Kyoto and Bristol Universities' Botanic Gardens Forge Partnership, Accelerating Joint Efforts for Plant Conservation (23--25 September 2014)

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Kyoto University's Graduate School of Science (GSS) Botanical Gardens (KUBG) entered into a partnership agreement on 23 September with the University of Bristol Botanic Garden (UBBG) for academic cooperation in plant sciences.

Joint efforts will be made based on this partnership to foster collaborative research and student exchange, while further cementing the ties between the universities and promoting the objectives of the Global Strategy for Plant Conversion*1.

The signing was celebrated as part of a three-day joint workshop on plant environmental signalling held at the University of Bristol on 23--25 September.

The first day was also highlighted by opening remarks by UB Faculty of Science Dean Tim Gallagher, Profs Walther Schwarzacher and UBBG Director Simon Hiscock, as well as plenary talks by Profs Keith Edwards and Ikuko Hara-Nishimura, Chair of the GSS Division of Biological Science.

The second day featured an array of presentations on the latest advances in botany by plant scientists of both universities. The evening reception was held in the presence of UB Pro-Vice Chancellors Nishan Canagarajah and Nick Lieven, who read aloud a congratulatory letter ― a pleasant surprise for both sides.

"Prof Eric Thomas, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol, was delighted to receive a letter from President (then President-designate) Juichi Yamagiwa supporting the ongoing relationship between Bristol and Kyoto," said Prof Lieven. "He is very much looking forward to developing the relationship further, and the plant sciences workshop was a perfect exemplar of how we can nurture collaboration between our universities."

On the last day Profs Minoru Tamura, KUBG steering committee chair, and Hiscock showcased each botanic garden with their presentations, followed by scientific lectures as well as short talks by junior researchers. The three-day program concluded with a discussion about making the partnership truly sustainable.

The history of the two universities' cooperation dates back to 2008, when the KU Office of Society-Academia Collaboration for Innovation formed a partnership with the UB Division of Research and Enterprise Development. A memorandum of understanding and a student exchange agreement were also concluded on a university level in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Stemmed from the university-level agreement a joint symposium was co-organized in 2013 at the University of Bristol*2, featuring a number of leading scientists in wide-ranging fields and in turn attracting major media coverage.

Another joint symposium was held in January 2014 at Kyoto University*3. The meeting consisted of 13 parallel sessions, one of which focused on plant sciences and was hosted by the university's Center for Ecological Research and GSS Department of Botany. This session's attendees initiated discussions to build a department-level partnership to accelerate collaborations in botany and further strengthen the interdisciplinary ties between the two universities.

UBBG Director Simon Hiscock (left) and KUBG steering committee chair Minoru Tamura

From left: Prof Toshiharu Shikanai, Asst Prof Shogo Ito, Profs Tokitaka Oyama, Minoru Tamura, Ikuko Hara-Nishimura, Atsushi Yamauchi*, Hiroshi Kudoh* and Akira Nagatani  (*Kyoto University Center for Ecological Research faculty members. The rest are of the university's Graduate School of Science Department of Botany.)

Workshop attendees (photo courtesy of the University of Bristol Botanic Garden)

References and related links

* 1 "The GSPC - A Plan to Save the World's Plant Species"
http://www.bgci.org/ourwork/gspc/

* 2 "The First Bristol-Kyoto Symposium held at Bristol University, U.K."
http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/static/en/news_data/h/h1/news7/2012/130111_3.htm

* 3 "The 2nd Kyoto-Bristol Symposium"
http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/static/en/news_data/h/h1/news7/2013_1/140110_2.htm

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