The First Bristol-Kyoto Symposium held at Bristol University, U.K. (January 10-11, 2013)

A party of approximately ninety researchers and other delegates from Kyoto University traveled to Bristol University in the U.K. to attend the First Bristol–Kyoto Symposium on January 10-11, 2013. The symposium, which is believed to have been the largest of its kind ever held in the UK, aimed to raise international awareness of Kyoto University and Bristol University, build a foundation of research collaboration for future student, faculty, and staff exchange, and promote collaboration with industry and academia built on the university partnership.

Approximately 240 people participated in the symposium. The Kyoto University delegation represented a broad cross-section of the university's current cutting-edge research, including Global Center of Excellence Programs and other internationally oriented projects. Bristol University, located in the southwest of the U.K., is one of Europe's foremost education and research institutions, currently ranked at number twenty-eight in the QS World University Rankings (figures for 2012–13; Kyoto University ranked thirty-five).

The seeds of the collaboration between Bristol University and Kyoto University were sown in October 2008, when Prof. Keisuke Makino, former director-general of Kyoto University's Office of Society-Academia Collaboration for Innovation negotiated the conclusion of a departmental agreement for industry-government-academia collaboration. That first step was followed by the conclusion of a university-level exchange agreement in October 2011, and a student exchange agreement in October 2012. The Bristol–Kyoto Symposium was first proposed by Prof. Kiyoshi Yoshikawa, executive vice-president for research, when he visited Bristol University in July 2011. Planning for the symposium then began in earnest following by Bristol University's successful funding application to the U.K.'s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Under the chairpersonship of Prof. Guy Orpen, the University of Bristol's pro vice-chancellor for research and enterprise, the first day of the symposium opened with welcome addresses by Vice-Chancellor Eric Thomas of the University of Bristol, President Hiroshi Matsumoto of Kyoto University, and H.E. Mr. Keiichi Hayashi, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Japan to the United Kingdom. Those addresses were followed by overviews of both the University of Bristol and Kyoto University, presented by Pro Vice-Chancellor Orpen and Executive Vice-President Yoshikawa. Then, in a session chaired by Prof. Michiaki Mishima, Kyoto University's executive vice-president for international affairs and hospital administration, there followed two keynote speeches by Prof. Stephen Mann of the University of Bristol’s School of Chemistry and Prof. Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS). Those sessions were then followed by the signing of an affirmation of the 2011 General Memorandum for Academic Cooperation and Exchange by Vice-Chancellor Thomas and President Matsumoto, reaffirming the commitment to further advancing the partnership between the two institutions.

The afternoon of the first day comprised thirteen parallel sessions dedicated to specific fields of research, in which researchers from the two institutions discussed the establishment of new research cooperation, as well as the further development of existing ties. The evening featured presentations on research funding by several speakers,including Dr. Jane Nicholson, university relationships integrator of the EPSRC and Prof. Kozo Hiramatsu, director of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) London. Following the presentations, the participants attended a dinner reception held on board the SS Great Britain, a historic former passenger steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The reception was also attended by the mayor of Bristol, Mr. George Ferguson.

The parallel sessions continued on the symposium's second day, and the results of each was reported at a plenary session in the afternoon, including a report on a session on industry-government-academia collaboration by Prof. Hidetoshi Kotera, Kyoto University's executive vice-president for external strategy, knowledge & technology transfer and innovation. The symposium was then officially closed with addresses by Pro Vice-Chancellor Orpen and Executive Vice-President Yoshikawa.

The event was well covered by local and international media, including a report on BBC Television, features in the New York Times, Times Higher Education, and the International Herald Tribune, as well as Bristol’s Evening Post and the South West Business website. The first concrete results of the symposium will be the participation of two invited lecturers from the University of Bristol in the Kyoto University International University Research Administrators (URA) Symposium, which will be held on February 4, 2013. The second Bristol–Kyoto Symposium is scheduled to be held at Kyoto University in 2014.

Comment from Prof. Kiyoshi Yoshikawa, Executive Vice-President for Research, Kyoto University:

"As I had expected, the Bristol–Kyoto Symposium left me with a strong impression that my knowledge of the full scope of Kyoto University's research and my knowledge of Kyoto in general, is not yet sufficient. We must continue making efforts to raise international awareness of Kyoto University, and so it is important that we continue to hold symposia such as this in various regions of the world. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of the researchers who contributed to making the first Bristol–Kyoto Symposium a success."

Vice-Chancellor Eric Thomas	President Hiroshi Matsumoto	H.E. Mr. Keiichi Hayashi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United Kingdom	Prof. Guy Orpen, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise	Prof. Kiyoshi Yoshikawa, Executive Vice-president for Research
Prof. Michiaki Mishima, Executive Vice-President for International Affairs and Hospital Administration	Prof. Stephen Mann, School of Chemistry	Prof. Susumu Kitagawa, iCeMS	Prof. Kozo Hiramatsu, Director, JSPS London	Prof. Hidetoshi Kotera, Executive Vice-President for External Strategy, Knowledge & Technology Transfer and Innovation

The mayor of Bristol, Mr. George Ferguson (center) at the dinner reception

Vice-Chancellor Thomas (L) and President Matsumoto (R) sign the affirmation of the 2011 General Memorandum for Academic Cooperation and Exchange

The Symposium Participants

Related Link:

• The University of Bristol
  http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2013/9055.html