FY2015 FD Symposium for the "Consortium for International Human Resource Development for Disaster-Resilient Countries" (10 January 2016)

On 10 January, the FY2015 Faculty Development (FD) Symposium for the "Consortium for International Human Resource Development for Disaster-Resilient Countries -- Based on the Experiences of Disaster Recovery" (DRC) took place at The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Bangkok in Thailand. Led by Kyoto University with support provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) under the Re-Inventing Japan Project, the DRC project offers collaborative educational programs in Japan and ASEAN countries on subjects related to disaster risk mitigation, recovery, and reconstruction.

The symposium brought together faculty members of the universities taking part in the DRC project, including Kyoto University and the ASEAN Alliance Universities (ASALUs), to discuss DRC educational programs from both Japanese and ASEAN perspectives based on last year's results, with a view to identifying issues and areas for improvement for FY2016.

Represented in the meeting were Kyoto University's Graduate School of Engineering (GSE) and Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES) and Kansai University on the Japan side, and five of the six ASALUs -- the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Chulalongkorn University, and Kasetsart University, Thailand; Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia; and Vietnam National University, Hanoi -- on the ASEAN side, as well as National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan. In addition, guests attended from the AUN/SEED-Net and Kyoto University's ASEAN Center, Graduate School of Agriculture (GSA), and Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS). In total, 46 faculty members attended.

Part I began with GSE's Professor Hiroyasu Ohtsu, Director of the DRC project, delivering the opening address on behalf of the organizers. This was followed by two lectures: "AU-KU Student Mobility Program toward Human Security Development" by Prof Eiji Nawata, Vice-Dean of GSA, and "Initiatives of the Kyoto University ASEAN Center" by Prof Mamoru Shibayama, Director of the ASEAN Center, and Prof Yasuyuki Kono, Director of CSEAS. Afterwards, GSE's Associate Prof Kakuya Matsushima reported on the results of the 2011-2015 DRC programs.

Part II featured presentations by the representatives of the ASALUs and NCKU on their universities' 2015 DRC-related activities.

In Part III, DRC Project Director Ohtsu discussed plans for FY2016 and beyond, before a panel discussion took place with eight participants -- faculty members from Kyoto University, Kansai University, ASALUs, and NCKU. A lively exchange of opinions ensued after the panelists shared their views on the DRC project's future directions.

The highly productive event was brought to a close by remarks by Associate Professor Noppadol Phien-wej of AIT, having yielded numerous insights that are expected to contribute to the continuation of student exchanges among the participating universities and to the improvement of DRC collaborative educational programs.

Related link

• Consortium for International Human Resource Development for Disaster-Resilient Countries
  http://www.drc.t.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/