bristol to President Matsumoto in recognition of his contribution to academic research, achievements in university management, and his efforts towards advancing the cooperative relationship between the University of Bristol and Kyoto University.
The second part of the plenary session was chaired by Prof. Guy Orpen, pro vice-chancellor for research and enterprise of the University of Bristol. The session featured keynote speeches by Prof. Jeremy O'Brien of the University of Bristol, who delivered a speech titled "Quantum Technology," and by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, whose speech was titled "Frontiers in iPS Cell Research and Application."
The afternoon of the first day comprised thirteen parallel sessions dedicated to specific fields of research (details below). The sessions gave researchers from the two institutions an opportunity to explore various possibilities for research cooperation. In the evening, a reception was held in which the delegates from Bristol were given a glimpse of Japanese tradition in the form of a tea ceremony presentation by members of the Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine Tea Ceremony Club. During the demonstration, the students invited Vice-Chancellor Thomas onto the stage to participate.
The parallel sessions continued on the symposium's second day, and the results of each session was reported at a plenary wrap-up session in the afternoon, which was chaired by Prof. Akihiko Akamatsu, Kyoto University's executive vice-president for student affairs and library services. The symposium was then brought to a close with speeches by Dr. Michiaki Mishima, Kyoto University's executive vice-president for international affairs and hospital administration and Prof. Nick Lieven the University of Bristol's pro vice-chancellor for International.
 Group photo of lead delegates and special guests | |
 Vice-chancellor Sir Thomas presents an honorary doctoral degree to President Matsumoto |  Deputy Minister Ms. Bando of MEXT |
 Tea Ceremony by students of the Faculty of Medicine |  Dr. Yamanaka delivers his keynote speech |
 The symposium participants | |
Parallel Academic Sessions
- Physical Chemistry and Materials Chemistry
- Nano-science
- Nuclear Materials
- Robotics and Human Machine Interaction
- Intimacy and the Public Sphere
- Political transformation in Southeast Asia
- Economy theory
- 1 English Literature/ 2 Colonialism / 3 Philosophy Logic
- Natural Hazards and Risks
- Nano-photonics
- Plant Sciences
- Neuroscience
- Technology Transfer and Innovation
Addresses of the President
The 2nd Kyoto-Bristol Symposium welcome address (January 9, 2014)
http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/profile/25president/25th/addresses/2013/140109_1.htm