Kyoto University and the Inamori Foundation jointly hosted the inaugural Kyoto University-Inamori Foundation Joint Kyoto Prize Symposium (KUIP) at the University's Clock Tower Centennial Hall on 12 and 13 July.
The event brings together researchers and artists who are performing noteworthy or cutting-edge work in fields covered by The Kyoto Prize (presented by the Inamori Foundation), which is one of the most prestigious international award programs in Japan. Through lectures and other activities, it aims to offer opportunities for fresh encounters that can lead to greater growth in the fields it represents, while also contributing to the development of the next generation of researchers and sharing with the general public the latest trends in scholarship and art as well as their significance.
Dedicated to the theme of "The Front Lines of Human Wisdom — Resonance of 'Life Sciences', 'Information Science', and 'Thought and Ethics'", the first KUIP featured lectures by 20 experts — world leaders in their respective fields — on topics of interest to both the academic community and wider society. A total of 700 people, including students and researchers as well as members of the general public, attended the event over the course of two days.
What would prove to be a highly stimulating two-day event kicked off with an opening session that featured welcome addresses by Professor Hiroshi Matsumoto, President of Kyoto University, and Dr Kazuo Inamori, President of the Inamori Foundation. These were followed by lectures in the "Life Sciences" field, presented under the general theme of "Frontier of Life Sciences". The speakers were Masatoshi Takeichi, Director of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB), Professor Ronald M Evans of The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and Professor Robert A Weinberg of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Entitled "Frontier of Thought", the next segment featured lectures on "Thought and Ethics" by Professor Augustin Berque, former president of ﾃ営ole des hautes ﾃｩtudes en sciences sociales, Professor Emeritus Bin Kimura of Kyoto University, and Professor Alastair V Campbell, Director of the Centre for Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore (NUS). Lastly, under the theme of "Deep Learning and Wearable Computing: Exploring their Connections", lectures on "Information Science" topics were delivered by Professor Alex 'Sandy' Pentland from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor Takeo Kanade from Carnegie Mellon University, and Dr Yann LeCun, Director of AI Research at Facebook. A total of 450 people eagerly listened as these scholars shared their latest findings.
The second day of the KUIP offered workshops in the three fields, with 20 experts as presenters giving lectures and engaging in lively discussions.
In the "Life Sciences" field, Workshop Sessions 1 were presented under the title, "Unveiling the Mechanisms Underlying Health Maintenance and Disease Prevention, from the Molecular Level to the Whole Organism", while Sessions 2 were entitled, "The Future of Bioethics in Asia and Beyond". The presenters were Professor Shigekazu Nagata from the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Professor Kayo Inaba, Executive Vice-President of Kyoto University, Professor Shizuo Akira from Osaka University, and Professor Evans for the Sessions 1 workshops, and Professor Yasushi Miyashita from the University of Tokyo, Specially Appointed Professor Toshio Yanagida at Osaka University, Director Takeichi, and Professor Weinberg for Sessions 2.
In the "Thought and Ethics" field, Sessions 1 were entitled "The Future of Bioethics in Asia and Beyond" and Sessions 2, "Contemporary Significance and Potentiality of the Kyoto School — in the Light of Life, Environment and Science". Workshops in the former were presented by Professor Campbell, Professor Emeritus Hisatake Kato, and Project Professor Tetsuro Shimizu from the University of Tokyo, while those in the latter were led by Professor Emeritus Kimura, Professor Augustin Berque, and Professor Emeritus Michio Kobayashi.
Lastly, Session-1 workshops in the "Information Science" field were given under the title, "Deep Learning Changes Pattern Understanding", while Sessions 2 were focused on "Brain, Development, Cancer, and Systems Biology: Perspectives from Four Sages of Life Science". Presenters for Sessions 1 were Dr LeCun, Professor Tatsuya Kawahara of the Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies, Kyoto University, and Professor Tatsuya Harada from the University of Tokyo, while those for Sessions 2 were Professor Kanade, Distinguished Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro from Osaka University, and Professor Pentland.
The final segment of the Symposium was the Closing Session, in which outcomes of the workshops conducted were reported by three experts representing the three fields covered — Professor Evans, Yokohama City University Professor Hitoshi Arima, who served as an interpreter for the "Thought and Ethics" workshops, and Professor Toru Ishida from the Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, who was the Program Chair for the field of "Information Science" — bringing the event to a successful conclusion.
Comments from some of the KUIP attendees included: "I thoroughly enjoyed the lecture despite not at all having been familiar with the topic discussed"; "There were so many sessions on intriguing topics that I had a hard time deciding on which ones to attend"; "I would love to attend more of such amazing events going forward"; and "It was wonderful to be able to listen to people working at the forefront of their fields, and their lectures were deeply satisfying".
 From left: Professor Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland, Professor Ronald M Evans, and Professor Augustin Berque |
 A lecture held on the first day |
 Symposium participants |
