Malaysian KU alumni host the 2nd Southeast Asia Network Forum (13 February 2016)

On 13 February, with support from the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto Alumni Association Malaysia (MYKYOTO) hosted the second Southeast Asia Network Forum at Hotel Puri Pujangga, located on the Bangi Main Campus of National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM), with around 70 participants.

The Network Forum was launched September 2015 in Yangon, Myanmar, to replace the Kyoto University Southeast Asia Forum, a smaller-scale event held 17 times between 2007 and 2015.

Over the years, Kyoto University has hosted generations of students and researchers from Southeast Asia. The Forum builds on this tradition to share the University's cutting-edge research with communities across the region; each event is organized by local KU alumni and dedicated to a topic of significant interest to the local residents.

This year's Network Forum was comprised of lectures and seminars focused on the issue of sustainable urban development in Asia.

The opening address was delivered by Dr Mohd Hakimi Mohd Shafiai, president of MYKYOTO, followed by an overview of Kyoto University presented by Professor Yoshihiro Tokuga, Vice-President for University Fund Administration and Alumni Affairs.

Speakers were: UKM's Deputy Vice-Chancellor Mazlin Mokhtar and Professor Mohd Yusof Hj Othman, and Professor Ismail Abustan of University of Science, Malaysia (Universiti Sains Malaysia, USM), as well as Kyoto University's Professors Yosuke Yamashiki and Hiroaki Tanaka, of the Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (GSAIS, Shishu-Kan) and the Graduate School of Engineering (GSE), respectively.

Afterwards, members of MYKYOTO took part in a joint gathering with Dark Blue no Kai, a KU alumni association for Malaysia-based Japanese nationals. Participants enjoyed the reunion and the opportunity to network.